Data available of:

Tenerife (2016)

Lanzarote (2017)

Tips

Vulcanic rock: Be aware taking pieces of vulcanic rock is forbidden.  At los Hervideros you can buy some pieces of vulcanic stone (€ 2,- per piece). Do not buy them. It is forbidden and at the airport when your bags are checked they will be confiscated.

Multi visit tickets: When you are interested in visiting several sights it might be worth buying a package of tickets. You do however have to decide (when you purchase) for which sights you want your tickets. Multi visit tickets can be bought at the counters of most sights.  

General information

Currency: Euro

Internet: Free Wi-Fi available in almost every bar, restaurant or hotel

ATM's: available everywhere

Creditcards: accepted in most places (gas stations, hotels, restaurants and shops)

Safety: No issues; it is a safe island.  

Route 2016

Days: 7 days

Period:  Second week of January

Weather:  The weather was great. We had no rain, little clouds and the temperature was around 25 degrees which was above the avarage for this time of the year. Due to the vulcano in the center the weaather in the north can be cooler and wetter. The south coast (Playa de las Americas and surroundings) have the best weather in general. That said during the week we were there the weather in the north was as good as in the south.  

Roads

General: All roads we drove were tarmac and in good condition.

Highlights or not

El Teide:  The vulcano as well as the drive up there is a must see. The arid landscape is wonderful. From the foot of the vulcano you can catch a ride with the cable car. Going up is nice though quite expensive (€ 27,- per person) and be aware that in holiday season (which is most of the year) there is a long queue. From the top of the station you can do some short walks to nice viewpoints. There is also the possibility to hike to the real summit but for that you need to obtain a special (free) permit. As the permits are limited and demand is high you must book well in advance. Permits are issued by the Administration Office of the National Park. it can be downlaoded at: www.reservasparquesnacionales.es

Masca: Small mountain village located between the hills. Although the village itself was nice we thought is was not very special. Wonderful however was driving the road to get there. A small road with sharp hairpins and amazing views! From the village you can hike down the gorge to the sea from where a boat brings you back to Los Gigantes. We did not walk the trail but according to what we heard it should be really nice.

Small villages: There are many small villages on the island to discover (although some less touristic than others all are visited by tourists). Do not expect remote villages where you will be the only visitor. Having said that we like Buena Vista de Norte and Garachio. Also nice was El Medano (not so much for the village itself but the place attracts lots of kite-surfers that gives is a more laidback atmosphere.

Ferias and Fiestas: All year arond fiestas and ferias are held across the island. It is worthwhile to chedk the calendar and see if there is one during your stay. We visited Romeria Arona and though crowded it was a great experience to witness an event like this. It was very traditional with lots of locals in traditional clothing, a procession and music and dance.

Whale watching: The waters between Tenerife and El Gomera offer good living conditions for pilot whales and dolphins. These waters are visited by migratory whales but some pods are living here permanently. From Adeje you can book a boattrip that will allow you to see them in their natural habitat. Note these are wild animals and you have about 80% guarantee you will actually see them. We did a trip and it was amazing. The whales came very close to the boat and due to the cristal clear waters we could see them very well. Price of a trip is around € 20,- to € 25,- for 2 hours.

Route 2017

Days: 11 days

Period:  Second week of February

Weather:  The weather conditions varied a lot throughout the week. We had days with storm and rain, dry but clouded days (on these days it was quite chilly about 18 degrees), but also also warm sunny days with clear blue skies. (on these days (5 days in total) the temperature rose to max 27 degrees which was already quite hot. The evenings and nights were chilly. The owner of the appartment we rented brought us a heater and that was no luxury. When you visit this time of the year you best bring summer clothes but a jacket and warm sweater too.

General information

Currency: Euro

Internet: Free Wi-Fi available in almost every bar, restaurant or hotel

ATM's: available everywhere

Creditcards: accepted in most places (gas stations, hotels, restaurants and shops)

Safety: No issues; it is a safe island.  

Prices (per January 2016)

Fuel: Fuel was cheap compared to mainland Europe. Petrol was about € 1,09 per liter.    

Car Rental: There are a lot of companies where you can rent a car. Also hotels offer car rentals. On the spot however it is normally more expensive then when you book in advance through internet. We used www.easyterra.com and paid around € 130,- all in for 11 days (this is including the standard 3rd party insurance, Collision Damage Waiver and Theft Protection. So no costs at all in case of any accident. Note that despite the full coverage they will probably still try to sell you extra insurance when you pick up the car. Just say "no".

Prices: In general similar to mainlain Europe or sometimes slightly cheaper

Prices (per January 2016)

Fuel: Fuel was cheap compared to mainland Europe. Petrol was about € 1,- per liter.    

Car Rental: There are a lot of companies where you can rent a car. Also hotels offer car rentals. On the spot however it is normally more expensive then when you book in advance through internet. We used www.rentalcars.com and paid around € 65,- all in for 7 days (this is including the standard 3rd party insurance but without the expensive extra insurance they try to sell you when you pick up the car).

Prices: In general similar to mainlain Europe or sometimes slightly cheaper

Roads

General: All major roads were tarmac and in good condition.

Playa Papagayo: Bumpy gravel track. Non-citizens must pay a fee to get access (€ 3,-)

Highlights or not

Montanas del Fuego, Timanfaya NP:  Arid vulcanic landscape is amazing. The National Park is definitely worth a visit. Park is visited by crowds of tourist each year and during the peak hours there is a long queue. Busses and taxi's seems to go first. So when going there with a rental car best to visit before 9:30 or after 14:00. Unfortunately, within the park it is forbidden to drive around yourself. The only way to see the area is with a coach (price in included in the entry fee of € 9,- per person).  

Jameos de Aqua: Creation of the Lazarote's famous architect César Manrique known for fusing art with nature. Place is built around a lava cave that is home to a colony of blind albino crabs (only found on Lanzarote). Entry fee is € 9,- per person. The place was nice but not really our kind of thing. Most of all we were interested in seeing the special white crabs but unfortunately we did not see any of them.  

Jardin de Cactus: Nicely designed garden with hundreds of cactus species. Some plants are enormous. Although the garden is not very large seeing some of these enormous cactuses was impressive. Entry fee is

€ 5,50 per person

Mirador del Rio: Viewpoint at the northern tip of the Island (also designed by Manrique). Entry fee is € 4,50 per person. From the viewpoint you have a nice view down to the small neighbouring island La Graciosa. As we were not interested in seeing more of Manrique's designs we did not visit the viewpoint but instead took the small road (LZ202) following the seaside (the junction is right in front of the Mirador del Rio). Views are as spectacular and free of charge. Following this road you will at some point see a small parking area (an old paved road about 100 metres before Finca Corona). From there it is a short walk to a nice viewpoint terrace as well as the start for a strenous hike down the cliffs to the beach way below (not for the faint hearted).

Small villages: There are many small villages on the island to discover (although some less touristic than others all are visited by tourists). Do not expect remote villages where you will be the only visitor. Having said that for us the best villages were: Tequise (former Capital and has a really authentic feel. Village is also known for it's market on Sunday), Haría (nice village located in a valley with more than 1000 palm trees), La Caleta de Famara (surfers paradise, we liked the small sand covered streets of the small fishing village and the nice views), El Golfo (small cosy village with some nice restaurants. Here we ate the best fish).

Ferias and Fiestas: All year arond fiestas and ferias are held across the island. It is worthwhile to chedk the calendar and see if there is one during your stay.

Beaches: The best of the best should be Playa Papagayo but this one we did not visit. We did visit many others and the ones we really liked were Caleton Blanco (white sands and shallow water just east of Orzola), Playa Garita (south of Arrieta, there is also a great restaurant with good seafood), Famara Beach (on the west side of the island; from the terrace of the restaurants in town you have a great view on the beach and the surrounding cliffs).

Airplane landing beach: Even if you are not into aviation photography a visit to the beach located just outside the gates of the airport (located at the promenade between Matagorda and Playa Honda) is really worth it. You can see the planes fly in from the sea and watch them landing or get blown away by the engines when they take off. As the runway starts just after the gates the planes are very close to the ground when they fly over. The sights, sounds and smells are impressive. It is amazing how close you can get. Visiting is free of charge.

Lago Verde at El Golfo: Green lake on a beach of black sands and surrounded by high cliffs. Located in the village El Golfo. Entry is free of charge.

Beach side promenades: Extremely touristic though but the best are Playa Blanca and Puerto del Carmen.

Arrecife: Good for shopping and it has a pretty inland harbour surrounded by tapas bars and restaurants. Also nice is Castillo de San Gabriel

Shipwreck: Near the port of Arrecife. The ship named Tealamon stranded here on the 3st of October 1981 and lies just outside the harbour since then. Nice icon for anybody who likes photography. To get here follow the seaside road between Arrecife and Costa Tequise (follow the signs saying "Las Caletas")

Salina de Janubio: Salt basins. Near the sign on the road passing the salt basins is a restaurant from where you have a nice view. The restaurant is not cheap but you can also just have a drink.

Los Hervideros: High cliffs and underwater caves. Through the holes in the rocks you can see the rough waves coming in. From here you also have a nice view over the lava fields. Entry is free of charge.