Easter in Tenerife 2027: Processions, Adeje and Holidays

Holy Week (Semana Santa) 2027 in Tenerife runs from Palm Sunday, 21 March, to Easter Sunday, 28 March, and its main days are Maundy Thursday, the 25th, and Good Friday, the 26th, both public holidays throughout the Canary Islands. The events that draw the biggest crowds repeat every year: the dawn procession (Madrugada) of the Cristo de La Laguna, the Passion play in calle Grande in Adeje at midday on Good Friday and the Procesión Magna in Garachico that same afternoon. As of October 2026 no brotherhood or town council has published the 2027 programme, which is usually presented in late February or in March. The times in this guide are those of the 2026 edition or earlier ones: take them as a guide and confirm them in the official programme.

Holy Week 2027 calendar

Friday 19 March: Viernes de Dolores (Friday of Sorrows), with the first processions in several parishes.
Sunday 21 March: Palm Sunday, with palm processions in the morning.
Monday 22 to Wednesday 24: processions at dusk in La Laguna, Santa Cruz and La Orotava.
Thursday 25 March: Maundy Thursday, a public holiday in the Canary Islands.
Friday 26 March: Good Friday, a public holiday in the Canary Islands. It is the day with the most events.
Sunday 28 March: Easter Sunday.
Monday 29 March: a working day in the Canary Islands; Easter Monday is not among the holidays in the 2027 Canary Islands work calendar.

La Laguna: Tenerife's most popular Holy Week

San Cristóbal de La Laguna has the island's benchmark Holy Week, declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest. In 2026, 26 brotherhoods and confraternities took part in more than 20 processions through the historic centre, a World Heritage Site since 1999. Everything is concentrated on a short route between the Cathedral, the Concepción church and the Santuario del Cristo, which you can cover on foot.

What has repeated in recent editions:

Holy Wednesday: the Procesión de las Mantillas.
Early hours of Good Friday: the central event. In 2026 there was a Holy Hour at the Real Santuario del Santísimo Cristo de La Laguna at 2:30 and the procession set off at 4:00. The Cristo, accompanied by the Virgen de los Dolores, St John and Mary Magdalene, goes round the old town and at each stop one of the Seven Last Words is read: the convents of Santa Clara and Santa Catalina, Santo Domingo, the Concepción and the former Hospital de los Dolores, until it reaches the Cathedral. In 2026 it arrived shortly after 9:00.
Good Friday afternoon: the Procesión Magna, at 17:00 in 2026, with most of the city's floats.
Good Friday night: the Procesión del Silencio, at 22:00 in 2026.
Easter Sunday: procession of the Risen Christ.

For the Madrugada, arrive before 3:00 if you want to see it set off, and wrap up warm: La Laguna is at about 550 m above sea level and March nights are cool and often damp. From Santa Cruz you can get there by tram, although at those hours the service does not always run: check Metrotenerife's special timetable or book a taxi. For the rest of your visit to the old town, see what to see in La Laguna.

Adeje: the open-air Good Friday Passion

Every Good Friday Adeje stages the Passion of Christ in calle Grande, with about 300 local residents as amateur actors. The play moves scene by scene from the plaza de la Cruz del Llano to the plaza de España and lasts about two hours. In 2026 it was held on 3 April at 12:00, with free entry, a renewed Last Supper scene and new choreographies by students of the Municipal Music School. Televisión Canaria broadcasts it live.

For 2027 the same format can be expected on Friday 26 March, pending confirmation by the Town Council. Arrive at least an hour early to get a spot in the plaza de España or at the Cruz del Llano, bring water, a cap and sun protection because you watch it standing in the midday sun, and avoid driving into the old town: leave your car on the outskirts or take the guagua (bus) up from Costa Adeje, a few kilometres away.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The capital has a more sober, neighbourhood-style Holy Week, with processions at dusk from the mother church of La Concepción and the church of San Francisco. In 2026 the programme included:

Palm Sunday, 11:30: palm procession with the Cristo Predicador from La Concepción.
Holy Tuesday, 20:15: the Señor de las Tribulaciones from San Francisco, one of the most venerated images in the city.
Maundy Thursday, 20:30: Jesús Cautivo and the Esperanza Macarena.
Good Friday, 20:00: Procesión Magna del Santo Entierro (Holy Burial) from La Concepción through the centre.

To combine it with a stroll, see what to see in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

La Orotava

La Orotava has one of the oldest Holy Weeks in the Canary Islands, with its cobbled old town as the stage. According to the Town Council's procession guide, its Good Friday usually goes like this:

In the morning: El Encuentro (the Meeting), held since the 17th century: five floats leave Santo Domingo along two routes and meet in the plaza de Patricio García.
At midday: the El Calvario procession.
In the afternoon: the Santo Entierro, from the church of San Juan.
At night: the Procesión del Silencio, in which the Dolorosa goes round the old town with the lights turned off.

Times change from year to year: check the 2027 programme on the municipal website when it is published.

Garachico: the longest Procesión Magna in the archipelago

On the afternoon of Good Friday, Garachico takes to the streets a Procesión Magna with 25 floats that tell the Passion in chronological order, the largest procession in the Canary Islands. It leaves from the church of Santa Ana and goes through the historic centre towards the glorieta de San Francisco, with Baroque carvings such as the crucified Christ by Martín de Andújar and others brought from workshops in Havana. The departure time is published with the parish programme. If you make the trip, the Garachico guide will help you plan the rest of the day.

The weather at Easter

By late March the coast of Tenerife already feels like spring. AEMET's climate normals for Santa Cruz give March an average maximum of 22.1 °C and a minimum of 15.9 °C, with 38 mm of rain over about 4 days and more than 200 hours of sunshine. The south is a little drier and sunnier, and the sea is at its lowest of the year, around 19 °C.

The night processions are another matter: in La Laguna and La Orotava it gets very cool at night, and for the Madrugada bring a jacket and something for the damp. It can still snow on Teide in March; if you plan to go up, first read the guide to snow on Teide in winter 2026-2027. More month-by-month data in Tenerife weather by month.

What opens and closes on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday

Shops: in the cities, many close on Thursday and Friday. In the tourist areas of the south and in Puerto de la Cruz, many shops and restaurants open.
Supermarkets: some open with reduced hours; do your shopping on Wednesday.
Guaguas: as these are public holidays, TITSA generally applies each line's Sunday and holiday timetable, and in other Holy Weeks it has reinforced the beach lines. Check the TITSA website a few days before; the essentials for getting around are in getting around Tenerife.
Traffic: the old towns of La Laguna, La Orotava, Garachico and Adeje are closed during the processions. Park outside and walk in.
Museums and attractions: many change their hours on public holidays; check each one's website.
Pharmacies: there are always duty pharmacies in every municipality.

Accommodation: high season

Holy Week coincides with the winter high season in the south and with school holidays in mainland Spain and much of Europe. Book accommodation and car hire months in advance. If your priority is the processions, stay in La Laguna, Santa Cruz or the north; if it is the beach, stay in the south, close to Adeje but more than an hour from La Laguna. The comparison of areas is in where to stay in Tenerife.

If you are not looking for processions

The two public holidays fill the south and Teide with residents, so it pays to start early or choose plans with less pressure:

Beach in the south, where the sun is more reliable in March; go early on Thursday and Friday.
Hiking in Anaga or Teno, with the midlands still green after the winter.
Whale and dolphin watching from the port of Los Cristianos or Puerto Colón.
A trip to La Gomera by ferry, booking your ticket early because of demand on those days.
Lenten cooking: traditional dishes on these days are arvejas (peas) with hard-boiled egg, bacalao encebollado (cod with onions) and tollos (dried dogfish), which many casas de comidas (traditional eateries) serve on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

Frequently asked questions

When is Holy Week 2027 in Tenerife?

From Sunday 21 to Sunday 28 March 2027. Maundy Thursday, 25 March, and Good Friday, 26 March, are public holidays in the Canary Islands; Easter Monday, 29 March, is a working day.

What time is the Madrugada in La Laguna?

In 2026, the procession of the Cristo de La Laguna set off at 4:00 in the early hours of Good Friday, after the Holy Hour at 2:30, and reached the Cathedral shortly after 9:00. The 2027 timetable will be confirmed with the official programme.

Is the Passion of Adeje held in 2027?

It is staged every Good Friday, and it is expected to return on 26 March 2027 at midday in calle Grande, with free entry. The Town Council confirms the time and any changes in the preceding weeks.

Do the guaguas run on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday?

Yes, on each line's Sunday and holiday timetable, with lower frequency. Check the timetables on the TITSA website.

Is it warm in Tenerife at Easter?

On the coast, highs are around 22 °C and you can go to the beach in the south, although the water is cool. At night, in La Laguna and the midlands, it is cold for standing still at a procession.