At a glance: My top things to do in Tenerife
1. Drive through Teide National Park
2. Hike through Anaga Rural Park
3. Drive the Teno Mountains to Masca
5. Explore Garachico and El Caletón
7. See the cliffs of Los Gigantes
9. Visit the Pyramids of Güímar
10. Explore Puerto de la Cruz Botanical Garden
12. Relax at Playa del Duque and Costa Adeje
13. Swim in northern Tenerife’s natural pools
14. Do the Mirador 500 Escalones stairs
15. See Icod de los Vinos and the Dragon Tree
Final thoughts: the best things to do in Tenerife
For years, I kept planning trips to the Canary Islands and then canceling them. There was always somewhere that seemed more interesting to go. Turns out, I was seriously underestimating the things to do in Tenerife. In my head, the island was mostly resorts, beaches, and somewhere Europeans escape to when they can’t take winter anymore.
Well, I was wrong. I’ve now been to Tenerife several times—most recently in 2025, before that in 2020, and once as a kid—and after properly driving and hiking around the island, I can safely say the resorts are the least interesting thing about it.
Teide is the obvious star. I genuinely think the volcanic landscapes up there can compete with some of the best national parks I’ve visited anywhere. Anaga is so green; Masca and the Teno Mountains are all cliffs and deep valleys, and the south is dry, sunny, and heavily developed. Drive around for a day, and you’ll wonder how all of this fits on one relatively small island.
This isn’t every Tenerife attraction that Google thinks you should see. These are places I’ve actually visited and have an opinion about, ranked by how much I think they deliver for the time and effort you put into visiting them. And I don’t care how famous something is—if a lesser-known stop impressed me more, it ranks higher.
Here’s what I’d actually build a Tenerife trip around.
Read more about my travels in the Canary Islands.
Thinking about a totally different destination? How about places to visit in Wales?
Me, slightly smiling. The climb is just getting started.
Here’s how my top things to do in Tenerife rank, from the experiences I’d prioritize most to those I’d only add if you have extra time.
Pro tip: Rent a car and enjoy Tenerife without the hassle of public transport.
Somewhere above 3,000 meters, still enjoying the hike. (Thank God I took that cable car)
I’m a sucker for a good national park, and Teide ended up an easy #1. Of all the things to do in Tenerife, this is the one I wouldn’t miss.
And I don’t mean just Mount Teide itself. Driving through the enormous Las Cañadas caldera is half the experience. I kept stopping as the landscape changed from the yellow volcanic terrain at Minas de San José to huge lava fields and the bizarre rock formations at Roques de García. I expected Teide to be impressive, but I didn’t expect it to compete with places like Yosemite, Torres del Paine, or Death Valley. It does.
I also took the cable car and hiked toward Pico Viejo. At over 3,000 m (9,843 ft), the altitude made me dizzy enough to remember that I apparently do need oxygen, but the crater views were fantastic.
The important thing is that you don’t need to reach Teide’s absolute summit to understand why this is #1. Some high-altitude trails require reservations, so plan ahead if hiking is your goal. Even if you don’t hike, drive through the park and stop often. My Mount Teide hiking guide has all the details if you want to head higher.
Pro tip: Book the cable car in advance and enjoy the stunning views
Just a glimpse of the breathtaking landscapes that are just waiting to be explored in Anaga Rural Park, Tenerife.
I went to Anaga Rural Park planning to spend one day there. I ended up staying for three. That probably tells you more about why it’s #2 on my list of the best places to visit in Tenerife than any dramatic description I could come up with.
What got me was how completely different Anaga feels from the rest of the island. After Teide’s dry volcanic landscapes, suddenly I was driving through mist, green mountains, and a proper laurel cloud forest. At times, it felt more like Kauai than Tenerife. Even the drive was part of the experience—the roads twist through the mountains with cliffs, forests, and ocean views appearing around seemingly every corner.
Don’t treat Anaga as one viewpoint. Hike through the cloud forest, drive deeper into the mountains, and give yourself time to see how much the landscape changes.
The downside? Everyone else apparently got the memo. Parking can be a nightmare, especially around Cruz del Carmen, and I once waited more than 30 minutes in traffic. Get there around 8 am and save yourself from the irritation.
The views from driving on TF-436 through the Teno Mountains in Tenerife were extraordinary.
Masca was high on my list because I wanted to see the village and hike the famous gorge, but getting there turned out to be almost as memorable as Masca itself. The drive through the Teno Mountains on TF-436 is obscenely beautiful. There, I said it.
The road twists through some of the most dramatic Tenerife scenery I saw anywhere on the island, with green mountains and deep valleys around practically every bend. My favorite stop was Mirador Altos de Baracán, at about 800 m (2,625 ft), where I got 360-degree views across the Teno Mountains and toward La Gomera. Then you reach Masca itself, a tiny village wedged between enormous cliffs.
That’s why this is #3. Masca village is beautiful, but the whole journey through Teno is the experience, not just the destination. Go in the morning—the light is better, and you’ll have a better chance with the limited parking.
One warning: TF-436 is narrow, winding, and full of tight corners. I loved the drive, but nervous drivers probably won’t. Motion sickness sufferers, you’ve been warned.
Just a couple o' sharks starin' at each other...
I visited Loro Parque with my family and my six-month-old son, and I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting a zoo to rank this high among the best things to do in Tenerife. But Loro Parque is ridiculously well done. Even my son was laughing at the sea lions, so apparently his standards are already excellent.
What surprised me most was the atmosphere. It feels more like a tropical park than a traditional zoo, with lush greenery everywhere and the Thai Village setting the tone as soon as you walk in. The Parrot Show was my favorite—the birds literally flew close enough to touch me—followed by the orcas, sea lions, and dolphins.
You need at least five to six hours if you want to see the main exhibits and shows, and this is where planning matters. Check the show schedule when you arrive and work your route around it instead of wandering aimlessly. With a baby, it was surprisingly manageable, although strollers aren’t allowed inside the shows.
The obvious downside is the cost. For a family, Loro Parque is not a cheap day out. But unlike plenty of expensive family attractions, I actually felt this one delivered.
I’ve ranked every show and exhibit in my detailed Loro Parque review.
Black volcanic coastline near the natural pools of El Caletón and the city of Garachico itself, Tenerife.
Garachico is tiny. I walked pretty much the entire old town in about an hour, but what makes it worth stopping for is the setting. You’ve got the Atlantic and volcanic coastline on one side and steep green mountains immediately behind you. It’s one of the prettiest towns I visited in Tenerife.
I came partly to see El Caletón, the natural pools formed in the volcanic rock right on the coast, but I ended up liking the combination of the pools and old town more than either attraction on its own.
That’s also why Garachico makes my list of the best things to do in Tenerife: the payoff is excellent for such a short stop. The only downside is that it’s really small. Hang around too long, and you’ll start seeing the same streets twice.
A happy tourist and the Matterhorn of Tenerife - Roque de Taborno.
Usually when I hike, there’s at least some boring sections I have to suffer through before getting to the good part. Roque de Taborno was different—the views started almost immediately and basically didn’t stop. That’s why this short hike makes it so high on my list of Tenerife activities.
I started in the tiny village of Taborno, around 600 m (1,969 ft) above sea level, and from there it was green mountains, cliffs, and the Atlantic pretty much all the way. The hike is only about 3.8 km (2.4 mi) and took me roughly 1.5 hours with photo stops, so the scenery-to-effort ratio is excellent. Places like Mirador de la Fajana kept the views coming, and when the clouds rolled over the mountains, the whole thing started looking somewhere between Hawaii and the Scottish Highlands.
It’s not technically difficult, but don’t get too cocky. Parts of the trail are exposed and can get slippery in bad weather—you are walking above some serious drops.
The other annoyance is parking. There’s basically none in Taborno, so arrive early. I wouldn’t want to start the hike doing laps of the village looking for a space.
Two beauties in one picture: Me and the cliffs of Los Gigantes in Tenerife.
At up to around 600 m (1,970 ft) high, the cliffs of Los Gigantes are exactly as enormous as the name suggests. I wanted to see them because they’re one of the most famous Tenerife attractions, and the cliffs themselves absolutely deserve the hype.
The problem is seeing them properly. The best land-based view I found was from Mirador Archipenque, above the town of Los Gigantes. You get the cliffs, ocean, marina, and La Gomera in the distance on a clear day.
But—and this is why Los Gigantes only makes #7—you’re still pretty far away. I wanted that overwhelming, standing-under-a-600-meter-cliff feeling, and from the viewpoint, you’re basically admiring them politely from across the room. They’re impressive, but the distance takes away some of the drama.
If I went again, I’d get out on the water. A boat or kayak would put you much closer to the cliffs and probably give you the scale that the land viewpoints are missing.
A photo of the views even with that mentioned lighthouse.
Getting to Punta de Teno was annoying enough that, halfway there, I genuinely thought, I don’t need this in my life. Private cars are restricted on the road during the day, so I took the bus from Buenavista del Norte. It was sweaty and busy, and TF-445 is a narrow cliffside road that isn't exactly relaxing. But the result was worth it.
Punta de Teno is the rocky western tip of Tenerife, and it really does feel like the edge of the world. Volcanic cliffs drop into the Atlantic; wild coves break up the coastline, and the Faro de Punta de Teno lighthouse sits out there with basically nothing around it. For me, though, the views were better than the lighthouse itself.
That’s why it makes #8 among my favorite places to visit in Tenerife. It takes some effort to reach, but the landscape feels remote once you get there.
I wasn't expecting to spend half a day there, yet it was absolutely worth it!
I expected to spend about 30 minutes at the Pyramids of Güímar. Somehow, I almost ended up needing half a day. For a place with fairly mediocre Google reviews and some rather questionable historical theories, I really liked it.
The first surprise was the size. There are four surviving pyramids, and both they and the site itself were much larger than I expected. But this is barely just a pyramid museum. You also get botanical gardens, a poison garden, indigenous Canarian culture, and an entire exhibition dedicated to Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl and his theories about ancient ocean travel. It has a slight Ancient Aliens feel at times, but I like random facts, so I was entertained.
Definitely watch the 15-minute introductory film—it explains why Heyerdahl is connected to this place and makes the rest of the museum easier to understand. Just don't treat every historical interpretation as established fact. The pyramids are generally dated to the 19th century and associated with agricultural land clearance, while Heyerdahl proposed much more ambitious connections to pyramid-building cultures elsewhere.
My personal highlight was unexpectedly the poison garden. I learned that several plants I keep at home are poisonous. You know who likes eating plants? Six-month-old babies. Off they go.
That combination of randomness is exactly why this ranks among my favorite things to see in Tenerife.
A collage showing the absolute beauty you can see in the Puerto de la Cruz Botanical Garden in Tenerife.
The Puerto de la Cruz Botanical Garden is small, calm, very green, and dominated by some seriously enormous trees. The giant ficus was the highlight for me—it’s the kind of tree that makes the humans standing underneath it look slightly irrelevant.
The garden dates to 1788 and is packed with tropical plants from around the world. Everything grows incredibly well in Tenerife’s lush north, and even the smell is fantastic—tropical and fresh.
This is one of the easiest things to do in Tenerife to fit into an already busy day. An hour is plenty, the entrance fee is very low, and it’s close enough to Loro Parque that you can easily combine the two. Get up early, walk around the garden, and then head over to spend the rest of the day with the parrots.
The scenic views of Playa Benijo in Tenerife - a perfect finisher.
After a full day of hiking and driving around Anaga, Playa Benijo is where I’d finish. You come out of the green mountains and cloud forests, and suddenly you’re looking at black volcanic sand, huge rocks sticking out of the Atlantic, and one of the wildest-looking beaches in Tenerife.
I’m not generally coming to Tenerife to lie on a beach all day, but Benijo is worth seeing for the scenery alone. This is one of my favorite places to visit in Tenerife for coastal views.
There is, of course, a catch. You have to walk down a long staircase, which is fine until you remember that stairs work in both directions. After a day in Anaga, my legs weren't particularly excited about the climb back up.
I’d treat Benijo as the end of an Anaga day rather than a destination you build your whole day around.
Tenerife's Playa del Duque at its finest.
Playa del Duque and Costa Adeje are Tenerife at its easiest: sunny, polished, convenient, and packed with good hotels, restaurants, and everything else you need for a comfortable vacation.
Traveling with my six-month-old son made me appreciate that convenience more than I normally would. Playa del Duque and Costa Adeje were stroller-friendly, and this is where the resort-heavy south suddenly became very useful.
Playa del Duque is clean and attractive, but personally, I prefer the north and the mountains. The south is drier, more developed, and much more obviously built around tourism.
Still, there’s nothing wrong with easy. If your favorite things to do in Tenerife involve sunshine, swimming, and occasionally moving for food, you’ll probably rank Costa Adeje much higher than I do. I’d happily use it as a base—I just wouldn’t spend my entire Tenerife trip here.
Here you can see one of the natural pools in Tenerife, and that's El Caletón.
Natural pools sound like the perfect compromise: all the drama of the Atlantic, but without actually having to fight the Atlantic. Northern Tenerife taught me that this depends very much on the pool.
At Charco de La Laja, waves were crashing into the small volcanic pools hard enough that I decided swimming wasn't necessary after all. I like nature, but I don't need to personally challenge it.
Piscinas Naturales de Bajamar was much more my speed. The seawater pools are larger and more protected, locals were swimming laps, and I actually got in. I also caught a fantastic multicolored sunset there, which certainly helped.
Together, they’re a great way to experience the volcanic coastline and one of the more unusual things to do in Tenerife, but always check the sea conditions. These pools are still connected to the Atlantic, and rough waves can make them dangerous.
Just me and the beautiful views at the top of the Mirador (500?) Escalones stairs.
Mirador 500 Escalones is weirdly hidden in a normal residential area, and then suddenly you’re walking down a huge staircase with views of Teide, the coast, and a black-sand beach. The houses here have some seriously unfair views. Despite the name, I’m pretty sure there aren’t 500 stairs. I counted closer to 200.
The funny thing is that some of the best views are right near the beginning, so you don’t even need to walk down and back up the whole thing.
That’s really why it made my list: you get the black-sand coast and Teide in the same view without committing to another hike. If you’re already driving through this part of Tenerife, it’s an easy 20–30-minute stop.
Drago Milenario, the famous Tenerife Dragon Tree
Icod de los Vinos is a lovely traditional town to walk around, but let’s be honest: most people come here for the Drago Milenario, Tenerife’s famous dragon tree. The old center is compact and easy to explore on foot, with traditional Canarian buildings and small squares, so the town and tree work much better as one stop than either would on its own.
Dragon trees are genuinely unusual, especially because their red resin is known as “dragon’s blood.” Visually, though? I was expecting something slightly more spectacular. To me, it looked a bit like a very large cactus. Sorry, tree.
The Drago Milenario is believed to be several hundred years old—despite the thousand-year-old nickname—and it’s one of Tenerife’s most famous natural symbols. I’d combine it with a walk around Icod rather than making the tree your entire reason for coming.
I liked Icod, but 14 experiences on Tenerife impressed me more.
Beautiful views of this ancient-looking laurel forest in Anaga Rural Park in Tenerife.
What Tenerife does exceptionally well is variety. Few places let you go from barren volcanic landscapes to cloud forests, mountain roads, black-sand beaches, and polished resorts in such short distances.
It definitely exceeded my expectations. I expected good weather and nice nature; I didn’t expect some of the scenery to compete with places I’ve traveled much farther to see. Teide was my overall highlight, but Anaga created some of my strongest memories.
And that’s my main advice when choosing the best things to do in Tenerife: don’t get stuck in the south. Costa Adeje makes vacations very easy, and sometimes easy is exactly what you want. But rent a car and explore beyond the resorts. The Tenerife that surprised me most was everywhere else.
Here you can see the reality of waiting for the cable car in Teide National Park in Tenerife.
My son really enjoyed the Loro Parque in Tenerife.
I traveled around Tenerife with my six-month-old son, and Loro Parque was easily our best family day.
The Puerto de la Cruz Botanical Garden is another easy one. It’s calm and combines well with Loro Parque. For beaches, Costa Adeje and Playa del Duque are convenient, stroller-friendly, and this is where the resort-heavy south suddenly becomes very useful.
The mountains require more thought. Many Anaga trails aren't suitable for strollers, and I wouldn't take a baby onto exposed trails. Teide has altitude and age restrictions to consider, too.
Tenerife works surprisingly well with kids. You just need to accept that the baby isn't coming on every hike.
A photo showing one of the scenic drives, this taking me to Teide National Park in Tenerife.
If sitting beside a pool for a week sounds terrible, you picked the right island.
Start with Teide. Hike the volcanic trails, head higher by cable car, and remember that above 3,000 m (9,843 ft), your lungs may have opinions. Some trails require reservations, so plan ahead.
Then give Anaga proper time. For shorter hikes, Roque de Taborno gives you ridiculous mountain and ocean views in about 1.5 hours, while Masca and Teno combine hiking with some of Tenerife’s best mountain driving.
You don’t need to spend eight hours hiking every day, either. Some of my favorite Tenerife experiences combined a short walk, a scenic drive, and a lot of stopping to stare at volcanoes.
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At a glance: My top things to do in Tenerife
1. Drive through Teide National Park
2. Hike through Anaga Rural Park
3. Drive the Teno Mountains to Masca
5. Explore Garachico and El Caletón
7. See the cliffs of Los Gigantes
9. Visit the Pyramids of Güímar
10. Explore Puerto de la Cruz Botanical Garden
12. Relax at Playa del Duque and Costa Adeje
13. Swim in northern Tenerife’s natural pools
14. Do the Mirador 500 Escalones stairs
15. See Icod de los Vinos and the Dragon Tree
Final thoughts: the best things to do in Tenerife
Hi, I’m Jan. I travel fast and intensely, whether I’m exploring the buzz of Tokyo in 3 days or road-tripping through mountains and beaches on a 3-week Thailand adventure. And no matter where I am, you’ll always find me in a comfortable hotel at night and eating the best food.
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I started this blog after realizing how tough it can be to find reliable, authentic travel info. You wouldn’t believe how many “travel bloggers” never even visit the places they write about! On Next Level of Travel, you can count on my full honesty and insights drawn from my firsthand experiences.
Here’s the deal: not every destination is all superlatives and unicorns. I’ll let you know if a tourist attraction isn’t worth your time, like skipping overrated stops in my 2-week Spain itinerary. And when I find something truly special—like the perfect mix of culture and nature in Cape Town—you can trust that it’s worth adding to your itinerary.
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