Desperate for some summer sun and with the prospect of six weeks of holiday looming large over us, we decided to look around for a good deal for a family holiday. With so many cheap flights to Tenerife available, it seemed like the ideal location for our jaunt abroad.
We arrived in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island’s capital to glorious temperatures. Tenerife is at it’s hottest between June and October, but the mercury rarely falls below 70° throughout the year. Perfect! We hired a car at the airport to make the most of the island as there was so much we wanted to visit. Santa Cruz is a typical Spanish city, filled with the sights and sounds of a tropical haven. The shopping is great here and it’s really vibrant so make sure you visit the market for the experience as much as the shopping. There are many beaches on the here but we loved Playa de Las Teresitas, just 7km from the city. As well as having a golden beach to relax on, it’s great for swimming especially with those little ones who are less confident in the water.
Heading west, we journeyed along the northern coast to Puerto de la Cruz so we could visit Loro Parque which we had been assured was the best entertainment on the island. We definitely weren’t disappointed as the whole family enjoyed seeing and learning about all the wildlife that the zoo houses. From parrots and penguins to tigers and gorillas, we were spoilt for choice though the dolphins, sea lions and whales were a family favourite! We made sure we booked all our tickets online which certainly helped make the pennies stretch.
From the north, we drove onwards to the west coast to Costa Adeje. This side of the island is much more tourist orientated so it’s bustling with families. Here we visited two fantastic waterparks, both wonderfully different from each other. Siam Park is a Thai-themed park which boasts lagoons and waterfalls and it really makes you feel as though you have travelled east. At Aqualand, the highlight was the trip out on a glass-bottomed boat which definitely captured the kids’ imagination. South of here is Playa de Las Americas which is the holiday resort to visit in Tenerife if you want the all-inclusive holiday. It’s extremely popular with young people and is known as the party capital of the island. It does however have many beaches, activities and sports to indulge in during the day and lots of restaurants to choose from at night.
We definitely saved the best for last though, as we took a trip through the El Teide National Park on our way back to Santa Cruz to see the volcano which has quite literally shaped the island. Staying nearby, we went on a guided tour of the park before taking a cable car up to the top of the volcano for an out of this world experience. It was all we’ve talked about since we got home!
Natalie Likness’ love of travel was introduced to her from an early age due to a trip abroad before she was even born! Having close family and making friends across the world, she has continued to travel ever since.
