Tenerife Walking, Wine & Volcano Views

This trip is designed to showcase the full variety of Tenerife's beautiful landscapes, rich local culture and indulgent cuisines, balanced with time to slow down in special hotels and historic old towns.

Hikes lead into hidden valleys, along glorious coastline, through misty cloud forest and into Teide's volcanic highlands. But that's only half the story -we want this vacation to immerse you in the rich local flavor of the island, putting you in the company of expert guides, hosts, winemakers and more.

We want to share stories from the island's vibrant past, like how British naval hero Nelson lost an arm here, or how the winegrowers of Garachico once staged their own version of the Boston Tea Party.

More than anything, we want you to leave with the same love for and deep connection to the island that we experienced, with a desire to come back and explore more of the Canaries.

Where other trips might walk you across the island day after day, this one stops to let you have a look around, smell the wildflowers and enjoy the moment. Biased though we are, we think it's a richer, tastier, more interesting, more enjoyable and more restful way to explore.

If you have an explorer's spirit and a good pair of walking boots, this is the trip for you.

Tenerife can be a great all-year destination for walking.

If you have an open calendar, spring (March to early June) and fall (mid-September to early November) are the very best times to walk. Both offer quieter trails and comfortable temperatures for hiking - often somewhere around 20°C. Spring in particular brings lots of color as wildflowers emerge. Autumn is great because it brings the onset of the grape harvest around Vilaflor.

Summer (mid-June to early September) is very much high season, but the majority of that is concentrated in the resorts of the south coast. Your trails will generally be quiet whenever you visit, but expect Teide to be busier than usual. As always it's easy to find quiet corners, so it's not such a big deal.

The island can get hot, with temperatures frequently pushing 30°C and beyond if it's a heatwave. It's important to remember that you will have a taste of all of Tenerife's microclimates, from the mountains, forests and coastal towns of the north, which generally have a more lush and humid feel, to the dry sunny southern slopes of Teide.

We always book you on an early cable car ride up to Teide, beating the biggest of the heat. You may wish to consider whether you have the energy to push on to the summit though!

Winter can be a nice time to visit Tenerife if you are happy to be a little flexible in your plans. The temperatures can remain well into the high teens and low twenties, so it's a real contrast to our winter climates! Things can get chilly up around Teide though, so do go prepared.

Teide's cable cars operate all year and seeing the mountain with a cloak of snow can be a spectacular sight. When this is the case hikers require crampons to reach the summit, so we tend to advise against pushing on all the way to the top. Elsewhere things can get occasionally get a little wet and wild in the north so you should have an open mind and be prepared to change plans at late notice. Your local contact will help make alternative arrangements so that you can still get out walking.

The three hotels on this itinerary are all special in their own way. The hotel in La Laguna is the biggest you will stay in, but retains a unique character. It is set in a former nobility house with a relaxing inner patio and is crowned with a wonderfully inviting swimming pool on the rooftop for when the sun is shining. It's also within a few minutes' stroll of the best restaurants.

The hotel in Garachico is equally well-located and is also set in a beautiful old mansion. The rooms are arranged around a peaceful internal courtyard and there is a lovely swimming pool in the adjacent patio. It has its own very good restaurant.

Finally, you stay in a spa hotel above Vilaflor. The rooms are spacious and most look out over the Canarian pine trees of the garden. The spa has a lovely swimming pool, saunas, steam rooms, a plunge pool and a hot tub. You can also arrange massages and treatments for an additional cost. The restaurant is very good and we include dinner on your final night.

Tenerife's walking terrain is generally hilly and volcanic. That necessitates a fair amount of up and down to reach the best views and get the most out of your time here. This isn't somewhere you stroll from beach to beach, as you do in Menorca for example, but we've designed the trip to make it enjoyable for anyone who is 'walking fit'. You have a rest day in between the walks to slow things down and explore the cultural side of the island.

The first walk in Anaga descends from the hilltops to the coast, meaning you'll be going down for most of the day. Having a good pair of hiking poles will transform your experience of this walk and ensure that you're still on speaking terms with your knees come the end of the day.

You then have a relaxed day with your guide. This will be very slow and steady, allowing you to unwind after your efforts in Anaga. When you pull your boots back on, you'll be fully charged up for your walk to Masca. This walk has a bit of a huff and a puff up to Teno Alto over the first hour or so, but then levels out and you spend most of the day walking along the crest of the hills, so there's no great ascents or descents.

After another rest day with an indulgent winery lunch, you then finish in Teide. Although this is Spain's highest peak, the walking here is easy. We don't ask you to walk up or down the mountain, that wouldn't be fun, so instead you take the cable car and follow the short trails as far as you want to the viewpoints. You then come back down to walk the flat trail at ground level.

Trail conditions
The island does a very good job of maintaining its trails, so most of the walking is done on very clear and well-established gravel paths. We also make navigation very easy for you, building in directions into the Wikiloc trails so you don't have to think too much about where you're going.

It is possible to walk the final 0.6km to reach the summit of Teide - the highest point in all of Spain. The trail to the summit is a steep and demanding as it is undertaken at altitude (see below). It should take around 45 minutes to an hour to reach the summit. It's much quicker coming down.

Permits are limited to 200 each day and must be booked beforehand, usually at least 2-3 months in advance. They are currently free of charge and we can book these for you, subject to availability

Only for the hour or two that you are up on Teide.

The cable car ride takes you up to high altitude - 3,550m just below the summit and 3,700m if you are going to the summit.

For the vast majority of visitors (this is Spain's most visited national park after all), it's not a problem. But you should still go prepared.

Bring warm layers and wear suitable footwear, walk at a slow pace and drink plenty of water. If you begin to feel sick or suffer with headaches, simply descend in the next cable car. This should quickly relieve any symptoms, taking you down below 2,400m. The 8km circular walk takes place at this altitude, meaning you won't have any issues with it in the second part of the day.

On the three days where you are walking, expect to be on the trail from about 10:00 until around 16:00. This varies a little but is a good average guide. This gives you plenty of time to relax and enjoy the walks at your own pace, soaking in the views and stopping en route at the small villages and remote hamlets.

You then have the evening to enjoy your hotels or stroll out into the old towns for a lingering dinner.

No, and you probably wouldn't thank us if we suggested that you do. To get up into the more interesting corners of Tenerife invariably involves driving narrow, winding mountain roads which are not the faint-hearted. It's part of the adventure getting out into these more remote parts, but we'd much rather you enjoy the scenery out of the window rather than worrying about what's around the next bend. Leave that to our team of lovely local drivers.

Additionally, the best walks are linear ones where you walk from A to B. This is especially the case when 'B' is Masca, the 'Machu Picchu of Tenerife' and somewhere you can't visit the island and not see. The mountainous topography of the northern part of the island makes it hard to enjoy a meaningful circular walk - you'd have to slog your way back uphill to get back to your car, or you'd have to pay for and arrange a taxi at the end. This can be an expensive headache without the right connections. Again, leave all that to us.

Each walking day begins with a private transfer to the trailhead. You then have lots of time to enjoy the walks at a leisurely pace before you are collected at the agreed time and taken back to your hotel.

No. To make sure you enjoy the trails in splendid peace and at your own pace, we offer just one departure a day for this walking vacation. That means each day is yours, all yours, with no other footsteps gathering speed behind you. It does mean however that dates get booked up. So if you're interested, please let us know so that we can secure your preferred dates.

We provide simple written instructions for you to follow, plus GPS tracks which you use on your smartphone. These will let you know when you need to take an upcoming action, or if you have strayed off the path. It's therefore all very easy, allowing you to relax into the walk and enjoy the views.

Yes, the slow pace of a walking vacation means you will have ample opportunity to strike up conversations should you wish. You also spend a great deal of time in small towns and collectively your guides and hosts are a great wealth of local knowledge and engaging company.

Simply send over an enquiry with any details or requests that you have and we'll come back to you with a full proposal for you to read through, which details of each walk and lots of stunning photography.

To book the trip you simply then give us your dates and we'll check availability and get you booked in!