Tenerife (2nd - 9th November)

This was my first visit to Tenerife, Jayne had been on numerous occasions, on family holidays, and said what a great place to visit.

We stayed in Los Cristianos at a family-friendly hotel called The Paradise Fun Lifestyle hotel. It was a good 15-minute walk downhill to the paved seafront. This particular area is known for its quiet, laid-back aspect. The seafront is easily accessible and goes on for miles. We often walked for an hour or more along the coast. 

 

                             

The next town to Los Cristianos is Las Americas which is known as a much more lively, youthful place with lots of clubs and pubs, and shops. Next to that is Costa Adeje and then Colon and Duque. All areas are different and offer many restaurants and shops. The locals were friendly and welcoming and to top it all the weather was fantastic for November- hot and sunny most of the time which for anyone British is a dream come true. We also hired a car and ventured to Los Gigantes- a huge and beautiful cliff face with a harbour

                         

 and then East and south to Santa Cruz to Teresitas beach where Saharian sand was imported. 

 

                                 

We took a coach trip to Mount Teide where a Planet of the Apes was filmed years ago, 

                                     

and then on to Icod to see an almost 1000-year-old tree (picture on the left)

     

and to Garachico for lunch,

              

                                     

 ending up at Masca a beautiful, sleepy village nestled in the hills. The hairpin bends looked difficult to navigate even for the most accomplished of coach drivers and sometimes there was only a foot leeway on those bends. 

The island is easily navigated as it is so small and there are still areas we have not visited. The flights in and out of Tenerife were seamless and without incident- the only issue being, coming back to a colder and less forgiving English climate.  

Tenerife was all I want from a holiday. From the parking at Stansted airport to the flights both ways, the hotel which was clean, and well staffed, and the food which was great. The hotel also had a pool on the roof just for adults which was fabulous and a shuttle to the beach 8 to 9 times a day,  Tenerife itself I couldn't fault either. Lovely people, awesome scenery, and spectacular weather. Masca was so beautiful, it was a shame we couldn't have stayed there for longer but we were on a coach tour. Mount Teide, a dormant volcano that had an environment that looked like another planet. Just a lovely holiday all in all. The only negatives were the African hawkers that operate all along the beach but aren't too much in your face and the cost of the tours which were quite expensive. Tenerife caters to all ages from Las Americas, full of bars and clubs for the younglings to Los Cristianos for the older generation, highly recommend it.

I am particularly biased when it comes to Tenerife. All I can say is that I feel safe there. I find Los Cristianos charming and friendly. During this trip, I looked at Tenerife through Trevor`s eyes and saw something different. We ventured further along the coastal promenade and I found places I had not been to before. I also enjoyed taking Trevor to places I had previously liked. I enjoyed the coach trip, as I wasn`t the one driving along those hairpin bends. Mount Teide for its sheer ruggedness, barbarity, and living example of the earth`s volcanic power, and Masca for its remote charm are still my favourite places. Bearing in mind that Tenerife is only about 4 hours away from England and is sunny and warm most of the time, child friendly, and has jungle parks and whales and dolphins( not yet explored in this trip) what`s not to like? As I said, I am rather biased.