A few months ago, an Israeli traveller called Aryeh contacted me and told me that he was organising a small group of 4 couples of friends for a one week trip to Tenerife.
Aryeh’s group has already travelled to many other places in the world and they love to travel together, but they didn’t really want a classic organised trip that would dictate their travel plan and include them in a large group with up to many people. That’s why they asked me to plan a trip to see as much as possible in one week.
For this, I constructed a detailed travel plan, which included all the most important and beautiful places, some of which are better known and some of which are much less known and touristy.
The group asked to set the travel date for the first week of September. I recommended several hotels to the group and they finally chose the Hotel Tenerife Playa in Puerto de la Cruz.
We made the reservation at BOOKING.COM, because it is the cheapest option, and you can cancel for free.
In their case, they received 750 euros per couple per week, in a 4-star hotel with half board.
In the second step, we planned together a seven-day plan that included airport pick-up on the first day, five full days of trips to all parts of Tenerife and one day on the islands of LA GOMERA, a visit to the Loro Parque and a return to the airport on the last day.
All the trips were made in an air-conditioned tourist minibus with an accompanying driver that I hired for the group.
The trip was a great success and Arie and the group were happy to recommend sharing experiences, especially for groups who want to do an organised but private trip to Tenerife in a small and personal group and even pay less than any other organised trip to Tenerife.
Before I start with the description of the trip, I attach a screenshot of the comment Aryeh wrote after the trip in a Facebook group of travellers and I also shared it on the guide page.
Organised trip to Tenerife – Sunday – arrival at the north airport and transfer to the hotel in Puerto de la Cruz
The group left the country on an Iberia flight which left a little late, so it did not arrive in time for the next flight to Tenerife South Airport, and instead of this flight the group left on the next flight to Tenerife, but this time to the North Airport.
Before taking off from Madrid, Arya, of course, had time to inform me to change the pick-up place and time of the minibus that was waiting for them at the southern airport. When the group landed at the northern airport, the minibus was already waiting for them, but due to a last minute flight change, the luggage arrived a day late.
We arrived at the hotel almost at the scheduled time, but due to the fact that the flight was delayed and arrived without the luggage, the friends got worried and we decided together to change the travel plan a bit so that the next day we would travel to an area close to the airport in case we were notified that the luggage had arrived and had to be taken out of the airport.
Package tour in Tenerife – Monday – Anaga Park and the tropical rainforests of the north.
At 9.00 the minibus was already waiting for the group near the hotel and we started our journey to the capital city of Santa Cruz and just as we were passing the northern airport Olga’s mobile phone rang and informed us that the luggage was waiting to be collected.
After collecting the luggage and checking that nothing was missing, the company relaxed and set off on the route, the first stop being Las Tercitas beach north of the capital city of Santa Cruz.
The yellow sand of Las Teresitas beach was brought here by boats from the Sahara desert to create a long, long beach with palm trees, bars and cafes.
We sit down in one of the cafes to taste Barquito coffee and continue on to Anaga Park.
Anaga Park is known for its tropical forests and the large amount of sediment and unique vegetation that only grows in this area. The road up from the coastal town of San Andres is very winding and climbs gradually, and as you go higher the landscape becomes greener and closer to the clouds.
There are days when the whole mountain is covered with cloud that obscures the view, but on this day the clouds were high and the visibility was excellent.
After reaching the heights of Anaga Park we begin to descend again towards the town of Taganana to see this stretch of wild beach and the basaltic rocks that rise vertically from the ocean waters.
We took some photos and returned to the minibus to return to Anaga Park and walk a bit through the rainforests and see the view from some viewpoints that dominate the whole area.
After crossing Anaga Park we will still have time to drive to Punta de Hidalgo.
And from there the slow journey continues, through some beautiful coastal villages, to the hotel in Puerto de la Cruz.
Organized trip to Tenerife – Tuesday – trip to the La Gomera Islands.
We made the trip to La Gomera together with a larger group on an organised tour which included hotel pick-up in Porto de Cruz and a trip to the port in the south of the island to take a ferry to the La Gomera Islands on a journey that takes less than an hour. The route started from the port of the capital, San Sebastian, from where we headed towards the Garajonay reserve in the centre of the island.
The landscape and vegetation are somewhat reminiscent of the tropical forests of Tenerife, but here they occupy a larger area and as the island’s population is very small, only 25 thousand inhabitants, the island is much wilder than Tenerife.
Here we also had the opportunity to see tropical forests where a large part of the water is stored from the moss that grows on the trees and thus a large amount of water is stored even when it does not rain and thus the tropical forests remain green all year round, even during the summer when the number of rainy days is much lower.
After visiting the nature reserve, we continued towards the northwest of the island and passed through several villages, in one of which we had lunch and watched a demonstration of the local whistling language used by the island’s inhabitants to communicate and send messages over long distances before the era of mobile phones.
The hour and a half before setting sail back to Tenerife we dedicated to a tour of the capital, San Sebastian, in the area of the old town where you can see Spanish colonial style buildings typical of the Canary Islands.
At the end of the day we returned by ferry to Tenerife and to the hotel in Puerto de la Cruz.
Organized trip to Tenerife – Wednesday – to the west of the island of Teno and Icod.
In the original plan we were supposed to walk through the Teide reserve, but before going up we called to ask and they told us that there was strong wind and the cable car was closed, so we decided to change the plan and do a route planned for another day through the western part of the island.
The Teno area is characterised by its rocky landscape. Its western part is made up of entirely vertical cliffs hundreds of metres high that rise directly from the sea. Cruises leave from the port of Los Gigantes to observe the numerous dolphins and whales that live in Tenerife throughout the year.
We begin the route in the northern area of the city of Garachico, a beautiful coastal town, which was a port city of Tenerife until its port was destroyed by the lava that flowed and filled the port and came from a volcano that erupted in 1706.
From there we head towards the mountains and start climbing narrow winding paths to the village of Masca which is located on top of the cliffs at a height of 600 meters above sea level and from where a narrow canyon descends through which you can pass down to the beach at the foot of the cliffs hundreds of meters high.
Along the way we passed through many more pretty villages and spectacular viewpoints.
Before returning to the hotel in Puerto de la Cruz, we also visited Ikod, a beautiful century-old town with an old colonial-style town centre and next to it the botanical garden with the famous dragon tree, which is estimated to be over a thousand years old and is now considered one of the most outstanding symbols of the island of Tenerife.
Day trip Thursday – Teide Reserve from north to south and Chinyero Reserve
Contrary to the wind forecast, I am informed that the weather in the Teide area is excellent and that the cable car that goes up to the summit has opened and can be used.
The Las Cañadas Reserve and Teide Volcano is the most visited place by tourists than any other place in Tenerife.
There are four paths that go up to Mount Teide, I chose the path that comes from the north, goes around the back of the mountain and offers a view to the northwest from the right side of the road and a view to the southeast from the left side of the road.
We could see clouds at a lower altitude that looked like a cloud cover.
Arriving at the crater area at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, the dryness is already felt, the air is lighter and the sky is clear and blue. In the center of the crater there is a cable car, 3 members of the group decided to go up for observation, and the rest of the friends and I continued walking through the crater area and cooling off in the parking lot of the reserve. Meanwhile, the friends return and we continue the trip together.
The friends who went up to the top station came back after an hour and a half and said it was amazing.
We continued together towards the southern part of the reserve, the area where the last volcanic eruptions occurred.
Pico Viejo (3100 meters high) which erupted two hundred years ago and Monte Ciñeiro which erupted in 1909.
In this part of the reserve we have already started the descent towards the southwestern part of the island. We stopped at several viewpoints overlooking the south coast and continued north to cross again to the north side and see how the landscape changes rapidly in the transition from the dry and arid south to the rainy and green north side.
On the way back to the Puerto de la Cruz hotel, we stopped at a local restaurant, located on top of a cliff 500 meters high and overlooking the north coast and the town of Garachico, and tasted typical dishes of the area.
Day trip Friday – the coast
The southern area of Tenerife, especially the coastal area, enjoys a particularly pleasant climate all year round.
Even on the day of the trip, the weather was clear and pleasant and we started our route in the windsurfing town of El Médano
From there we continued along the coast passing one of the most beautiful beaches in the south towards Las Americas and Los Cristianos which are the tourist centre of southern Tenerife.
In order to be able to see the whole area, we climbed together to the top of a small volcano to have a 360 degree view of the sea, the towns of Las Americas and Los Cristianos, and the mountains.
After the short walk, the friends were already hungry and we went to a popular local restaurant near Gehanum Mall in Adeje which serves extremely delicious fried chicken and from the big balcony there is an amazing view of the mall, mountains and sea.
After lunch, which lasted a little longer than the allotted time, we will only have time to head to Los Gigantes and contemplate the impressive cliffs that rise vertically directly from the ocean water and rise to a height of hundreds of meters.
The seventh day of the trip. Vilaflor – La Orotava.
We started the trip from the south, like the previous day, but this time we headed towards the mountains.
The first point where we stopped was a special observatory that dominates the entire southern area from a height of 500 meters above sea level with an incredible view.
From there we jumped 1200 meters higher to the highest village on the entire island, Vilaflor.
We stopped for a short walk and sat down for a coffee in the town square before continuing towards the Teide reserve, this time along a different path with views to the south at the end of which you reach the crater and at that moment you suddenly see Teide in all its splendor. An impressive and exciting work.
After crossing the reserve and reaching the other side of the crater, we began the descent towards the city of La Orotava. The road we drove once had a view of the green northern coast and we could see all the coastal towns.
Photo Cruz, La Orotava and Los Ralejos.
Arriving in the town of La Orotava, we walked through the old town centre and saw the squares, churches and colonial style buildings typical of the Canary Islands, which were conquered by the Spanish 500 years ago.
Before returning to the hotel some of the friends wanted to go shopping in the mall and another part continued eating with me in a local restaurant which was cheap and very tasty. Michael, who offered to order and pay the bill, was very surprised to see that the bill for 4 people was only 20 euros.
Day 8 – Loro Park and return to Israel
The group’s flight was scheduled for midday and we took advantage of the beautiful morning to visit the Loro-Park animal park. In addition to many types of parrots and exotic birds, Loro Park has many species of marine and land animals and shows of orcas, dolphins, seals and more.
During our stay we managed to see all the important shows, at the penguin complex and at the incredible aquarium which includes hundreds of types of fish and sharks.
After visiting Loro Parque, we headed straight to the northern airport, a short drive from Puerto de la Cruz.
The time has come to say goodbye.
After a week full of experiences and trips together it was a bit sad and we promised to meet again on my next visit to Israel or maybe return to Tenerife for another vacation of sea, mountains and perfect weather.
