Escape to the quieter side of Tenerife

Our favourite Canary Island entices hordes of visitors, but there are plenty of calm corners to be enjoyed, says Helen Ochyra

2023-11-25 -

Hell is other people – especially at the breakfast buffet. And by the pool. And shuffling along the hotel corridor in front of you when you just want to nip back to the room for that thing you forgot.

On holiday most of us are pretty keen to avoid other – gasp – tourists. After all, who wants to jostle for position in front of the toaster at 8am? Or dash out to the pool at dawn to grab a lounger before the plum ones by the water’s edge are strewn with towels?

So it might put you off Tenerife to think that 2.3 million Britons holidayed on the island in 2022. Thanks to the short flight time from the UK (around four and a half hours) and the dependably warm winter temperatures (the average high in November is 24C), the largest of the Canary Islands pulls in plenty of those who just want to fly and flop. What’s more, the island has an abundance of affordable flights from airports around the UK and a dizzying line-up of large hotels, keeping the price of a week-long package holiday as low as £250.

But here’s the thing: most British visitors to Tenerife stay in just a handful of resorts. Avoid these hotspots and you’ll encounter a very different island, one that the majority of visitors remain blissfully unaware of.

In Tenerife I’ve strolled through hilltop villages, soporific in the sun, and not seen another soul. I’ve walked up through wildflower meadows to reach volcanic summits, listening only to birdsong, the wind and my own breathing. And I’ve made the day’s first footprints on sandy beaches, untroubled by parasols.

Almost half of the island is protected and much of it remains undeveloped, especially in the north where you’ll find subtropical rainforests, sharp-sided gorges and banana plantations that run down to the sea. You’ll also find most of the locals up here, gathered in communities such as Santa Cruz and La Laguna, towns that flourished during the heyday of maritime trade between Spain and the Americas and which retain charm and numerous historic buildings. Here, café tables fill tree-lined squares and you’re never more than a short stroll from a proper tapas bar.

So step away from the herd and discover the real Tenerife. We’ve rounded up the best crowd-free escapes the island has to offer.

Best for walkers

Year-round balmy temperatures and an awe-inspiring volcanic landscape make Tenerife an idyllic hiking destination. The island makes it easy too, offering waymarked trails that crisscross boulder-strewn lavafields, delve through dripping rainforests and even lead walkers to the summit of Spain’s highest peak, Mount Teide.

Teide is the high point of any walking holiday here, the volcano’s still-smouldering crest piercing the clouds, its slopes running down to the Atlantic. At 3,718 metres, Teide sports a snowy cap through winter, making proper gear essential if you want to tackle the Telesforo Bravo, a steep one-hour trail that leads from the visitor centre to the crater – and deters all but the hardiest visitors. On cloud-free days, Tenerife’s position at the centre of a volcanic archipelago is clear and you’ll spot neighbouring La Gomera, La Palma, El Hierro and Gran Canaria amid the Atlantic blue as Teide’s still-active fumaroles send sulphur swirling into the air.

Macs Adventure’s week-long selfguided itinerary brings you up here on the final day. You’ll also spend three nights at the Parador Las Cañadas del Teide, a blissful spot at the foot of the volcano that’s busy by day, as visitors explore the gnarled rock formations and volcanic badlands that surround it, but pin-drop quiet at night when the stars steal the show.

You’ll also spend time in Garachico, a bustling port until 1706 when an eruption flooded its harbour with lava. Today, the natural rock pools this created are a glorious place for a dip and the village’s cobbled streets are quiet; let them lead you to Plaza de la Libertad, where locals fuel up on coffee for domino battles beneath the trees.

Macs Adventure (01415 304 251; macsadventure.com) offers seven-night self-guided hiking holidays in Tenerife from £1,085pp B&B, excluding flights but including car hire, route notes and maps

Best for foodies

Fresh fish, tossed from the boat almost straight onto the grill and sizzled with a squeeze of lemon, perfectly round potatoes with salt-crusted wrinkly skins, and fiery red mojo sauce, warm with cumin and chilli – these are the dishes Tenerife is known for.

Across the island you’ll find these Canarian classics served everywhere, from wobbly tables in village squares to Atlantic-front terraces that look out at the fishing boats. One of the best spots is La Caleta in Adeje, its harbourfront lined with the sort of restaurants that have you gesturing at a chiller cabinet stocked with fish and lingering far longer than you meant to over a bottle of crisp white Malvasia.

Combine languid lunches here with Michelin-starred dinners just up the hill at the Royal Hideaway Corales Beach, a chic hotel that has cornered the Michelin market on the island by tempting the Padrón brothers to move their long-standing El Rincón de Juan Carlos restaurant to its rooftop (it was formerly in Los Gigantes). Fishing and cooking run in the family for Juan Carlos and Jonathan, whose fifth-floor restaurant now holds two Michelin stars and serves an eye-opening tasting menu based on traditional Canary Island recipes (expect the likes of sea lettuce, cherne netted just offshore, and island lamb).

Also at the hotel is another Michelin-starred restaurant, San Hô, where local chef Adrián Bosch fuses his native Canarian cuisine with Japanese and Peruvian flavours; guests can sit at the counter and watch the chefs at work.

Tropical Sky (01342 310571; tropicalsky. co.uk) offers seven-night holidays to the Royal Hideaway Corales Beach from £1,339pp B&B, including flights and private transfers

Best for all-out luxury

Forget the blingy resorts of the south, it’s northern Tenerife that really knows how to glam it up, and Puerto de la Cruz has been attracting distinguished visitors for well over a century. Since 1975, the place to be seen has been the elegant Hotel Botanico. Set – as all the very best hotels are – in several acres of lush grounds, this graceful five-star has a genteel air; its marble lobby leading through to a piano lounge and billiards room, its rooms all thick carpets and floor-length garnet-coloured curtains. Book a Teide View room for smack-you-in-the-eye vistas of the eponymous volcano from your balcony, or go all-out with the Queen Sirikit of Thailand Suite, which comes with an outdoor hot tub and hammocks on its lofty corner terrace.

The real draw here, though, is the Oriental Spa Garden, tucked away in subtropical gardens and shaded by palm trees. Birdsong and the burble of the waterfall that feeds the pool are the soundtrack to blissful al fresco massages, a soak in the thermal circuit and full-day loafing sessions – it’s a tough place to tear yourself away from.

Wexas (020 7838 5892, wexas.com) offers seven-night holidays to the Hotel Botanico from £1,790pp B&B including flights, lounge access and transfers plus unlimited access to the Oriental Spa Garden’s thermal circuit

Best for families

Travelling with the kids? Forget hotels with their always-too-cramped rooms and immovable breakfast times: book a villa and sink into the freedom of self-catering instead. Staying somewhere that was designed to be a home makes everything easier – fill the fridge with goodies from the local shop to keep little ones stocked up with snacks, and let the witching hour wash over you by flinging open the doors of the playroom and giving tireless toddlers the space they need.

At Casacosta in El Porís you’ll get your own swimming pools too, one set into the terrace accessed straight from the al fresco living area, the other naturally occurring on the rocky shoreline below – no squabbling with strangers over sun loungers here. You can bring the extended family too: there are seven double bedrooms, five shower rooms, a properly equipped kitchen and a dining table that seats up to 20. You’ll also find a washing machine and games for the kids that include table tennis and a swing. And because the owner, Susan, is an architect, all is chic, from the soft grey walls and wood-panelled doors to the paintings on the walls and the sculptures on the terrace.

On your doorstep is El Porís, a laidback spot arranged around a sandy bay that’s ideal for paddling. There’s little to do here besides swim, play and rest – and perhaps call in to El Ancla for calamari – but there are countless other black-sand beaches nearby and it’s just a 10-minute drive to San Miguel de Tajao for superb seafood restaurants.

Welcome Beyond (welcomebeyond.com) offers seven-night holidays to the 70s Modernist Villa from £4,193, based on two sharing and excluding flights. The villa sleeps up to 19, with each additional guest charged at £43 per night

Best for a romantic getaway

What could be more romantic than holing up in your very own hacienda perched on a cliff-edge and staring out at the Atlantic? You’d wake to the sound of the wind rustling leaves in the banana plantation, sip your morning coffee with no concept of the time and be lulled to sleep at night by the crash of the waves.

It sounds like a dream, but on Tenerife’s north coast, Hacienda El Terrero has made this a reality, converting an old farmhouse that dates from the early 16th century into a cluster of just 12 casitas and lofts built (mostly) for two. Each one is unique, from diminutive La Lajeta which occupies part of the old wine cellar and features a tea wood ceiling, thick stone walls and a small private terrace, to two-bedroom La Jurdana with its separate kitchen and spacious lounge. Pick of the bunch, though, has to be El Socorro (“the Relief ”), an airy loft where even the bathtub comes with a sea view. Each house has an independent entrance and all share access to the small but spectacular infinity pool.

Alternatively, head along the coast to one of the nearby natural pools – try Charco de la Laja or Charco Verde, both around five minutes’ drive west.

Hacienda El Terrero (00 34 922 35 55 65; haciendaelterrero.com) offers double rooms from £81 per night, room only. Tenerife South airport is just over an hour’s drive away

Best for culture

San Cristóbal de La Laguna might seem familiar, even if you’ve never set foot in the town before: the neat grid system laid down here in the 15th century provided the blueprint for thousands of places built by the Spanish across the Americas. Walking its poker-straight streets, you’ll pass beneath ornately carved wooden hanging balconies and stroll past a rainbow of brightly painted mansions, before inexorably finding yourself outside a church. This was once Tenerife’s capital and there are so many historically important buildings here that the town is inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage list.

Plenty of visitors come for the day; few stay the night. Buck the trend and book a room at the new Hotel Boutique San Diego, heading out for an evening stroll when the streets are quiet and the town’s unique architecture really sings. The hotel has just five bedrooms, of which the most charming is the ground-floor Laguna suite, which comes with a glass-walled sunroom ripe for relaxing, drink in hand. There’s also an oasis of a garden and you’re just a 10-minute stroll from the old town.

Hotel Boutique San Diego (00 34 682 49 74 79; hotelboutiquesandiego.com) offers double rooms from £85 per night, including breakfast. Tenerife South airport is a 40-minute drive away. The hotel is adults only