Fashion and design journalist and first-time visitor Scarlett Conlon is entranced by the Canary Island’s diverse and lesser-known charms
Tenerife, the island of eternal spring and endless wonder
Unlike a lot of people I know, I had never been to Tenerife, but, like a lot of people I know, I’ve had a rather intimate courtship with it over the past four decades.
My first encounter with the Spanish island was via a postcard on the family fridge sent from relatives escaping bitter Irish winters to enjoy sun-drenched, al fresco mid-February lunches. In my twenties, postcards turned into social media posts from friends boasting of the beauty of its volcanic black-sand beaches and its steamy summer nightlife. Later, in my thirties, group chats always seemed to feature a friend talking about Tenerife’s fantastic, family-friendly holidays.
I’ve long been intrigued by the cross-generational appeal of this perma-warm island, but it was only recently that it started to register differently. Through the fashion and design industries I work in, word of its historical botanic culture, thriving gastronomic scene, luxe hotels and outstanding expanses of natural beauty turned from whispers to hard recommendations.
So, on a Monday afternoon in spring, I found myself landing in Tenerife South Airport to begin a three-day adventure to discover what the island has to reveal. I met my guide for the duration of my stay, Ancor Robaina, and we hit the road in hot pursuit of discovery.
We start early in Puerto de la Cruz where surfers are bobbing around on their boards against a misty backdrop of rugged cliffs jutting out into the ocean. I inhale the fresh sea air. It’s a breathtaking way to start the day.
“Tenerife is a paradise for everything to do with outdoor sports,” says Robaina, explaining how the water stays at a temperate 20C year-round.
I’m told this fishing town is where the first tourists to Tenerife arrived in the 1890s, seeking sanctuary in its temperate micro-climate and clean Atlantic air for ailments including arthritis and respiratory issues. It was also here that the local government created natural seawater pools in the 1960s to ensure year-round safe bathing.
Landscaped by César Manrique – the Lanzarote-born artist, sculptor and nature activist who pushed the archipelago to be a leader in environmentalism – it became something of a micro-oasis. Manrique’s abstract wind sculptures dotted along this stretch remind me of the wind turbines I sped past after landing on the island. An indirect Manrique legacy, says Robaina, that now accounts for 20 per cent of the island’s energy needs.
Heritage towns and traditional dishes
in the glorious north
Scarlett’s road-trip took her from the shores of Puerto de la Cruz to the peaks of Mount Teide
The fishing town of Puerto de la Cruz was landscaped by Lanzarote-born artist and nature activist César Manrique
We head north to La Orotava, whose old town was declared a National Historic-Artistic Site in 1976. Robaina suggests we stop by Slow Coffee to resolve my caffeine cravings. It’s a new concept-style café that uses washed methods of roasting, and works with more than 21 independent roasters from around Europe.
Thanks to an iced latte putting a bounce into my step, we climb to the top of the Gardens of Marquesado de la Quinta Roja. Commissioned in 1880 by the Marchioness of la Quinta Roja to house a mausoleum for her son, it’s quite the spectacle. Botanical gardens like this seem to be on every corner in this pretty hilltop enclave. Open gates beckon us in to find a quiet tropical spot for contemplation.
La Orotava
Puerto de la Cruz
As we make our way towards the historic port of Garachico for lunch, banana plantations line the roads and seem to roll on as far as the eye can see. Robaina tells me Tenerife is Europe’s largest producer of bananas. Like many other fruits and vegetables grown here, they were introduced by explorers in the late 15th century. Potatoes from Peru, Papayas from Cuba, and avocados from the West Indies all thrive in the volcanic island’s rich fertile soil.
We dine at El Rebojo Restaurante on a tasting menu of local wahoo fish (famed for its size), goats cheese starters (it’s the most popular cheese on the island) and gofio – an emulsion of flour made from toasted cereal and a mainstay of the island’s cuisine.
Head chef Eugenio Lopez tells me how the restaurant combines age-old traditions with innovative culinary techniques. “What started as a risk in innovation,” he says, “is now an approach that others are imitating in this town and all over the island.”
After lunch I stroll around the main square, Plaza de la Libertad, soaking up the glorious mid-afternoon sunshine and admiring its handsome heritage buildings before we head west along the coast, stopping at the Mirador de Buenavista viewpoint to marvel at a coastline of crashing waves and dramatic black rock beaches lined with the sweetly perfumed native tamarisk and balsam spurge plants.
Lush greenery seems to sit on every corner of La Orotava
Day 1
Day 2
Ancor Robaina, local guide
Having been treated to a contemporary take on Tenerife cuisine at lunch, I’m keen to sample more traditional fare, and Robaina knows just the place. Régulo in Puerto de la Cruz has been serving traditional dishes from the dining rooms of an 18th-century Canarian mansion since Jesús Manuel Pagés Turumbull first opened its doors in 1985. Forty years later, it is still thriving in the hands of his daughter Marta, who serves us smoked cheese with homemade green and red mojo sauces, calamari with aioli, and hake served with the famous papas arrugadas, potatoes encrusted in a thin layer of salt and cooked until wrinkled on the fire. It’s all delicious.
“The menu is very similar to what it was when we started,” she tells me on an impromptu tour after dinner. “Everything is original here, from the décor to the food. My father wanted to make people happy and that’s what we continue to do – seeing this makes us very proud and happy, too.”
Head chef of El Rebojo Restaurante Eugenio Lopez blends Tenerife tradition with contemporary culinary techniques
Ancient forests, volcanoes and constellations
Garachico
‘This island is like a sponge.
It's so porous that the water
from the rain and the
My second day brings a true immersion into nature as I discover Tenerife’s spectacularly diverse terrain, veering from sub-tropical rainforests to towering volcanoes. The island is home to one of Spain’s 16 national parks and many more of its exceptional wooded areas.
First we visit Parque Rural de Anaga in the north-east for a short hike through the light-dappled trails of the Anaga laurel forests, heading up to Pico del Inglés overlooking Santa Cruz. I marvel at the verdant mountains dotted with farms and little hamlets of white-washed houses. “This island is like a sponge,” says Robaina. “It's so porous that the water from the rain and the mist ends up underground keeping everything green.”
On our descent, I’m introduced to a Tenerife speciality known as barraquito. Essentially a shot of coffee with sweet condensed milk, cinnamon, lemon rind and a smidge of 43 Liquor (named on account of its 43 botanical ingredients), it is dangerously moreish for a pre-lunchtime treat.
As we make our way down the mountain, I encounter two more of the islands’ specialities: cochineals, an insect whose natural crimson dye – carmine – is extracted for use in everything from ketchup to textiles; and Canary Island sorrel. On Robaina’s encouragement, I chew on the stem of the latter to release its juice. To my surprise it tastes exactly like kiwi fruit. “The whole island is one big botanical garden,” he says.
Parque Rural de Anaga
Day 3
Giant cliffs and curious cetaceans
My final day in Tenerife is spent exploring the island’s waters. Making our way to the south of the island, we park up in Puerto Deportivo Los Gigantes to meet Hacomar Navarro of Teno Activo who is taking me kayaking around the rocky coves of the Los Gigantes coastline.
“There aren’t many places where you can kayak in the shadow of one of the highest cliffs in Europe,” says Navarro. “It puts into context how powerful nature is on a volcanic island like this one.”
Tenerife beyond the beach
With multiple airlines flying direct to Tenerife from the UK every day, it’s time to find out more.
Plan your travel and book your trip to Tenerife today.
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Commissioning editor: Rachel Truman | Writer: Scarlett Conlon | Photography: Felix Brüggemann, additional photography: Getty | Web producer: James Nash | Design: Jonathan Clayton-Jones | Project manager: Alex Rose Video and photography producer: Shin Miura | Sub editor: Tim Cumming, Neil Queen-Jones
Hotel Botanico and the Oriental Spa Garden
Nestled amongst the palm trees of Puerto de la Cruz, the Hotel Botanico & The Oriental Spa Garden is overflowing with old-school luxury charm, has four excellent restaurants to choose from, an award-winning spa and is surrounded by exquisite botanical gardens. It’s the perfect spot to discover the buzzy local towns and the verdant northern part of the island.
Tivoli La Caleta Tenerife Resort
A contemporary retreat of calm on the Adeje coastline in the south, the Tivoli La Caleta Tenerife Resort is a world of its own complete with three swimming pools, a beach club and seven eateries designed by celebrity chef Olivier da Costa.
We stop for lunch in San Cristóbal de La Laguna. The city was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1999 on account of its colonial architecture. Its gridlike layout was rolled out as a model during the development of several South American cities including Lima and Havana. “Many of these cities are carbon copies of La Laguna,” says Robaina.
We eat at El Guaydil Restaurant, dining on a refreshing ceviche with island-grown avocado and papaya, before heading into the Teide National Park, home to mesmerising Mount Teide.
We drive up through miles of forest ravaged by the 2023 wildfires. Here, the landscape takes on a stoic beauty, the thousands of burnt trunks resembling sculptures through what appears to be fog but is actually clouds. “They’ll be back, they’re alive from the roots up,” Robaina assures me.
‘What started as a risk in innovation
is now an approach that others are imitating
in this town and all over the island’
Eugenio Lopez, head chef at El Rebojo Restaurante
I take a short hike on the Montaña Majúa before moving onto Mirador de La Ruleta where we climb to the top to see the mighty Teide volcano rise into view. This spot is gently landscaped with paths and handrails for people like me to enjoy the same experience as professional climbers.
With sunset approaching, Robaina takes me to another viewpoint, Chipeque, to watch the sun disappear beneath the clouds. The spectacle gets a gentle round of applause from the small group of hikers that has gathered to watch.
As night falls I head to my final destination of the day: stargazing with local astrophysicist Adrian Hernández García. By 10pm, the temperatures have dropped to 2C and, wrapped in blankets, he guides us through the night sky with his state-of-the-art telescope and neon lasers.
He tells us Tenerife is one of the three best places in the world to look at the night skies, due to three important factors: the altitude, the climate and the lack of light pollution. Other dark-sky destinations include the Hawaiian islands and northern Chile. “But at the moment, Hawaii and Chile are in daylight and we’re in the dark, so right now,” he says, “this is the very best place.” As if to prove his point, I see three shooting stars in the 45 minutes we spend together.
mist ends up underground
keeping everything green’
All of a sudden we emerge above the clouds as though somehow our car has hit flight mode. The sky is bright blue above us and there’s a cotton-wool blanket of cloud beneath. We stop at the Mirador La Tarta observation point so I can take in the view. It’s just us and a lone cyclist. The shared beauty we’re encountering is a natural conversation starter.
Eelke Bakker, a primary-school teacher from the Netherlands, is on the last leg of a two-week cycling holiday around the island. “It's just amazing here,” he enthuses. “The roads are fantastic to cycle on, and you have everything from mystical forests and green, gorgeous canyons to these views up on the volcano.”
From here, we have a perfect view of the Teide Observatory, set majestically at 2,390m above sea level and home to some of Europe's best solar telescopes. As we drive towards it, the landscape shapeshifts once again. The rocks turn red and huge canyons stretch out for miles ahead of us.
“It feels Martian,” I say.
“Yes, this is where Nasa tested the robots it sent to Mars,” smiles Robaina.
Teide National Park
It doesn’t get much better than Tenerife for watching sunsets or stargazing
After a morning among the island’s lush greenery, Scarlett takes in the colonial architecture of San Cristóbal de La Laguna
El Guaydil Restaurant offers ceviche that uses local ingredients such as avocado and papaya
From the observatory to above-cloud vistas, Teide National Park is majestic and unearthly
CarouselRight
Where to stay
My next port of call is Alcalá, a sweet and serene fishing village on the south-west coast. It’s 22C at 11am, and people are lapping up the sun on loungers along the dock. Overlooking this picturesque scene is Muelle Viejo, a light and breezy restaurant where lunch awaits us.
“This is Atlantic cuisine and the menu is based on local produce,” manager Jose tells me. “Since we’re a sub-tropical island, we have tropical fruits all year round. It’s not like on the continent where you have a specific season when certain fruits and vegetables are around. We are the island of eternal spring.”
Much like everywhere I’ve eaten here, the dishes are fresh and flavourful. Plates of tuna tartar with mango sauce, fish croquetas with algae aioli, a local white fish served with fennel, onions and papas arrugadas with local olive oil and a zippy white tajinaste wine, one of 60 grape varieties the island has to offer.
After trying the local favourite quesillo – a crème caramel-style dessert – I’m back on the Atlantic once more in search of whales. I’m heading out with White Tenerife’s Yani Gonzales and captain Slava to a spot two miles from the coastline. When we arrive the engine is switched off so that we become “an unobtrusive floating object” for the short-finned pilot whales we hope to meet.
Before long, Gonzales points to a pod of around 10 whales approaching the boat. Within seconds they swim around us in formation and come so close that we all stare in awed silence.
“I love my job everyday as we can be the witness of their lives,” says Gonzales, guiding me around the stern with a sixth sense as to where the pod will pop up next. “I’ve started to recognise the same families in the water,” she enthuses. “They are in La Gomera at sunrise, and they come here to Tenerife for sunset.”
As I watch the family make their surface salutes, I’m amazed – and not for the first time – as to how so much natural wonder can not just exist, but thrive, on one island.
If only those childhood postcards had said all that, it would have taken me a lot less time to make it to Tenerife. Although not as short as the time it will take me to come back.
‘We have tropical
fruits all year round...
we are the island of
eternal spring’
Jose Manager at Muelle Viejo
Where to stay
Los Gigantes
Los Gigantes
Puerto Colon
ANAGA RURAL
PARK
SANTA CRUZ
SAN CRISTÔBAL
DE LA LAGUNA
PUERTO
DE LA CRUZ
GARACHIO
LOS SILOS
TENO RURAL PARK
THE CLIFFS OF LOS GIGANTES
ALCALÅ
PUERTO COLÔN
LA CALET COSTA ADEJE
TEIDE NATIONAL PARK
LA OROTAVA
GUÍA
DE ISORA
Head chef of El Rebojo Restaurante Eugenio Lopez blends Tenerife tradition with contemporary culinary techniques
Jesús Manuel Pagés Turumbull first opened Régulo in 1985, which is now in the safe hands of his daughter, Marta (above)
The Los Gigantes coastline is home to incredible natural beauty
The sun-soaked fishing village of Alcalá is home to delicious Atlantic cuisine, including tropical fruits and local catches
Take a whale-watching tour from the marina of Puerto Colon
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Plan and book your trip
Plan and book your trip
SAN CRISTÔBAL
DE LA LAGUNA
‘What started as a risk in innovation
is now an approach that others are imitating
in this town and all over the island’
Eugenio Lopez, head chef at El Rebojo Restaurante
‘What started as a risk in innovation
is now an approach that others are imitating
that others are imitating
and all over the island’
Day 1
‘This island is like a sponge.
It's so porous that the water
from the rain and the
mist ends up underground
keeping everything green’
Ancor Robaina, local guide
‘What started as a
risk in innovation
is now an approach
that others are
imitating in this town
and all over the
island’
Plan and book your trip
Day 2
Ancor Robaina, local guide
‘This island is like a
sponge. It's so
porous that the water
from the rain and the
mist ends up
underground keeping
everything green’
Hotel Botanico and the Oriental Spa Garden
Nestled amongst the palm trees of Puerto de la Cruz, the Hotel Botanico & The Oriental Spa Garden is overflowing with old-school luxury charm, has four excellent restaurants to choose from, an award-winning spa and is surrounded by exquisite botanical gardens. It’s the perfect spot to discover the buzzy local towns and the verdant northern part of the island.
Tivoli La Caleta Tenerife Resort
A contemporary retreat of calm on the Adeje coastline in the south, the Tivoli La Caleta Tenerife Resort is a world of its own complete with three swimming pools, a beach club and seven eateries designed by celebrity chef Olivier da Costa.
Hotel Botanico and the Oriental Spa Garden
Nestled amongst the palm trees of Puerto de la Cruz, the Hotel Botanico & The Oriental Spa Garden is overflowing with old-school luxury charm, has four excellent restaurants to choose from, an award-winning spa and is surrounded by exquisite botanical gardens. It’s the perfect spot to discover the buzzy local towns and the verdant northern part of the island.