Spent a holiday by the beach in Tenerife and thinking about seeing the rest of the island real fast? I got you! I had exactly one day to show my guests the best that Tenerife has to offer. It doesn’t do it justice at all, but it’s as good as it can get in just one day.
Now, our journey starts in Puerto de la Cruz where I was residing but you can pretty much start wherever you want to. But I recommend driving in the direction that I have set. That way, you’re going to get the best experience and views. Just follow the map.
https://mapy.cz/s/memeverubo (the map is having some technical problems - there is no reason why you shouldn't continue straight to the National park between points 9 and 10).
It is important to note that it is almost impossible to stop everywhere and enjoy all of these places within just one day. The driving itself will take over 4 hours and although it’s „just sitting in a car“, it can make you very tired. So I suggest you pick a few spots you really want to see and then decide if or how many other places you’re going to add to your list if you still have time. Hopefully, my article will give you some ideas about these places and you will be able to decide for yourself.
Ready? Let’s dive in!
The North
The first stop of our journey is at Mirador de Jardina (mirador = viewpoint in Spanish). It is the first viewpoint on our way to the mountains of Anaga and offers beautiful views of the green slopes of the mountains, the city of La Laguna, the mountains of Corona Forestal (where we’ll continue later), and if the visibility is good, even on the majestic Pico del Teide volcano.
A similar, although much more forestry view we get on the second stop of our trip: Cruz del Carmen. Here, you can park your car and discover the popular and short circular path through laurel forests so typical for this area: Sendero de Los Sentidos (path of the senses - map HERE). Then I suggest continuing to Pico del Inglés offering two popular attractions: one of the most beautiful views on the whole island, and an ancient road carved into the rock & surrounded by laurel trees: Camino Viejo al Pico del Inglés.
From here, we’ll be driving all the way down to the oceanside, passing by many viewpoints overlooking both sides of the mountain range. I will only mention one: Mirador Hacia Taganana looking to the west. A little after that, we’ll start descending towards Las Teresitas beach. But before we relax by the water, we’ll drive a little further up to Mirador Las Teresitas. The original viewpoint is, unfortunately, closed but you can still park by the road and take a look (and pictures). They are really worth the short drive up.
The Center
From Las Teresitas, we drive towards Santa Cruz and La Esperanza. There, the mountain road through the Corona Forestal starts. Prepare for beautiful forests with Canarian pine trees, sun shining through them, and an amazing pine tree smell. In Corona Forestal, there are countless viewpoints by the road (again – overlooking both sides of the mountain range).
Among the best ones you can find Mirador de Ortuño surrounded by the trees and looking at the volcano; Mirador de Chipeque overlooking the northern part of the island, the volcano, and sometimes even the mountaintops of the neighboring island of La Palma (it’s also a perfect spot for witnessing the famous phenomenon called „The sea of clouds“ and watching the sunset); and Mirador La Crucita, looking down the Valley of Güímar and the island of Gran Canaria in the distance.
From here, we continue straight to the National Park of the Teide volcano. Driving up to approximately 2300 meters above sea level, the volcano will become closer and bigger; to the point we’ll be driving at its foot through the lava fields in the caldera (a huge crater). Our next stop will be there, at Roques de García.
Roques de García are very old rock formations created in an ancient eruption. They came to existence by standing the test of time while other pieces of stone were collapsing over the hundreds of thousands of years thanks to erosion. You will get beautiful views of the Teide volcano and its older brother – Pico Viejo. And if you feel like getting more of the out-of-this-world natural setting, you can set off for a small hike around the rock: it has approx. 4 kilometers and takes a little over an hour (map HERE).
The West
From here, we start descending back to the ocean, this time on the Southwestern side of the island: to Los Gigantes. Driving down, you’re likely going to spot two of the neighboring island: La Palma, and La Gomera, which is the closest neighbor of Tenerife. If you’re looking for a typically Canarian experience in Los Gigantes, I recommend swimming in its natural pool with a beautiful view of gigantic cliffs sticking out from the sea up to 600 meters high. Or, if you prefer, you can chill on the black sand beach near the port of Los Gigantes: Playa Los Guíos.
After we’ve cooled ourselves in the ocean, we ascend to the mountains of Teno – and then descend again, to the picturesque village of Masca. The road to get there is crazy: very narrow, built on a practically vertical rock, serpenting down. I highly recommend having an experienced driver behind the wheel as it can get very tense to try to let the cars from the opposite direction pass.
In Masca, you can take a walk or indulge in some Canarian specialties in one of the local restaurants with terraces overlooking this wild, beautiful valley. Except for that, there is not so much to do: the village is tiny. So very soon, we continue on the narrow road in the northern direction, to Mirador Altos de Baracán. There, we can spot the mountains of Teno and the island of La Gomera on one side, and the Teide volcano on the other. Through a green valley, we descend towards Buenavista del Norte, and from there, we continue to our last stop of the day: Garachico.
Garachico is a small town on the northern coast and it’s famous mostly for two things: its historical and catastrophic volcanic eruption that destroyed the majority of the town and its port, and the natural pools created by the same eruption. Garachico also has traditional restaurants where you can get amazing food for a great price to have enough energy to finish your road trip back in Puerto de la Cruz. And trust me, you’ll need that energy because you’re likely going to be very tired at this point 😉
Would you do a road trip like this? Which of these spots would you not miss? Let me know!
Note: some of the pictures were taken from the Canva library. I'm given the rights to use them (as I'm Canva Premium user) and used them to provide the best visual quality of this article as some of my pictures weren't sufficient.