The Best Excursions in Tenerife: Day Trips and Tours by Area

Excursions in Tenerife fall into two groups: those that work better with an operator because they solve night-time transport, a permit with a quota, a boat or a guide (Teide at sunset, the Masca ravine, whale watching, La Gomera without a car, wineries), and those that are better and cheaper on your own with a hire car or by guagua (the local word for bus), such as Anaga, La Laguna or the villages of the north. This selection sorts the most worthwhile day trips by area and gives for each one how long it takes, where it leaves from, whether you need a car, who it suits and what to check before booking. There are no prices: they change every season.

Organised or independent: how to decide

An organised excursion pays off when it solves something that is expensive, complicated or impossible on your own: transport if you do not drive, a permit with a quota, a boat, a guide or night driving on a mountain road. It does not pay off when the coach spends half the day picking up guests from hotels and making shopping stops. To get around independently, getting around Tenerife explains buses, the tram and car hire.

Teide: cable car, guided tour or sunset with stars

Taking the cable car on your own

• Duration: half a day from the south or from Puerto de la Cruz, with 60 to 90 minutes of driving each way.
• Departure point: the base station, at 2,356 metres on the TF-21, with free parking. By bus, TITSA line 342 from Costa Adeje and 348 from Puerto de la Cruz, with one departure a day in each direction: check the timetables.
• With or without a car: better with a car, so you can stop at the Roques de García.
• Who it suits: anyone who tolerates altitude; the cable car does not admit pregnant women, children under 3 or people with cardiovascular conditions, and if you have respiratory problems, check first.
• What to check: book your time on the official cable car website, because places sell out and the service closes in strong wind (bookings are then changed or refunded). The cabin climbs in about eight minutes to La Rambleta, at 3,555 metres; trails 11 (La Fortaleza viewpoint) and 12 (Pico Viejo viewpoint) are open to all, but the summit via trail 10, Telesforo Bravo, needs a permit from Tenerife ON, capped at 300 people a day in three time slots and paid for non-residents since January 2026.
• Worth paying for a tour: yes, if you do not drive or want a guide; no, if you have a car and book the cable car in advance.

The complete guide to the park, with trails, viewpoints and rules, is in Teide National Park.

Sunset and stars

The usual format lasts four to five hours: departure in the late afternoon, sunset at a viewpoint in the park, a light dinner and one or two hours at a telescope with a guide. It is the Teide excursion where paying makes the most sense, because it solves the night driving, the telescopes and someone to identify the sky in one go. Choose dates close to the new moon, bring winter clothes even in August and ask how many people share each telescope. It is also the most sought-after option among the ideas for Tenerife for couples.

Masca: viewpoints, regulated ravine and a boat from Los Gigantes

By car to the hamlet

• Duration: between an hour and a half and two hours there and back from Santiago del Teide, plus time for stops; it combines with Garachico and Buenavista in a day.
• Departure point: the TF-436 from Santiago del Teide, with the Cherfe viewpoint before you drop down to the hamlet. By bus, TITSA line 355 from Santiago del Teide.
• Who it suits: anyone who wants the Teno landscape without walking. The road is narrow, with tight bends and coach traffic, and parking in the hamlet is scarce: go first thing or late in the day.

Walking down the ravine

• Duration: about four hours of descent on a trail of around five kilometres and 750 metres of elevation change, rated as difficult.
• Departure point: only on TITSA bus 355 from Santiago del Teide; arriving by private vehicle is not allowed. You must check in at the visitor centre 30 minutes before your booked time.
• How it works: booking in your name on the trail's official website, with descent slots between 8:30 and 13:00 and 25 places every half hour. Children under 8 are not admitted, and minors must be accompanied or carry a signed authorisation. The way out is by boat from the Masca cove to Los Gigantes: the boat ticket is bought separately, must be for no more than four hours after your slot and there is no option to walk back up, unless the jetty is closed because of heavy swell. The return from Los Gigantes to Santiago del Teide is on lines 462 or 325.
• Fee: paid, with a general rate of around 40 euros; free for Tenerife residents and members of Canary Islands mountaineering or caving federations, and reduced for Canary Islands residents and under-18s.
• Who it suits: hikers in good physical shape with hiking boots. Masca beach is closed to the public and you cannot swim in the ravine bed.
• Worth paying for a tour: only for the guide and the transport; the trail booking and the boat are paid for anyway.

By boat from Los Gigantes

Two- to three-hour trips from the Los Gigantes marina run along the cliffs, up to 600 metres high, to the Masca cove, with a swim stop and, often, pilot whales and dolphins along the way. It is the way to see Masca from below without walking the ravine, and it suits the whole family.

Anaga and Taganana

• Duration: a full day if combined with La Laguna; half a day for a trail and a viewpoint.
• Departure point: the TF-12 from La Laguna to the Cruz del Carmen visitor centre, the starting point for the laurisilva trails (the humid laurel forest that survives on the ridges). By bus, TITSA line 946 links Santa Cruz with Taganana and Almáciga.
• With or without a car: better with a car, taken slowly: narrow roads, frequent fog and little parking at the viewpoints.
• Who it suits: anyone looking for the green side of the island and villages such as Taganana, Roque de las Bodegas or Almáciga; Benijo beach has been officially closed since July 2024 because of rockfalls, and Almáciga is the alternative.
• Worth paying for a tour: tours from the south combine Anaga with Santa Cruz and La Laguna in one long day; they pay off if you do not drive.

The trails, viewpoints and park rules are in Anaga Rural Park.

La Laguna and Santa Cruz

• Duration: half a day each, or a full day for both.
• Departure point: tram line 1 links Santa Cruz and La Laguna in about 40 minutes; from the south, TITSA line 111 reaches Santa Cruz via the TF-1.
• With or without a car: without. Parking in La Laguna's old town is difficult and both cities are best explored on foot.
• Who it suits: anyone who wants history and city life. La Laguna has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 for its colonial street plan and its mansions with courtyards; Santa Cruz offers the Auditorio, the García Sanabria park, the Nuestra Señora de África market and Las Teresitas beach (line 910).
• Worth paying for a tour: a guided walking tour of La Laguna adds context for little money; a coach from the south just for Santa Cruz does not.

The historic north: Icod, Garachico and La Orotava

• Duration: a full day by car on the TF-5 and the roads of the north coast.
• Departure point: from Puerto de la Cruz everything is less than half an hour away; from the south, allow more than an hour to Garachico.
• What to see: the dragon tree in Icod de los Vinos, the historic centre and the charcos (natural pools in the lava) of Garachico, and the houses with balconies of tea (resinous Canary pine heartwood) in La Orotava, from where the TF-21 climbs to Teide from the north.
• Worth paying for a tour: northern tours from the south usually combine Teide with Icod and Garachico in a day with many hours on the coach; with a car, it is better to give the north a day of its own.

Details of each stop are in what to see in the north of Tenerife and in the prettiest villages in Tenerife.

Whale and dolphin watching

• Duration: two hours on a speedboat for watching only; three hours on a mid-sized boat with a swim and a meal; up to five on a large catamaran with a coastal route.
• Departure point: Los Cristianos, Puerto Colón (Costa Adeje) and Los Gigantes, with daily departures; also small boats from Las Galletas.
• Who it suits: everyone. A resident population of short-finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins lives off the south-west coast, so you see cetaceans on most days of the year.
• What to check: an authorised company and a boat with the Barco Azul badge, the number of passengers and cancellation for sea conditions. Nobody should offer you a swim with the animals. Everything else, from the rules to seasickness, is in whale and dolphin watching in Tenerife.
• Worth paying: always, because there is no way to do it independently.

La Gomera in a day

• Duration: ten to twelve hours, with the first ferry in the morning and the last in the afternoon.
• Departure point: the port of Los Cristianos. The crossing to San Sebastián de La Gomera takes about 50 minutes with Fred. Olsen Express; Baleària Canarias (formerly Naviera Armas) also runs the route.
• With or without a car: many hire contracts in Tenerife do not allow you to take the car on the ferry or require prior authorisation; check in writing. The alternative is to hire a car at the port of San Sebastián or book the organised tour, which includes ferry, coach, guide and lunch.
• What to see: Garajonay National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, with its laurisilva, the viewpoints over the ravines and San Sebastián; tours usually add a demonstration of silbo gomero, the island's whistled language.
• Who it suits: those who have been to Tenerife before or want a change of pace; with small children it is a long day.
• Worth paying for a tour: yes, if you do not want to sort out the ferry, car and route yourself. To go independently, the day trip to La Gomera from Tenerife covers the ferry, route and timetables.

Wineries and guachinches

Tenerife has five designations of origin (Tacoronte-Acentejo, Valle de La Orotava, Ycoden-Daute-Isora, Abona and Valle de Güímar) and wineries open to visitors in all of them. A wine tour with transport makes sense: nobody drives after a tasting. Guachinches, family-run places in the north that serve their own wine with simple food, open mainly in the new-wine season; a guided tour helps you find the ones that are open, although with a car and a driver who does not drink you can do it on your own. Duration: half a day or an afternoon.

Loro Parque and Siam Park: full days

These are the two parks that take up a whole day. Loro Parque, in Puerto de la Cruz, is a zoo that takes five or six hours to see; from the south, a ticket with coach included saves two hours on the motorway. Siam Park, in Costa Adeje, is the water park: it has a free bus from Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas and Costa Adeje, height limits on the slides and shorter opening hours in winter. There is a combined ticket for both. To choose between parks, beaches and activities with children, Tenerife with kids sorts the options by age.

Submarine and parasailing

Two short excursions in the south that complement a beach day. The tourist submarine leaves from Marina San Miguel (San Miguel de Abona) and descends to about 30 metres on a dive of around an hour, suitable for anyone who does not want to or cannot scuba dive. Parasailing is booked in Puerto Colón: about ten minutes of flight towed by a speedboat at about 100 metres high, within a trip of half an hour to an hour; you need to be able to swim and companies set a minimum age. In both cases, ask about cancellation for wind and weight limits.

What to check when booking any excursion

• Authorised company: listed in the Canary Islands register of active tourism businesses or travel agencies, with third-party liability insurance and qualified guides.
• Group size: a 50-seat coach and an eight-seat minibus are not the same excursion.
• Cancellation: for weather (cable car, sea, paragliding) it should be free; if you cancel yourself, read the deadline.
• Hotel pick-up: included or not, and the real time the group sets off after the last pick-up.
• What is extra: the cable car, the summit permit, the Masca boat, park tickets, food and drink.

When to pay and when to go independently

• Pay: sunset and stars on Teide, whale watching, La Gomera without a car, wineries, the Masca ravine if you want a guide, the submarine and parasailing.
• Independently with a car: the Teide cable car with a booking, Anaga, the historic north, the Masca viewpoints, Garachico and Buenavista.
• Independently without a car: La Laguna and Santa Cruz by tram and bus, Las Teresitas, Siam Park with its free bus, whale watching from the port nearest your hotel.
• It depends: Loro Parque from the south, and Teide by bus, with only one departure a day.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most recommended excursion in Tenerife if you can only do one?

Teide. With a car and a cable car booking, on your own; without a car or if you want to see the night sky, the sunset and stars tour. No other trip packs so much landscape into so few hours.

Can you do excursions in Tenerife without a car?

Yes. Whale watching, the submarine, parasailing and Siam Park leave from the southern resort areas; La Laguna and Santa Cruz can be done by tram and bus; Teide has one bus a day from Costa Adeje and another from Puerto de la Cruz; and for Anaga, Masca, the north and La Gomera, organised tours solve the transport.

Which excursions leave from the south of Tenerife?

Practically all of them: operators pick up in Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas and Costa Adeje for Teide, Masca, Anaga, the north and La Gomera, and the boats leave from Los Cristianos, Puerto Colón and Los Gigantes. Allow one or two hours on the coach each way to the north.

How far in advance do you need to book?

The Teide cable car, days or weeks ahead in high season; the summit permit, as soon as places open, because they run out; the Masca ravine, with some margin because of the daily quota; whale-watching boats, a day or two ahead outside school holidays.

Which Tenerife excursion works best with young children?

Two-hour whale-watching boats, Siam Park, the cable car without the high-altitude trails, the drive through the north with a stop at the charcos of Garachico and the boat from Los Gigantes to Masca. The Masca ravine does not admit children under 8.

Keep planning

• Teide National Park: a visitor's guide
• Whale and dolphin watching in Tenerife
• Anaga Rural Park: a visitor's guide
• Getting around Tenerife