Tenerife - First time and looking for tips

[Davie_GLA]

Evening all...

Me and the family (wife and 8 year old Daughter) are heading to Tenerife in September and having never been i'm after some tips on what to do.

We're staying at a place in the south west (Playa de la Americas) and although it's a well recommended set of dgs the reviews do point out that it's a little out of the way.

We're there for 9 days and we'll do the usual water park (siam park) and see if we can take in some water sports but i have a few questions:

1. Should i hire a car and if so what direction do i point it in?
2. Grub. Love our food so interested in some great quality places to eat
3. What's around at night? Bearing in mind the Dotta so no 4am ministry of sound gigs. Sigh, i wish.
4. MUST see's?
5. General tips n tricks?

Thanks!

[Jaguar steve]

Hire a car. Dirt cheap and the roads are good. Drive up to the top of mt Teide then take the cable car right to the summit. The route up on the eastern side through (Villaflor?) through the (Canada Park?) is the prettiest IIRC. Los Gigantes is worth a visit too. Avoid the north west coast - it's lush and green because the weather is usually much worse than the rest of the island although you may get lucky and have some sunshine. Canarian dishes are worth trying although some local fish spices are very bony and poor value. Tripadvisor will find a acceptable restaurant among all the fast food and beer and chips with everything joints that proliferate in the large resorts.

Years since I last went to Tenerife but have heard several times while traveling around the other Canary islands you need to be very, very aware of pickpockets, aggressive touts and petty crime in the Playa de las Americas area. In any Canary island resort check your bills and change in shops and restaurants very carefully. Overcharging, serving a more expensive wine than the bottle you ordered and deliberately confusing bills and table numbers and short changing has become more and more common over the years.

[Wacky Racer]

Hire a car and drive up to 12,000ft Mount Teide....unmissable (Choose a clear day)

Beware of pavement conmen, especially around Playa de las Americas

Ignore timeshare touts....(Although there are nowhere near as many as twenty years ago.)

Have fun.

[steve-5snwi]

Don't take any scratch cards.

[karona]

Loads of stuff for kids in Playa, from a stroll along the boardwalk, from one pub to the next, obviously Pedalos etc., walk for miles in the water with the fish tickling your toes. Siam park, obviously, The Monkey Park's worth a look:

Topical tip, if a young couple approach you holding a map asking for directions, kick him swiftly in the nuts, it's the chief modus operandi of the teams of pickpockets.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g6...

Other ideas:
https://www.spain-holiday.com/Tenerife/articles/to...

Is your digs on a bus route? If so get a Bono Bus multifare ticket.

http://www.just-tenerife.com/titsa.htm

Taxis are cheap.

I've been to Playa/Los Chris/Golf Del Sur maybe 20 times and never needed a car.

[Davie_GLA]

steve-5snwi said:

Don't take any scratch cards.

? As in buy them when i'm there? Strange that i'd pack some to take with me

[Dr Jekyll]

Don't ask tourists for directions while carrying a map.

[FlipFlopGriff]

Teide is a must but be careful as the Teleferico (cable car) don't run when its windy so maybe take the phone number with you and call in the morning to check. It can also be about 10-12 degrees celcius cooler up there so take a jumper/coat. Garachico and surrounding area is worth a visit but its extremely hilly driving so make sure your brakes are A1 before you go. Another unspoilt area is the Anaga national park in the north of the island (head in from La Laguna and come back down the coast and pass the Las Teresitas beach. Car hire shouldn't be expensive (just checked 9 days on a take the car back with the fuel you picked it up with basis at 110 euros) but depending upon where your digs are, parking will almost certainly be a problem. Parking anywhere within a couple of hundred metres of the front between LC and LA is a lottery, and be careful as if you're parked illegally they just take your car on a grua (car pick up truck) and its literally gone in about 2 minutes. You then have to try and find out where its been taken to.
Siam Park is good for you as you are so close with free buses picking up around the resort areas.
FFG

[Davie_GLA]

Thanks everyone.

We're staying here for location.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g562820...

[steve-5snwi]

Davie_GLA said:

? As in buy them when i'm there? Strange that i'd pack some to take with me

I
Sorry, if your offered any scratch cards don't accept/take them. You will win a prize that usually ends up leading to time share.

[FlipFlopGriff]

Davie_GLA said:

Thanks everyone.

We're staying here for location.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g562820...

You're up the hill and about a 15 minute walk to the front which shouldn't be too taxing on the way down but you may want to get a taxi back (should be 4 euros tops). Should be OK for parking and I see they do a free coach transfer to the beach, central Las Americas and to Siam park. Las Vistas beach would be my preference as its a long beach and fairly safe with plenty of lifeguards. You can then easily walk through the tunnel into Los Cristianos too. Hundreds of places to eat and drink along the front and the backwhacks.
Good tapas in San Telmo CC (on the main road above Las Vistas beach), fish in El Cine or Abordo (just in LC but up a passageway). Avenida Las Americas (which is just off the end of Las Vistas beach in teh opposite direction to Los Cristianos) has a lot of posh shopping and up market foody places.
The old waterpark may be another option as its much cheaper and tamer rides including a dolphin show which may appeal to the daughter.
FFG

[Davie_GLA]

FlipFlopGriff said:

You're up the hill and about a 15 minute walk to the front which shouldn't be too taxing on the way down but you may want to get a taxi back (should be 4 euros tops). Should be OK for parking and I see they do a free coach transfer to the beach, central Las Americas and to Siam park. Las Vistas beach would be my preference as its a long beach and fairly safe with plenty of lifeguards. You can then easily walk through the tunnel into Los Cristianos too. Hundreds of places to eat and drink along the front and the backwhacks.
Good tapas in San Telmo CC (on the main road above Las Vistas beach), fish in El Cine or Abordo (just in LC but up a passageway). Avenida Las Americas (which is just off the end of Las Vistas beach in teh opposite direction to Los Cristianos) has a lot of posh shopping and up market foody places.
The old waterpark may be another option as its much cheaper and tamer rides including a dolphin show which may appeal to the daughter.
FFG

Awesome, thanks for this mate - very much appreciated. I noticed the hill and there are hndreds of stairs in the place. Wonder if this is the first holiday where i'll actually LOSE weight!

[FlipFlopGriff]

Davie_GLA said:

Awesome, thanks for this mate - very much appreciated. I noticed the hill and there are hndreds of stairs in the place. Wonder if this is the first holiday where i'll actually LOSE weight!

Las Vistas beach have toilet blocks (only wooden though) on the beach which is a bonus - alternative is to go into a bar to go the loo but this sort of defeats the object.
There is a prom which runs along the front from Los Cris (LC) to La Caleta which is about 5 miles away. Easy way to while a day away.
FFG

[LuS1fer]

Get a hire car but make sure you can park it somewhere. Have a look at Google Streetview for an idea of where you can park. Blue bordered bays require paying for.
Marios in San Eugenio is a great place to eat.

Beware crime and be very crime aware as there are dodgy types about.

If you hire a car, drive up to the middle of the island to see the Teide National Park and it's volcanic formations. It is stunning.
I have never bothered going right up to the summit of Teide as it's quite cold and, at the end of last February, unusually, the middle of the island was 10 foot deep in snowdrifts so it was closed anyway, despite beautiful sunshine all around the coast.
Check from the plane window as you come in to land. one thing you will find is that you can get several seasons in one day just by driving round the island - from snow to rain to sun to wind, just find the right place.

Los Gigantes is worth a visit.

My biggest gripe about Tenerife is crime, especially from hire cars. NEVER leave anything of value in the car. They seem to have professionals who capture the remote signal and they can unlock your car, steal your stuff and relock your car. When you return, the car is locked and off you drive. Next time you stop, you find the boot has been raided.
The first time this happened to me, I had a Fiat Panda and I was convinced I must have forgotten to lock the car which I was away from for no more than 10 minutes. Cash and camera went but the car, I am sure, was locked when I got back so I didn't find out until later. That was in the middle of nowhere in Teide national park.

The next trip, I had a Corsa and had learnt so only left a rucksack in the boot with a towel in it. That was in Puerto de la Cruz and again ,it was another toilet break for 10 minutes and I took the cameras. Later found the bag gone but annoyingly, I had left my specs in it as I had my sunglasses on. Doh! In retrospect, I recall a white Corsa pulling up and two males apparently on iPhones, right next to us. the car park was deserted so I am convinced they had something to do with it.That said, i saw some guy in what looked like a security uniform and he seemed to have about 50 keys on his belt... anyway, leave nothing at all in the car, not least because your insurance won't cover it.

On a more positive note, the scenery is fantastic.

Although the zoo, in the North, is good, please don't support it by going as they keep killer whales in captivity, which is wrong.

[Greenmantle]

Car Hire - Auto Reisen or Cicar - the cheapest by far. They are not brand spanking new but who cares. Take a cheap TomTom with Western Europe Maps.

Try and get around and see the sights of Tenerife.
We have been going for the last 7 years and have noticed that the south has declined since we tend to go off season. We are now choosing accommodation in the north.

Visit:
La Caletta - fish restaurant is great.
Arona - short way up from Los Cristianos - lovely cafe called Aroma at Arona
Then plan to visit the north to meet the real people of Tenerife and lots of Germans :-). The view of Tiede as you drive to Puerto de la Cruz is amazing.

Loro Parque is great - the kids love it.

John

[irish boy]

FlipFlopGriff said:

Teide is a must but be careful as the Teleferico (cable car) don't run when its windy so maybe take the phone number with you and call in the morning to check. It can also be about 10-12 degrees celcius cooler up there so take a jumper/coat. Garachico and surrounding area is worth a visit but its extremely hilly driving so make sure your brakes are A1 before you go. Another unspoilt area is the Anaga national park in the north of the island (head in from La Laguna and come back down the coast and pass the Las Teresitas beach. Car hire shouldn't be expensive (just checked 9 days on a take the car back with the fuel you picked it up with basis at 110 euros) but depending upon where your digs are, parking will almost certainly be a problem. Parking anywhere within a couple of hundred metres of the front between LC and LA is a lottery, and be careful as if you're parked illegally they just take your car on a grua (car pick up truck) and its literally gone in about 2 minutes. You then have to try and find out where its been taken to.
Siam Park is good for you as you are so close with free buses picking up around the resort areas.
FFG

Good advice here, Garachio is lovely and Anaga is off the beaten track and stunning. We came upon a village of caves, one that housed a small restaurant.

http://therealtenerife.com/posts/lunch-in-a-cave-r...


The biggest must see tho is Masca village. Just the drive alone is worth it.


http://www.spain-tenerife.com/en/places/masca.html

[RRLover]

Davie_GLA said:

Thanks everyone.

We're staying here for location.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g562820...

I stayed here two years ago. It was really good for what it was. As others have said its up a hill but a good walk of 15 minutes to the centre or get a taxi at 4/5 euros.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g562820...

I stayed there last year, again very good for what it was. Food wasnt the greatest & the Gran Oasis was slightly better with its entertainment & staff.

Pepe on reception at Gran Oasis is a gem.
Enjoy

[FlipFlopGriff]

I normally try Autoreisen, but sometimes Holiday Autos or rentalcars.com are better value but be careful who you go with - Orlando are about 10 minutes away on a minibus so you need to factor that in especially when coming back as we have waited up to 30 minutes to be taken back, and Goldcar are to be avoided. Make sure you go for full to full as the part refund option will only give you a proportion back plus they deduct an admin fee so the car can then work out pretty expensive.
We go 4/5 times a year so have an annual policy to cover the excess through Questor which is about £30 and the excess charge if you pay when collecting the car will be a lot more than this for one trip so its good value. Also worth a read:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-car-...
If you really like fish the only place to go is San Miguel de Tajao (or just Tajao) which is about 4 junctions north of the motorway (junction 46 off the TF1)- we go to Agua y Sal which is one of 4 or 5 fish restaurants and IMO the busiest (ie good food turnover so its fresh) and it is has a welcoming exterior and the staff are great. You just pick what has been caught out of a fridge and they charge by weight and its great value. You can get the 111 Titsa bus but its about a 15 minute walk then down the hill and obviously back up again which in September may be too much. La Caleta is another option and a lot closer.
As a balance to the thefts I've been over 100 times and about 2/3 of them with a car (didn't have one in our earlier years as we were drinking more) and never had an issue.
FFG

[steve-5snwi]

Pluscar are cheaper than cicar, I've just paid 108euros for 9 days with a fiat panda, there is no insurance excess or top ups, there is no fuel policy. The cheapest on Cicar was 150 euros, there cars are nicer though.

[smn159]

Back recently from a short cycling break to Tenerife. Stayed in Los Christianos, close to Playa de Las Americas. Don't know about the latter but wasn't overly impressed by Los Christianos, whose restaurants and bars seemed to be filled by overweight English families with cigarettes on the go, eating full English breakfasts for dinner.

Away from the resorts was a different story though - very scenic with the road up to Vilaflor and then Teide from Granadilla being particularly good.

Don't know what the Monkey Park just north of Los Christianos is like, but can confirm that the road past it up to La Camella gets very steep (ouch!)