San Andrés in Tenerife 2026: Icod's Tablas and New Wine

San Andrés (St Andrew) is celebrated in the north of Tenerife on the eve and the day of the saint, 29 and 30 November, with wineries opening their doors, new wine and roast chestnuts. The most striking event is the tablas of Icod de los Vinos: young and not-so-young people hurtle down the slopes of the old town sitting on wooden boards. For 2026, Icod Town Council has brought the calendar forward because there is a general election on Sunday 29 November: the new wine is uncorked on Friday 27, the board sliding and activities take place on Saturday 28, and the streets are prepared for the tablas on Sunday 29. Detailed times will come with the official programme, which had not been published as of October 2026.

San Andrés 2026 dates

What Icod de los Vinos Town Council has confirmed (statements reported by RTVC on 9 October 2026):

Friday 27 November: uncorking of the first bottle of wine from the new harvest.
Saturday 28 November: board sliding and other activities.
Sunday 29 November: the usual streets will be prepared for the tablas. A general election is held that day, and the Town Council is coordinating the events with the Electoral Board. The mayor, Javier Sierra, summed it up: there will be tablas, because it is a tradition nobody can stop.
Monday 30 November: San Andrés day.

What usually repeats every year, and is worth checking in the 2026 programme:

The uncorking takes place at night in the plaza Andrés de Lorenzo Cáceres, opposite the church of San Marcos. In 2025 it was at 21:00 and was broadcast by Televisión Canaria.
A large Wine Festival with wineries and restaurants from the municipality and from the island's denominations of origin. In 2025 it was held on the afternoon of Saturday 29; in 2024, in calle San Agustín.
The Batalla de Polkas, a duel of improvised verses, in the main square. In 2025 it was on the 30th at 18:00.
Traffic closures in the historic centre on the days of the tablas.

Check the website and social media of Icod de los Vinos Town Council from mid-November. If your trip falls on those dates, the site's events calendar will list the confirmed events.

The tablas of Icod: what they are

The tradition dates back to when timber was brought down from the mountains to the coast by dragging it along the slopes. Today the tablas are wooden boards, often made of tea (the resinous heartwood of the Canary Island pine), on which one or more riders slide downhill along cobbled or asphalt streets, at considerable speed and with a lot of noise. The best-known street is calle Antonio González, which everyone calls El Plano; calle San Antonio is another regular, and in recent years the Town Council has extended the tablas to the outlying neighbourhoods.

It is not a parade with a fixed schedule: people slide all day long, with the liveliest atmosphere in the afternoon and well into the night, depending on the day. Spectators stand on the pavements and at the ends of the streets. La Guancha, the neighbouring municipality, also keeps its own tablas for San Andrés.

How to watch the tablas safely

The boards come down fast, they are heavy and they have no brakes. Safety depends above all on the spectators:

Do not stand in the roadway or at the bottom of a street where boards are coming down: stay on the pavements, behind barriers if there are any, or in side doorways.
Keep an eye on children at all times. In previous editions the Town Council has used street signs to mark which stretches are used for sliding, some of them adapted for children: look for those stretches if you are travelling as a family.
If you want to try it, the mayor himself has asked for caution and for anyone who has never done it to go with someone experienced. Ask the locals before you set off and wear sturdy clothes and closed shoes.
Shoes with a good grip as a spectator too: the slopes of the old town are steep and the surface gets polished by the boards.
Arrive early if you want to see El Plano: it is the busiest street and fills up in the afternoon.

New wine, wineries and chestnuts

In Tenerife, San Andrés marks the moment to taste the wine from the latest harvest. Wineries open, taverns serve the young wine and roast chestnuts are handed out or sold in the streets, often with salted fish, sweet potato and bread. It is the same logic that gave rise to the guachinches: winegrowing families opened their homes after the harvest to sell the new wine with some food. If you want to repeat the experience outside the festival, the guide to guachinches in Tenerife explains how they work and how to tell an authentic one.

To understand what you are drinking, the north is home to three of the island's denominations of origin: Ycoden-Daute-Isora (Icod's own), Valle de La Orotava and Tacoronte-Acentejo. The guide to Tenerife wine summarises them, with their grapes and styles.

Puerto de la Cruz: the cacharros

In Puerto de la Cruz, the night of 29 November belongs to the children: they collect cans, pots and old metal objects, string them onto a wire and drag them through the streets making as much noise as possible. This is called correr los cacharros. According to Tenerife Tourism, the route ends in the plaza del Charco, where chestnuts are roasted in quantity and gofio, sweet potato and island wine are offered. It is free and very family-friendly; if you are travelling with children, tell them to bring their own cacharros. The exact time for 2026 will be known with the municipal programme.

For the rest of your visit, the guide to Puerto de la Cruz covers the old town, Lago Martiánez and the gardens.

La Orotava, Tacoronte and other municipalities

Valle de La Orotava: the custom of correr los cacharros belongs to the whole valley, not just Puerto de la Cruz. The wineries and taverns of La Orotava and Los Realejos use these dates to bring out the new wine.
Tacoronte and the Acentejo area: this is the area with the most wineries in the north. In previous editions, La Laguna has hosted an event devoted to Tacoronte-Acentejo wine at the end of November, with tastings from around twenty wineries. Check the 2026 municipal events calendar.
Wineries you can visit: if you prefer a guided visit with a tasting, book ahead; the guide to wineries you can visit lists the main ones by area.

How to get to Icod without a car

You will be drinking wine and the old town is closed to traffic, so the guagua (bus) and taxi are the best options. Do not drive if you have been drinking: the roads in the north are winding and there is a lot of return traffic at night.

From Santa Cruz and La Laguna: TITSA line 108 to Icod de los Vinos, reinforced in 2026 with double-decker buses.
From Puerto de la Cruz: lines 363 (towards Garachico and Buenavista) and 325 (towards Los Gigantes), both via Icod.
From the south: line 464, running since 7 September 2026, connects Costa Adeje bus station with Icod via Santiago del Teide every two hours. Check the time of the last return bus before you set off.
Taxi: there is a taxi rank in Icod, but on festival nights the wait is long. If you are staying far away, arrange your return in advance.

Travel cards and fares are in the guide to getting around Tenerife. If you go by car, park on the outskirts of the old town and walk up.

The weather at the end of November

On the coast it is still warm during the day: AEMET's climate normals give a November maximum of 24.1 °C in Santa Cruz. Icod is in the north and its old town sits at some altitude, so it gets cool at night and it can rain: in La Laguna, the reference for the north, November totals 81 mm over about 8 days. Bring a jacket and something waterproof. The data for each area are in Tenerife weather by month.

What else to do that weekend

Icod has much more than tablas. In the morning, before the streets fill up, visit the Drago Milenario (the thousand-year-old dragon tree), the church of San Marcos and the Cueva del Viento (booking required). Garachico is a few minutes away along the coast, and playa de San Marcos, down below, is Icod's beach. Bear in mind that there is a general election on Sunday 29: some public buildings will be used as polling stations, but bars and restaurants open as normal.

Frequently asked questions

When are the San Andrés 2026 tablas in Icod de los Vinos?

The Town Council has announced the uncorking of the new wine on Friday 27 November, board sliding and activities on Saturday 28 and the streets prepared for the tablas on Sunday 29. Times will come with the official programme; check the municipal website before you go.

Is it dangerous to watch the tablas?

No, if you stay off the roadway and on the pavements, away from the bottom of the streets. The boards come down fast and do not stop easily, so always keep an eye on children.

Can a tourist ride a board?

It is a popular, open festival, but the Town Council asks for caution and for anyone without experience to go with someone who has it. Start with a short stretch with a gentle slope.

What are the cacharros of Puerto de la Cruz?

It is the children's version of San Andrés: on the night of 29 November children drag cans and metal objects tied to a wire through the streets to the plaza del Charco, where chestnuts are roasted.

How do I get to Icod by guagua?

With line 108 from Santa Cruz and La Laguna, the 363 or the 325 from Puerto de la Cruz and the 464 from Costa Adeje. Check the timetables on TITSA, especially for the return journey.