Choose a topic
The six topics
Teide and volcanoes
What to think about before going up: altitude, cold, radiation, access, parking, what needs no paperwork and what requires a permit. Also why the landscape looks the way it does, which is what turns the visit into more than a photograph.How to visit Teide →
Astronomy
Why the sky is so good here, what changes from season to season, how the Moon affects things, what you need to enjoy it and how cold it genuinely gets at night at altitude.How to go stargazing in Tenerife →
Anaga and walking
How to choose a route that matches your group, the difference between a stroll and a proper trail, why the mist is part of the appeal and which paths require prior authorisation.Anaga and walking →
La Laguna and heritage
What makes a city UNESCO inscribed in 1999 unusual, how to read its street plan, what deserves unhurried time and when to go.What to see in La Laguna →
Food and wine
What a guachinche is and how it differs from a restaurant, which dishes are worth ordering, how the island’s five denominations of origin work and why the wine here tastes different.Tenerife food and wine →
Planning your trip
Real distances, roads, how many days you need, how to split them depending on where you stay, what to pack and the planning mistakes I see most often.How to plan your Tenerife trip →Articles and advice
Practical answers before you travel
Detailed information about permits, access, astronomy and local food to help you make better decisions before arriving.
Climbing Teide: which permit you need, and which you don’t
What you need to stand on the summit of Teide, where the permit is issued, what the cable car ticket covers and which routes need no paperwork at all.
Read the article →
Masca gorge: booking, access and the conditions nobody mentions
How the Masca gorge trail works now: compulsory booking, shuttle from Santiago del Teide, boat exit, equipment checks, and what you can see without descending.
Read the article →
Where and when to go stargazing in Tenerife
How to choose the night and the spot for stargazing in Tenerife: altitude, the cloud layer, the Moon, seasons, the real cold and access. By a Starlight Guide.
Read the article →What is a guachinche, and how is it different from a restaurant?
The origin, the regulated framework, the season, the menu, bookings and payment at Tenerife’s guachinches, and how they differ from a restaurant.
Read the article →What to see in Tenerife in 3 days
Three days in Tenerife, split three different ways depending on whether you are based in the south, the north or the city. No impossible routes.
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The best time to visit Tenerife
Coast, mountain, hiking and stargazing each want a different month. How Tenerife’s microclimates work and what to expect in each season.
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How to get around Tenerife without a car
Buses, tram, taxi, coach excursions and private tours. What each option actually solves, where it reaches and where it does not, and how to combine them.
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Is a private tour in Tenerife worth it?
Who a private tour suits and who it doesn’t, how it compares with a rental car or a coach, and the nine things a professional proposal should confirm in writing.
Read the article →Guided hiking in Anaga
What a guide adds in Anaga, which trails need prior authorisation, which ones do not allow commercial groups at all, and how the route gets chosen.
Read the article →Volcanic hiking at Chinyero
What it is like to walk the Chinyero, what the 1909 eruption left behind, which trails exist, what level they ask for and how to choose with judgement.
Read the article →Guided hiking in Teno
How access to Teno Rural Park stands today, how walking there differs from visiting Masca by road or descending the gorge, and what you can actually walk.
Read the article →Hiking in Teide without going to the summit
Teide National Park offers volcanic walks that are neither the cable car nor the summit cone. What you can walk, what needs a permit and what to bring.
Read the article →Understanding the island
Six topics. Each one covers what most affects a travel decision, written from what I see every week working on the island.
How Tenerife works, in one paragraph
If you take one idea away from this guide, make it this one: Tenerife is not one destination but several, stacked by altitude and orientation.
The island rises from sea level to just over 3,700 metres at Teide, and the trade winds arrive from the north-east carrying moisture. When that moisture meets the mountains it condenses into a layer of cloud that covers the northern slope at mid-altitude. Above that layer the sky clears. Below it, and in the south, it is clear too.
Almost every practical consequence follows from that: the north is green and the south is dry; you can leave the coast in sunshine and hit thick mist forty minutes later; the summit area is cold in August; the sea of clouds — recognised by UNESCO as part of the landscape value of Teide National Park — is a frequent phenomenon rather than a fluke; and the night sky at altitude is as good as it is.
Understanding that saves more disappointment than any list of highlights.
A reading path for every trip
Where to start, depending on your case
A note on details that change
I have deliberately avoided filling these pieces with opening hours, prices and quotas, because they date, and an out-of-date guide is worse than none. Where a rule or a booking genuinely affects a visit, I say so and point you to the relevant official source to check before you travel. It is what I do before every departure.
When you want to stop reading and start going
These pieces are written so you can organise yourself. If you would rather someone else prepared it and came along, that is what I do: private routes around Tenerife, designed around what interests you and personally guided.
See the private tours · Write to me
And if you want to know who is writing all this: About Daniela.
Qualifications, registrations and professional associations
Official Canary Islands Tourist Guide, Starlight Guide and low and medium mountain route guide.
- Official guideGTI-289
- Starlight Guideno. 40
- Low and medium mountainAFDA0611
- Active tourismTA-4-0026356.16
- Tourism intermediaryI-0005095.1
Registered active tourism activity with the current civil liability and assistance or accident insurance required by law.
