Tenerife in January

Holiday Ratings
Recommended days	7
Budget	£
Difficulty	Easy

Why Tenerife

After Christmas was over, Tenerife in January seemed very appealing. The island was quiet and warm but without the holiday crowds. This was our first visit to the island and we wanted to do some sightseeing and travel photography as well as having a chilled break together.

As a holiday destination, Tenerife is well geared for tourists with lots of hire car, accommodation and sightseeing options as well as a mostly good road network. Prices are good and English is pretty universal.

The holiday

Deb wanted some winter sun and her every wish is my command, so off we went to the Canaries. Things didn’t start well – the flight was diverted for3 hours due to a passenger feeling ill and then we had to wait 2 hours for our apartment to be ready. A certain individual, who had promised to drive on holiday for the first time ever so I could look around, ‘forgot’ her license too so muggins had to drive, again.

First day was spent within walking distance of the rooms, a nice walk along the sea front although it is somewhat tacky. The apartment itself is nice – good size and well equipped (that always keeps Deb happy!) but the location is the diametric opposite of what I’d have chosen. There are 3 bars within 5 metres of our front door and they all have sky sports at full volume with the corresponding clientele, also at full volume.

Los Cristianos

On our second day we drove to the far north of the island – a total contrast of lush vegetation and sparse population. The coast was a lot different, very rocky with decent sized waves and the interior overcast and cloudy – a mile inland makes a huge difference in sunshine here!

We then returned to the south and basically just wandered around the coast, enjoying the sun and relaxing.

Barranco del Infierno walk

On the next day we had an early start as the guide book said the walk along the gorge only allowed in 220 people a day so to get there early. We duly did so to find that the gorge was blocked off for safety reasons. Looking onto the path it seemed pretty neglected so it had obviously been shut for a while.

There were plenty of other walks from the same spot so we took one of those. It was a bit of a scramble up a pumice strewn path but the views and scenery were excellent. We walked up the hill for about an hour before turning back as we were getting towards cloud level.

When we got most of the way back we looked over to the gorge to see that is was crowded with people. We watched them climb over the ‘No entry’ signs and head off down the gorge. I guess I am just too English and law abiding!

Punta del Hidalgo

After a nice coffee over looking the path we then headed to Casa Fuerte – a castle that was owned by John Hawkins, the English pirate and slave trader. We continued north to Punto Hidalgo for another walk along the shore to the lighthouse. There were also a couple of excellent viewpoints at the Mirador Jardin and Mesa Mota. In the evening we spent a couple of hours wandering around the sea front, which was quite entertaining.

Teide

As early starts are Deb’s favourite thing, the next day I woke her up at a delightful 6.30AM for our trip to Teide. We wanted to get there early as we had heard about huge queues for the cable car once the coach tours started arriving.

We drove up some very interesting roads to get to the park and then drove through the park, watching the sunrise on the clouds below us. The park was incredibly barren – most of it had no plant life at all. We were amongst the first cars in the car park and got the first car to the top.

What amazing views! We weren’t able to walk to the summit as the paths were closed due to ice but the sight itself was amazing. It was also amusing seeing the coaches disgorge people in shorts and tshirts even though it was -3 C at the cable car station. We drove back through the park stopping for frequent kodak moments and still got back to the apartment in time for lunch!

La Orotava

After a couple of early starts, Wednesday was a lie in for Deb as it was another day with lots of driving, a complete island circuit. First stop was La Orotava, reckoned to be the prettiest town on the island and I’d have to agree.

We saw some beautiful houses and amazing gardens and took a tour of Casa de los Balcones, a nineteenth century town house/museum with original furnishings.

Jardin Victoria

The other star attraction of La Orotava are the Victoria Gardens. These are beautifully kept formal gardens that give excellent views over the town with, as usual, Tiede dominating the skyline. They also have a nice little restaurant.

Icod de los Vinos

From there we drove to Icod de los Vinos, home of the allegedly thousand year old dragon tree. First time I’ve paid a fiver to see a tree but it was a nice park and more views of Teide.

Los Gigantes

The north of the island is very pretty and far less built up than the south. The downside of that is that some of the roads are barely pathways! Next stop was quite a long drive to Los Gigantes, cliffs and a shoreline famous for whale and dolphin spotting. Unfortunately it was 4PM by now and I was getting fed up with driving to we didn’t go all the way into the town, just stopped at a viewpoint cafe for an ice cream! Back home in time for Deb to get some sun and the car to finally get out of second gear on the last stretch!

Conclusion

I have to say that visiting Tenerife in January was an excellent choice. Although warm the temperatures we not silly hot and there were not crowds of people. There was plenty to see and do and an incredible diversity of scenery on such a small island.