If you seek a place to travel on a boat in winter, try Tenerife. You will find there plenty of landscapes: bright green valleys, sandy ocean shores, shady cliffs and streams of hardened lava. You can even play snowballs on Tenerife: there is always snow on the top of Teide volcano (12200 ft), the highest point of the Canary Islands.
Tenerife Architecture
Auditorio de Tenerife
This opera house, built in 2003 by the famous architect Santiago Calatrava, is the most famous building in the Canary Islands and throughout Spain. Auditorio Tenerife is called Atlantic Sydney because of its similar forms. An unusual building with a sail, visible from afar, stands out from the rest of Santa Cruz de Tenerife architecture. The sail has only two points of support, and it seems to be breaking the gravity laws from a distance.
Basilica of Candelaria
The largest of Tenerife temples is located in the city of Candelaria. The sanctuary is dedicated to the Saint Virgin of Candelaria, the keeper of Canary Islands. Madonna here is depicted black. According to legend, local shepherds had found her statue when they had been looking for lost cattle. For a long time, locals considered her to be a local goddess until the Christian conquerors told them that was the Virgin Mary. The architecture of the sanctuary mixes all the styles that have existed in the Canary Islands, so you can seek for style elements while you’re there.
Pyramids of Güímar
Some people call these legendary buildings the missing link between the Egyptian and Mayan pyramids. They were examined by Thor Heyerdahl on his way from Africa to South America on a boat 'Ra-II'. Nowadays, this boat is exposed to the local museum. Only six pyramids have survived to our days, and they remind their relatives behind the sea relatives just a little. But legends tell that in ancient times there had been much more.
Tenerife Localities
Los gigantes
It looks like an ordinary resort town, but there are 1600 feet high rocky cliffs next to it. Examine them in two different ways: first from above, with a view of the ships passing below. And then from the bottom on a sailing yacht, to see from what great height you recently were admiring the surroundings.
Masca
It is both an authentic village and a huge gorge with popular hiking trails. You can rent a boat, get to the gorge by sea and take a walk in its depths. And then visit the village to be impressed by the scale of the surrounding nature. The air here is so fresh as if you never breathed deeply before the gorge.
Puerto de la Cruz
This ancient city is located in the north of the island. It is surrounded by lush forests of giant cactuses, palms and Mediterranean vegetation. There is a large botanical garden, orchid garden and Loro Park in the city. The last one is a big zoological park with parrots and sea animals, including even killer whales. The collection of parrots (350 species and 4000 individuals) is considered to be the largest in the world. According to TripAdvisor, Loro Park was recognized as the best zoo in the world in 2018.
Parks and reserves
Infierno
It is the canyon near Adeje city in the south of Tenerife. Here lies a popular walking trail leading to hundreds of Aboriginal caves with ancient rock paintings. The gorge was closed from 2009 to 2015 because of the landslides danger. Now a limited number of visitors are allowed to go there every day. The easiest way to get there is to register online in advance.
Teide
Teide is the largest volcano in the Canary Islands and throughout Spain (3718 m). Because of him, Tenerife is the third highest volcanic island in the world (the other two are situated in Hawaii). Teide had the same meaning as Olympus for the Greeks for the Guanches, indigenous inhabitants of the island. The evil god Guyot lived there, and mortals were forbidden to ascend the mountain. Teide wakes up from time to time. But now it sleeps, and its peak is covered with snow all year.
Las Águilas Jungle Park
This zoological and botanical park is located on 7.5 hectares near the Los Cristianos beach. Here lives an extensive collection of birds of prey and wild animals: big cats (white lions, leopards, tigers), primates, pygmy hippos, crocodiles and others. The park has several trails with tunnels, waterfalls, suspension bridges and caves.
10 facts about Tenerife
Volcanic soils here quickly absorb water, and 90% of the water in Tenerife is extracted from the underground: wells and water galleries which are tunnels formed by volcanoes.
In total, Tenerife has 28 zones with different climatic conditions, flora and fauna.
If you don’t want to travel by car, you can get around on foot. There are enough walking routes on an island. And plenty of yacht rentals in case you want to travel on a boat.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife holds the second largest annual carnival in the world. Every year more than a million people participate in it.
The Canaries are a free economic zone, and prices in Tenerife’s stores may be lower than in the rest of Spain.
Many blockbusters have been filmed on Tenerife. The latest: “Clash of Titans," “Wrath of Titans," “Fast and the Furious 6," “Jason Bourne” and “Rambo: Last Blood”.
Brian May, the guitarist of the band “Queen”, came up with the song 'Tie your mother down' here. While Ed Sheeran sings about the colour of the local ocean in the song 'Tenerife Sea'.
Every year, on May 3, a competition for the best fireworks takes place in Los Realejos. People buy fireworks produced right in this city which has the only factory in the Canaries.
Teide Volcano casts the largest shadow to the sea in the world. It reaches the islands of La Gomera and Gran Canaria in 25 miles from the volcano.
Canary Malvasia, produced on Tenerife, is one of the most delicious wines in the world. Shakespeare and Walter Scott had been writing about it at the time.
Tenerife Marinas
The island has many ports: Santa Cruz, Candelaria, Garachico, Las Galletas, Los Cristianos, Los Gigantes, Puerto Colon, Radazul, San Miguel. The most convenient marinas for boat rental in Tenerife are Marina del Sur (176 berths) and Marina Santa Cruz (130 berths). The rest is too small, or you must order berth there in advance.
Marina del Sur
Marina del Sur is located in the Las Galletas port. It is one of the last traditional fishing ports in the south of Tenerife, where you can buy fresh fish every day.
To enter the marina, sail close to the shore until you see the green light on the breakwater. Don’t go too far into the port: there are fragments of rocks hidden under the water. Note that there are ruins on the shore with a green door that looks like a green navigation mark from a distance.
Before entering the marina, contact the VHF 9 communication channel, and then proceed to the selected pier. Otherwise, go to the receiving pontoon on the starboard side at the entrance. It is located at the fuel pier. It is better to contact marina in advance: there may not be places.
Marina del Sur is designed for Canaries yacht and catamaran rental vacation: there are 176 mooring places for boats up to 65 feet long. It has electricity, drinking water, showers, toilets, Wi-Fi, 24-hour security and a first aid centre. Depth is about 23 feet at high tide and seven feet at low tide. With strong southerly or southwesterly winds, strong waves are possible.
Marina Santa Cruz
The second name is Marina del Atlantico. It is located in the centre of the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on the southeastern tip of the island.
Any vessel must contact “Tenerife Traffic” on channels 16 or 74 before entering the port on the distance of 12 miles or 1 hour before arrival. After clarifying the information about the vessel, you will be asked to listen to the information on the VHF channel 12. Boats must wait for the designated place and do not moor to the pontoon without permission.
A separate pier protects the marina from the rest of the port. Unpleasant waves can only be caused by the south wind. A special pedestrian bridge connects marina with the city.
Marina Santa Cruz offers visitors 130 berths and all kinds of services. Among them are wifi with a good signal, laundry and 24h security.
