When you think about Canary Island you might think about a long vacations next to the ocean or a pool in an all inclusive hotel. But you do not have to go with the standards and stereotypes. Most of the time these trips gives you better memories for the rest of your life. This is exactly what I have from my time in Tenerife.

Preparation for the trip

As I was doing my internship in Lanzarote, it was pretty easy to plan this trip to Tenerife. It was on my bucket list for some time so when I got 2 days off in a row it was easy to decide what should I do. There are many flights between the canary islands. I used the www.edreams.com website and got flights for 70 Eur round trip. As I was a student, I wanted to see the most with the smallest price. So we decided to save on hotel! In stead, we have rented a car and slept in there. For one night it is fine. What about the itinerary? Only 2 days in an island is enough if you make a good plan what to see. The plan was to visit the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife, then drive to the ”Loro” park in Puerto de la Cruz, then drive on the coast to the small town of Garachico and sleep there. For the next day main thing was to be on time for the flight, on the way back to go to the biggest volcano in Canary islands – Teide.

First day adventure

After a short flight we were ready for an adventure! First thing – go get the car. There was no office in the airport, so we had to get to the transport the company provide. When we got to the office we had not the most pleasant news – a long line with people complaining and I understand why. When we got our turn and showed the reservation papers the guy asked for a deposit and a must pay insurance that did not appear anywhere before. There was no way back, we had to pay. Lesson learnt for the future – check the reviews about the company you will use your service. Otherwise you might pay twice.
So we finally got the car, drove to the capital and walked there a little bit. It is a nice port town, it is lively, have many shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels.
Next stop – puerto de la Cruz and Loro park. Loro means a parrot, so we saw many of them. But it was this green oasis after dusty and rocky island of Lanzarote. At certain hours there are shows of the animals just like Orca, or sea lions, dolphins and so on.
After the park, amazing road was waiting. Driving on the west coast of the island is so beautiful – it has cliffs and ocean looks beautiful.

In the evening we have reached the town of Garachico. It is a small fisherman town with a nice architecture. Narrow streets in the city centre that it is better to walk and not drive. But all in all it is a cosy town to hang around for half of a day.

Second day adventure

After a short night of sleep in a car, parked on the coast of the Atlantic ocean, second day starts. We leave the Garachico town with the sunrise. Setting a Teide volcano on our GPS we start the day. There is a saying in my language ”Going straight is closer but going around is faster”. Our GPS does not know it and leaded us the ”closest” way. We had to go through the mountain so we just drove this dirt road to such a steep hill that our car stopped and started to go backwards. After 3 seconds of panic and started the car again and we drove safely all the way, but still, that moment will stick to me forever. After this ”shortcut” we drove via mountain road, small towns on the way. Thats why I loved this short road trip, because we could stop every 5km to enjoy the view and take pictures.

When we have reached the funicular to the top we did not think our clothes are not good to go up. Only when I saw that temperature is -4 degrees and there is snow on the top I realise my hoodie and summer shoes are not the best choice. Lesson learnt – when you go to a place with hight altitude – be prepared for the temperature differences. But all in all Teide volcano is a place to not miss when you visit Tenerife island.

Next step was to drive to the airport and not miss a flight. Best thing that on the way down the hill, we saw a wet forest. I was so naive thinking that someone is watering the forest – it was simply the rain down the mountains. The trip got even better when we realised that being above the clouds saved us from the rain.

This trip was a really short one and there was no time for chilling in the beach. But I bet on your next vacation in Tenerife you will find some time to explore the island itself and not only the beaches.

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