Around Tenerife
From the resort coast in the south to the capital, the old towns of the north and the crater at the top of the island.
Tenerife is really two islands sharing a volcano. The south is dry, sunny and purpose-built: Costa Adeje, Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos hold most of the beds and almost all of the beaches, with El Medano out on the wind coast and Los Gigantes under the cliffs in the west. The north is green, cooler and much older. Puerto de la Cruz was taking visitors in the nineteenth century, La Laguna is a UNESCO-listed grid of colonial streets, La Orotava climbs the valley behind it and Garachico sits on the lava that destroyed it. Santa Cruz, the capital, is a working Spanish city with the island's best market. In the middle and above all of it is Teide National Park, and the two airports sit at either end.
The island's newest and most expensive resort strip, with the best of the southern beaches and the marina for whale boats.
The island's original purpose-built resort and still its nightlife centre, sitting on the coast between Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje.
A working fishing town that grew into a resort, with the ferry port for the western islands and a long winter season.
The island's wind and surf town, with the longest natural sand beach on Tenerife and no large hotels at all.
A small west-coast town under cliffs that fall six hundred metres into the sea, with a marina and black sand beaches.
The island's oldest resort, on the green north coast below the Orotava valley, with black sand and a real town centre.
The island's capital and cruise port, a working Spanish city with the best market, the best shopping and Carnival.
The island's UNESCO-listed former capital, a university town up on a plateau ten minutes from the northern airport.
A steep historic town above Puerto de la Cruz, with the island's grandest balconied houses and the road up to Teide.
The north coast town buried by lava in 1706 and rebuilt on it, with rock pools where the harbour was.
The crater floor at two thousand metres and the highest mountain in Spain, a UNESCO site reached by road from four directions.
The island's holiday airport, twenty to thirty minutes from the southern resorts and where most of the car hire is.