The Teide is the highest mountain in the Spain, the 3,718 metres, and the volcano, the 150,000-year-old stratovolcano, the third-tallest volcanic structure in the world when measured from the ocean floor (the 7,500 metres from the seafloor to the summit), and the most-visited natural wonder in the Spain, is the reason the Tenerife exists. The island is the volcano that rose from the Atlantic, and the Teide National Park, the UNESCO World heritage site, the lunar landscape of the crater, the lava fields, and the cable car that takes you to the 3,555 metres, is the essential Tenerife experience. Getting the most from the Tenerife is the combination of the Teide, the beaches, the food, and the culture that the package tourists miss. Here is your guide.

How to Get the Most from Tenerife

• The Teide, the essential: The Teide National Park is the essential Tenerife experience, and the two ways to the summit: The cable car: the Teleférico del Teide (the 3,555-metre upper station, the €44 return, and the view, the Gran Canaria, the La Palma, the El Hierro, the La Gomera, the entire Canary archipelago. The essential strategy: book online at the least 2 weeks in advance, the 9am slot, and the summit permit, the free, the essential, and the limited to the 200 people per day. The permit is the required to walk the final 163 metres to the summit crater, and the permit is the booked months in advance. The walk: the Montaña Blanca – the Refugio Altavista – the Teide summit (the 8–9 hours, the 1,400 metres of the ascent, and the best walk in the Canary Islands. The Refugio Altavista at the 3,270 metres, the mountain hut, the dormitory, the €25/night, and the essential base for the sunrise on the summit. Book the refuge months in advance). The stars: the night sky from the Teide is the clearest in Europe, the guided stargazing tour (~€50, the telescopes, the Saturn, the Jupiter, the Milky Way, and the best night of the trip). More Spain →
• The beaches, the north and the south: The Tenerife has the black sand of the north (the volcanic, the Playa Jardín in the Puerto de la Cruz, the black, the palm trees, the waves, and the most beautiful urban beach in the Tenerife) and the golden sand of the south (the imported from the Sahara, the Playa de las Américas, the Playa del Duque, and the Playa de las Vistas, the golden, the calm, and the best swimming in the Tenerife). The essential beach: the Playa de las Teresitas in the San Andrés (the golden sand imported from the Sahara in the 1973, the 1.3 km, the palm trees, the breakwater, the calm water, and the best beach in the Tenerife. The free, and the essential strategy: the weekday, the morning, and the beach that is the local favourite).
• The food and the culture, the guachinches: The guachinche is the Canarian institution: the temporary restaurant, the garage of the private house, the 3–4 months of the year (the wine season), the home-cooked food, the local wine, and the best value in the Tenerife. The essential guachinche: the Guachinche La Huerta de Ana María in the La Orotava (the carne fiesta, the marinated pork, the papas arrugadas, the wrinkled potatoes, the mojo rojo and the mojo verde, the red and the green sauces, and the best meal in the Tenerife. ~€12 for the main and the wine). The essential town: the La Orotava (the colonial town, the wooden balconies, the Casa de los Balcones, the 1632, the best wooden balcony in the Canary Islands, and the view of the Teide from the Plaza de la Constitución). The essential festival: the Carnival of the Santa Cruz (the February, the second-largest in the world after the Rio, the parades, the costumes, and the best week of the year in the Tenerife)