A few years ago, a traveller named David (fictitious name to protect the client’s privacy) got in touch with me with a very specific request. He wanted to organise a trip to Tenerife for a group of four couples of friends, but without the usual drawbacks of a traditional package tour.
The group had travelled together across many corners of the world and they knew exactly what they didn’t want: rigid itineraries, large crowds of strangers and the feeling of being just another number on a tourist bus. What they were looking for was something different: a fully private trip, designed around their preferences. With the freedom to move at their own pace, but guided by someone who truly knew the island.
That’s how we planned a full week in Tenerife together. Below I’ll take you through the trip, day by day. With its unexpected moments, its unique highlights and everything that makes this experience so different from any standard tour.
💡 If you’re thinking about something similar for your group, you can find all the details on our Private Tour with Guide and Transport page.
Day 1 — Arrival: when the first unexpected moment becomes the first proof of personalised service
The group left on a connecting flight. Due to a small delay they missed their connection to Tenerife South Airport. They had to take the next available flight, which landed at Tenerife North instead.
While they were still on the ground at the connecting airport, David messaged me to let me know. Within minutes I reorganised the transfer. The minibus waiting at the south airport changed destination and was ready when the group landed in the north. No waiting, no confusion, no logistics for the group to handle.
But the surprises didn’t end there. When collecting their luggage, they discovered that the bags had been left behind and would arrive the following day. Rather than a setback, we turned it into an opportunity. The next day’s route would stay close to the airport, so we could collect the bags as soon as they arrived without losing a single hour of sightseeing.
This is exactly what sets a personalised private service apart: the ability to adapt in real time, without bureaucracy and without the client having to worry about a thing.
Day 2 — Anaga Park and the wild north coast
At 9:00 the minibus was already waiting outside the hotel. We set off towards Santa Cruz and, just as we passed near the north airport, the message came through: the bags had arrived. We picked them up in a few minutes and, with that weight off their shoulders, the group relaxed completely and the trip truly began.
The first stop was Las Teresitas beach — a long, calm stretch just outside Santa Cruz. The fine golden sand was brought by ship from the Sahara desert decades ago. A place most tourists never reach because it sits well outside the standard southern resort circuit. We sat at one of the beach bars for a café barquito — the local coffee with condensed milk — before heading on.
Anaga Rural Park is one of Tenerife’s best-kept secrets. It is a laurel forest declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Its dense, humid vegetation feels more like a tropical jungle than an Atlantic island. The road up from the coast narrows as the landscape turns greener and the clouds draw closer. That day the visibility was exceptional.
We descended to the village of Taganana to take in that stretch of wild coastline with its basalt rocks rising vertically from the ocean — a landscape few visitors ever see because it requires knowing the roads. After crossing back through the park, we continued to Punta de Hidalgo at the island’s northeast tip.
We returned to the hotel by taking the slow route along the north coast. Along the way we passed through small fishing villages that still hold the authentic character of the island. One of those drives that doesn’t appear on any standard itinerary but makes all the difference.
Day 3 — La Gomera: the island that mass tourism hasn’t fully discovered yet
For the La Gomera excursion we joined an organised group departing from Puerto de la Cruz, with the ferry leaving from the south. The crossing takes less than an hour. On arrival, the contrast with Tenerife is immediate: fewer cars, less noise, more green, more silence.
The route took us to Garajonay National Park — a primeval laurel forest, more extensive and wilder than Anaga. The trees are covered in moss and the air smells of moisture even in summer. A significant part of the island’s fresh water is stored in that moss, which acts as a natural sponge.
In one of the small inland villages we watched a demonstration of the silbo gomero. It is the whistled language the islanders used to communicate across ravines before the age of mobile phones. A unique cultural heritage, recognised by UNESCO.
Before boarding the ferry back, we strolled through the historic centre of San Sebastián de La Gomera, with its Canarian colonial architecture and quiet square. A perfect ending to a day well off the beaten track.
Day 4 — The wild west: Garachico, Masca and the Thousand-Year-Old Dragon Tree of Icod
The original plan for this day was to go up to the Teide, but that morning the cable car was closed due to strong winds. No problem — in a private service like this, the itinerary adapts in real time. We swapped the days around and headed to the west of the island, an area many visitors never get to explore properly.
We started in Garachico, a coastal town with a fascinating history. It was Tenerife’s most important port for centuries, until a volcanic eruption in 1706 buried its harbour under lava. Today that same lava forms the natural pools where locals swim in summer — a setting that exists nowhere else in the world.
From there we drove up narrow, winding roads to Masca — a tiny village perched at 600 metres between vertical cliffs. It is one of those places that doesn’t feature in standard brochures. When you see it, you understand why it’s worth knowing someone from the island before you travel.
To close the day, we visited Icod de los Vinos and its famous Drago Milenario. The tree is estimated to be over a thousand years old and is one of the most emblematic natural symbols of Tenerife.
Day 5 — Teide from north to south: the roof of Spain seen as few see it
The following day the weather had changed completely. The cable car was open and conditions were perfect. I chose the northern route, the one that climbs up the back of the mountain. It offers views to the northwest and southeast that the usual southern approach simply doesn’t have. Moreover, arriving at the crater from that side makes the landscape appear in a far more dramatic way.
At 2,000 metres the air is drier and lighter, the sky a deep blue and the clouds sit below you. Three members of the group took the cable car up to 3,500 metres. The rest of us walked around the crater and enjoyed the silence of the caldera.
Afterwards we crossed to the southern side of the reserve, passing Pico Viejo and the lava fields of Chinyero — the last volcano to erupt in Tenerife, in 1909. We then descended towards the south coast with stops at viewpoints overlooking the sea. On the way back, we had dinner at a local restaurant on top of a cliff at 500 metres, with views over Garachico and the entire illuminated north coast. One of those moments that appears in no guidebook.
Day 6 — The south coast: El Médano, Las Américas and Los Gigantes
The coastal strip of southern Tenerife enjoys a particularly mild microclimate throughout the year. We started the day in El Médano — a small coastal town known as one of the world’s top windsurfing and kitesurfing destinations, with a wild beach and an atmosphere very different from the mass tourism of Las Américas.
We continued along the coast to Las Américas and Los Cristianos. There we climbed to the top of a small coastal volcano for a 360-degree view of the sea, the towns and the mountains — a perspective very few visitors ever discover.
After lunch at a local restaurant with a terrace and views — the kind of place where residents actually eat — we ended the day in Los Gigantes. There we took in the island’s most dramatic cliffs: walls of volcanic rock dropping straight into the ocean from hundreds of metres above.
Whale and dolphin watching excursions also depart from this area — read more in our post on whale and dolphin watching in Tenerife.
Day 7 — Vilaflor, Teide from the south and La Orotava
For the last full day I saved one of my favourite routes to do with groups. We started from the south, climbed gradually to the highest village on the island and crossed the Teide to descend towards the north.
We began with a stop at a viewpoint 500 metres above the south coast — a panoramic vista that few people know about and that is worth the excursion on its own.
From there we climbed to Vilaflor, at 1,400 metres above sea level — the highest village in all of Spain. A quiet place with a stone square, cafés where you sit alongside the locals and air so clean you feel it in your lungs. We stopped for a while before pressing on towards the Teide.
This time we entered the park from the south. There is a moment, as you reach the edge of the crater, when the mountain suddenly appears in its full scale. It is an experience the northern route simply doesn’t deliver in the same way. Several members of the group told me it was the most impressive moment of the entire trip.
We crossed the reserve and descended towards La Orotava, with views over the entire north coast. La Orotava has one of the best-preserved historic centres in the Canary Islands — colonial squares, baroque churches and houses with carved wooden balconies. A place that deserves time, and we took it.
Before heading back to the hotel, part of the group wanted to stop at the shopping centre. The rest of us sat down for a meal at a small local restaurant where the bill was a very pleasant surprise. That’s how the last full day ended — with everyone doing exactly what they wanted.
Day 8 — Loro Parque and farewell
The flight was at midday, but that didn’t stop us making the most of the morning. As part of the service, I took care of booking the Loro Parque tickets in advance. No queues, no waiting, everything sorted from the start. The park is just a few minutes’ drive from the hotel in Puerto de la Cruz — one more advantage of having stayed in the north.
In a few hours we caught the orca, dolphin and sea lion shows and explored the penguin world. The aquarium is one of the most spectacular in Europe, with hundreds of marine species including sharks. If you’d like to include Loro Parque in your Tenerife visit, I can handle all the arrangements for you.
From there we went straight to the north airport, just minutes away from the park.
At the farewell, after a week travelling together across the island, David said something that stayed with me: “This was exactly what we were looking for. An organised trip — but ours.” That, in essence, is what I offer.
Would you like a similar experience?
If you have a group and want to discover Tenerife privately, I can help you plan every detail. No mass tours — just an itinerary designed around you.
Have a question or want to tell me about your group? Get in touch with no obligation and I’ll put together the perfect trip for you.
