An island tour to the most important attractions of Tenerife sights, with different moments, spontaneous stops and, above all, lots of fun, can be quite different from what you actually expected. The term “Tenerife island tour” always makes me think back to my vacations as a child. Mallorca, Menorca, Formentera and Fuerteventura, Crete, Cyprus, etc. and apart from green or brown fields, some old buildings and either a jewelry factory, a distillery and a stop for lunch in a mass restaurant, not much is left of the memories.
Apart from the 50 other holidaymakers who arrived on almost the same plane and were of course picked up from the hotels at the start of the tour and before we really got going, the first hour of the tour was already over (without having seen anything)…
The program item “Island tour sightseeing Tenerife” on a Sunday morning – 08.45 am pick-up at the hotel – triggered this feeling again. Was there anything else – that I had forgotten when looking back? I should find out and also whether the point “Individual island tour” should be an >advantage< or rather a >disadvantage<.
Tenerife sights island tour
At a quarter to nine, the whole tour group was already assembled and was greeted in a friendly manner by the “tour guide”. Somehow it all seemed very familiar to me, except that I didn’t need a voucher to hand in to the tour guide. On the individual island tour Sightseeing Tenerife, which TUI had organized during the presentation of the summer program 2014, a friendly look was enough and you were allowed to get in. Minibus – only 5 bloggers, 2 tour guides, 1 TUI employee and a driver “Pedro”.
As I’m not one of the most active people in the morning, the announcement “We’re going to La Laguna now and it will take about 1 hour” wasn’t so wrong for me – I wanted to doze off on the bus for an hour and then see what the small town had to offer. But far from it – instead of the hoped-for peace and quiet, our tour guide gave us some information about the island and a busy conversation about the special features and the famous trade wind cloud.
There was no question of taking a break and I was suddenly “wide awake”. It was interesting and vividly told, not as I had remembered with horror in the last few days. You could practically feel the “story” and were suddenly captivated by the island.
La Laguna Tenerife
My imaginary small town was not on the water, but is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has 25,000 students alone. You read that right – 25,000! I would have thought of a small church and a few small houses, but not the episcopal see with 150,000 inhabitants.
La Laguna (or actually – San Christobal de la Laguna) is located next to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, but at an altitude of almost 500 meters. Considering that the beach was still running alongside the bus, it was a quick ascent, no more sun and instead, the first raindrops on the windshield.
Our tour guide immediately reassured us that it wasn’t rain but “drinking water”, as Tenerife gets most of its drinking water from the trade wind clouds in the north of the island. A new experience for me as we disembarked, not only did it feel like 10°C, but for the Tinerfeños, the inhabitants of Tenerife, anything below 20°C is cold. That suited me well and I was glad that I had actually taken the warm sweater with me for the Teide volcano and could put it on straight away.
A completely new experience for me – walking in drinking water, it certainly sounds much better than “rain” and the town of La Laguna surprised me with its special charm. Real small town flair with historic buildings, special carvings and colorful houses, meets bloggers who take a photo of Tenerife at every opportunity.
What better way to start a trip than to serve a traditional Spanish coffee specialty in a small café – the Barraquito with Licor43 🙂 … a really pleasant taste of orange and lemon, a touch like a soft latte macchiato and yet special…
During the cozy get-together and getting to know each other in detail, special features were exchanged, what do bloggers pay attention to, what do bloggers need or what do they photograph? Is the ham on the wall interesting or rather an old cash register?
Anyone who was still in doubt at the beginning as to whether it would be a typical island tour “Sights of Tenerife” was convinced by now at the latest. Asking questions whenever you wanted, taking photos whenever you saw something and at the same time learning a lot about the peculiarities of the Tinerfeños. That’s fun!
A visit to the bishop’s residence, the old casino and the Mercado, the city’s market. After my visit to the Mercado de la Boqueria in Barcelona, this is the next Spanish market and I really like it.
Bodegas Monje Tenerife winery
After the stroll through the city, we went to a special winery – Bodegas Monje – not only for a wine tasting, but also for a guided tour of the house with all its special features and an evening event that justified the red light and special decorations. It was an amusing experience for the group and provided plenty to talk about throughout the day… 🙂
Just in time for late lunch (we were already a good hour behind schedule), the restaurant I had feared was due to arrive with its 50 seats, a large buffet and a maximum of 30 minutes. But here, too, I was surprised.
La Sabina – a restaurant with a view of the sea off Tenerife, a small tent over the table for a maximum of 12 people, many tapas variations already prepared, a small aperitif and great table decorations.
Small specialties, a matching wine – a good atmosphere and dishes with a special design (who has a tree on their plate?)… but even the best break comes to an end and we continued on to Teide.
Teide volcano & Martian landscape
After the temperature shock in La Laguna, my sweater passed the first tests, but would it be enough for 6°C on the Teide? As the time was already getting on, we had an appointment for dinner at 8pm with around 100 other invited guests and the sun was already setting, so we decided to avoid the cable car and instead visit the plateau in more detail.
A dreamlike landscape as “sights of Tenerife” after breaking through the trade wind clouds, a view above the clouds over Tenerife, a bright blue sky (even if it was cold), and a landscape that has been used for many movies. WOW 🙂 Such a highlight at the end of a beautiful island tour, quite different from what you would have imagined. Would my visit to the Etna volcano in Sicily be similar?
You’ve already seen the unplanned fashion shoot and when we started the return journey exhausted at around 5.30 pm and our Tenerife sightseeing guide told us that we would still need a good hour to get to the hotel, we calculated the time for showering, doing our hair, etc. and thought it would still work… the bus to the restaurant leaves at around 7.30 pm…
But as bloggers are on such a day – in the end a little quieter, dreamier and yet incredibly attentive. As the trade wind cloud crossed back down the Teide, Tenerife once again presented itself in all its beauty. The cloud with “drinking water” above us, the sunset in between and at the end the Atlantic Ocean and yet another Tenerife photo spot that was worthwhile.
A dreamlike – a touch “romantic” evening on Tenerife, amazing photos and a conclusion to the island tour “Sights of Tenerife” that nobody had expected – the time to the restaurant was only 30 minutes afterwards, but we only had one topic later at dinner – “The great and special 🙂 experiences during our >individual< Tenerife sightseeing island tour.”
So a big thank you once again to the entire TUI team, the tour guides and our driver, who created a great unforgettable day on Tenerife that we won’t soon forget and a team of bloggers who were as different as nature during the days in Tenerife and at the same time so fascinating and interesting. Thank you all very much!
