During my second year as an English teacher in Madrid, I visited Santa Cruz de Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands. My bestie Hanna was there for work, and she had a day off at the end of her stay. Since it was her first time traveling to Europe for work, and I’d never been to the Canary Islands, I impulsively booked a flight to Tenerife to see her for a day. I really didn’t know what to expect even though I had been to Mallorca the year before, in Spain’s other group of islands.

It turns out that Tenerife was totally different from Mallorca! So, here’s what it was like to visit Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the Canary Islands.

Geography of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Okay, so I’ll admit that I had no idea about the Canary Islands until I got here last year. And then when I heard about them, I just assumed they were floating around off the coast somewhere. Well… they are off the coast… of Morocco and Western Sahara, Africa! Seriously, these islands are far away. It took 3 hours by plane to get there.

The first thing I noticed about Tenerife was how warm it was! When I stepped off the plane, I immediately felt overdressed in my sweater and leggings. It had been chilly and rainy in Madrid when I left. The second thing I noticed was the physical landscape. Tenerife is a volcanic island, also featuring the highest mountain in Spain/active volcano Mt. Teide. Hanna told me that the island reminded her a lot of Hawaii — I’ve never been, so I’ll have to take her word for it!

We had only a short time, but we did prioritize hitting one of the beaches. Playa de las Teresitas was one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. Clean, soft sand, warm water, not too many people, and striking views.

Transportation

Okay, so how did I get myself around the island? Well, from the TFN North airport, it’s super easy. There’s a bus, Bus 20, which goes into the city about every 20 minutes for €2.65. It drops you off in about 20 minutes at the main bus terminal. From there, I walked 30 minutes to my Airbnb, which was slightly north of the city center.

I was able to walk almost everywhere in Santa Cruz. When we went to the beach, we took a taxi from Plaza de España, which was really close to the Airbnb and also had a taxi stand. But you can find taxis all around town. The taxi cost about €11 to go to the beach, which wasn’t bad at all. When we left to go back to the city, we didn’t see any taxis so we took the public bus. It took about twice as long as a taxi would have, but it was really cheap! I believe it left from the beach about every 10-15 minutes.

Culture

Even though Tenerife and the Canary Islands are geographically part of the African plate, they are culturally European/Spanish. I was a bit surprised by the lack of tourists I found there. If you remember my post about Mallorca, I mentioned that it barely felt like Spain due to the high volume of British and German tourists and the subsequent services and advertising offered in English and German.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, by contrast, still felt very much Spanish. I barely heard any English spoken throughout the weekend, and the little bit that I did hear in restaurants was met with confusion by the attending waiters. I was a bit surprised by the lack of tourism — even though I realize it was mid-October and not exactly peak travel season. And I’ve heard that most tourists head to the “south side” of the island, to the resorts rather than the island’s capital of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Many of the Spanish people I know in Madrid have told me they’ve never been to the Islas Canarias. So I did feel that most of the people in Santa Cruz were locals.

I’ve also since learned that the Canary Islands have a lot of indigenous history, as well as significant populations from Venezuela, Cuba, and Colombia. (Did you know that Santa Cruz de Tenerife has the second-largest Carnaval in the world, after the Rio de Janeiro Carnaval in Brazil?

Food in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Since Tenerife was very Spanish, in my opinion, there wasn’t a big difference in the food I found there compared to what I’m used to. But there were a few notable exceptions! Hanna and I tried a restaurant with really good reviews called d’Tapas 26. (Even though we didn’t have a reservation, we went early at 7 p.m., right when they opened, and got seated with no problem. Remember, Spaniards eat dinner at 9-10 p.m.) Our waiter recommended a few Canary Island specials.

First was papas arrugadas — wrinkled potatoes. These tiny potatoes were salted with a thin salty crust on the outside. They were served with “mojo,” which is a sauce that usually comes in two varieties — red and green (picón and verde). They were kind of like salsas. We ordered the wrinkled potatoes as tapas to share, and they were really simple, but really tasty.

We also got a bottle of wine, so we opted for a local brand from Tenerife called Viñátigo. I don’t consider myself a wine snob at all (when a typical glass of wine in Spain is €2.50, you don’t discriminate. I will drink anything.) But this glass of Viñátigo red hit different. I also don’t know the right vocabulary to talk about wine, but it had some sort of kick or seemed spicy. I know I’m a basic white girl so take that for what it’s worth.

A few more things to add:

• Since we were on an island, I was expecting prices to be a bit more expensive than the mainland. That wasn’t the case! Even the “big” dinner I ate with Hanna was only about €30 per person. Everything else seemed on par with what I experience elsewhere in Spain.
• I love markets, and the best one in Santa Cruz is Mercado Nuestra Señora de Africa. It’s only a short walk from the city center, with multiple levels of food vendors and handmade jewelry and other goods.
• You know the song, La Cucaracha? Cucaracha means “cockroach” in Spanish… and I met more cockroaches than I would have liked in Tenerife. While I was waiting for my Airbnb host to arrive, I saw about 4 on the street. Hanna almost stepped on one the next day. I googled it, and apparently Tenerife is home to many cockroaches due to its tropical climate. I would have been happier not knowing this.

It was a short trip, but I’d definitely be interested in going back or checking out one of the other Canary Islands!

Plan Your Canary Islands Trip

Best Hotels in Tenerife, Canary Islands: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Hotels

Top Things To Do in Tenerife: Kayaking with Dolphins and Turtles and Snorkelling // Respectful No-Chase Whale & Dolphin Tour // Sunset & Stargazing Experience From Teide // Tandem Paragliding Flight in South Tenerife //

 

Have you ever visited any islands in Spain, or Tenerife? Leave me a comment below!

-Cathy

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