What to see in Tenerife, Canary Islands

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Top three things to see in Tenerife

Wondering what to see in Tenerife whilst you are visiting the Canary Islands? Here are my top three activities, and more.

Our trip to Tenerife

A couple of years ago we went on holiday to the Canary Islands for “free” via a ‘timeshare’ company called CLC world or Club La Costa. We got a week’s “free” holiday when we had our windows done with Zenith (which has since ceased trading).

Somehow it started as 6 weeks we had 3 years to use in 3 different places. Next thing we knew we were given a month to book one weeks free holiday in Tenerife! We thought we would still give it a go as its not somewhere we would normally go. The catch is that you have to attend a (long) meeting where they try and sell you timeshares, otherwise you have to pay for the room. Of course we still had to pay for our own flights etc.

Our Hotel

Our hotel was comprised of two different styles of apartments, ours being one of the cheaper but two bedrooms. There was also a more expensive, luxury apartment which only have one bedroom complete with bath in the bedroom. Both styles have balcony which unfortunately all look over each other as well as small kitchens and dining areas. The food in both the shop and the restaurant is a lot more expensive here because, unless you have a car, you are pretty trapped.

What to see in Tenerife

1. Take a Dolphin Trip

Whilst in Tenerife we took a trip on the large catamaran belonging to Freebird One.

This was the one recommended by our resort and we were picked up in a free shuttle bus. The boat was very popular with a long queue of eager tourists. Once on board you could sit on the benches around the boat, including a second floor, or on deck chairs at the front. There are also nets at the front you can sit on if you don’t mind getting wet.

There was a downstairs bar with complimentary drinks and sandwiches and I think you could buy different drinks. I unfortunately wasn’t very well but the crew were amazing. Everyone with motion sickness got put together upstairs where the motion was a lot less. You could still see the pilot whales (which are actually dolphins) and bottlenose dolphins from up here! So it was definitely worth it for me!

Whether you’re into dolphin watching, sunbathing, jumping off a boat (or just throwing up) I would definitely recommend this company as well as the experience. They also had, on our trip, a person videoing, as well as a photographer. You could buy copies of these at the end to remember your trip!

2. Take a Submarine Safari

Whilst in Tenerife we went on one of the only working leisure submarines in the world. It was a truly remarkable experience.

I suffer from extreme motion sickness however I was not affected at all by any stage of the dive. The only thing that felt a little odd is that you all sit sideways on benches. However this is so you can look straight out of the portholes, which you share with the person next to you.

As you dived down and travelled around the bay in the yellow submarine you saw all sorts of fish and creatures (depending on the day’s conditions etc).

The day we went we saw a couple of different rays which flocked around a scuba diver who was feeding the fish. It’s an interesting way to see animals in the wild without getting wet yourself!

It was a really good experience and I would definitely recommend it, however it was a little expensive. I think for the once in the lifetime experience however it was worth it.

You can find more information on their website here

3. A trip to Aloe Park

On our last day in Tenerife we visited Aloe Park and I would definitely recommend it. We couldn’t book ahead so just turned up on the day and were able to take a guided tour.

We started off our tour with a taster of a traditional banana liquor. The banana taste was delicious-the strong liquor after burn not so much. We then went on a guided tour of the gardens and the aloe plantation full of local flora and fauna.

It was really interesting with all the guide’s knowledge. I’m not sure it would have been as good walking around by ourselves which you can also do.

There were a few animals (not all of the ones listed on the website-no camels or sheep at the time of our visit) but they seemed very well treated.

The tour ends in a shop, as all good tours and rides do. The products we tried, and bought, were lovely particularly the skin treatments.

It was very interesting opportunity to learn all about Canarian history and Aloe Vera production as well. I would say that we were there for around 2 hours and managed to see it all without rushing or feeling like we hadn’t seen enough.

Other things to see in Tenerife

• Drive up to the volcanic regions, used in many films
• Take a cable car up to the top of the volcano
• Visit the many beaches
• See the black cliffs and black sand beaches
• Take a trip to see the northern villages, particularly beautiful during their flower festival
• Visit Playa de las Americas
• Go scuba diving

Tenerife itself is a really nice place. I’m not sure I would go again however although I would of like to have seen the north of the island. The north sounds very different and more my sort of thing (more rural, “real” and less touristy-we only had time to stay in the south area). But it was a really interesting experience and good to spend time with the family! I would recommend it as holiday option and I would visit the Canary Islands again. The Monterey resort was nice enough, nothing wrong with it at any rate, so I would stay there again too or similar.