A home for my words.

Sendero Playa del Ancón

This was one of my absolute favorite spots in Tenerife. You can take the 101 bus from La Laguna to El Calvario and walk over to the Santa Ana Mirador. From there, you hike down to the beach. Wear proper shoes as the terrain is a bit challenging. Once you emerge onto the beach, you’re on a secluded paradise. The day I went with a friend, there were just a few people: equal amounts surfers and sand-sitters. The waves were extremely strong (there was a red flag up) and there’s no lifeguard, so this is more for enjoying the seclusion than anything. There were also a few dogs off leash.

Sendero de Güímar

The 120 bus from Santa Cruz drops you right at Puertito de Güímar near a small beach. If you’re up to it from there, you can begin the hike. It’s all rocks and no trees, so carrying sun coverage is best. The nicest part is that as you do the hike, you pass tiny and private beach spots that you can go down to. If you complete the trail, you’ll end up in a town call El Socorro and you can walk to Enlace El Polígono to take the 111, 120, or 128 bus back to Santa Cruz.

Bajamar / Punta del Hidalgo

A friend was in town when I visited this area, so this was a rare non-bus commute day for me. We were originally going to visit Playa del Arenal, but when we arrived I saw plenty of signs warning against hiking down to it. My friend still wanted to go and there was a couple down at the beach, but to me it just wasn’t worth it. I had such an unwelcoming feeling come over me, which wasn’t helped by the trash and stench you are greeted with at the trailhead down to that particular beach. And anyways there’s a nice beach and natural pool just a short walk away from it in Bajamar, which we enjoyed along with driving over to Puerto del Hidalgo where there was an easy hike down to a stunning beach. At that location, there were only a handful of other people and a couple fishing in the distance.

Anaga Laurel Forest

Though this appears as just a standard rainforest to me, I learned that Anaga is technically a “laurel” forest, and it offers a number of hiking trails. You can take the 76, 77, 273, or 275 bus from La Laguna over to Anaga, which I did first thing in the morning and I had the hike to myself. If you’re driving there, I DEFINITELY recommend going first thing in the morning. Once the spots are taken, traffic police are dispatched and they begin turning drivers away.

Once there, you can stop at the visitor’s center for advice on where to hike. Just know that the hikes that go from the forest and end on the beaches of the north become very challenging in the last stretch. The staff may discourage you from doing these hikes if you don’t have specific gear.

Anaga is actually a really cool place to go when the weather is foggy and rainy. It’s a forest after all and visiting when the weather is like this really brings a strong spirit alive. It was spooky and unlike anything I’d ever experienced, but the next time I went back with clearer weather, it didn’t feel the same. You’ll still be mostly covered from the sky even if it’s a sunny day, but the misty and mystical element seems to fade away.

Sendero Agua Garcia

This is a relatively easy trail and there’s even a shorter path meant for people with reduced mobility. You can hike through a bit of a rainforest environment and end up at a picnic area with plenty of benches and a small playground to have lunch and let kids play.

Teresitas (+ Teresitas Mirador)

Teresitas is more of a local beach and instead of the famous black sand throughout much of the island, it has golden sand imported from abroad. The only other beaches I know of on the island with light-colored sand are in the south. The first half of this beach can be pretty active with people during the day that rent beach chairs/beds near restaurants. If you walk to the end of the beach where there aren’t food options, it will be less crowded.

If you can arrive around sunset and hang out, Teresitas will have very few people there. One night, I saw scuba divers head out into the sea under the cover of darkness. It was so dimly lit that they seemed extraterrestrial at first. In the end, I think they were going out to scan for valuables people may have left on the sea floor throughout the day. Another night, some friends and I had a bit of a picnic followed by a foot race. Nights on Teresitas beach were pretty magical.

There is also a viewpoint up above Teresitas. You can take the 945 bus there, but just know that the schedule is extremely spaced out. That said, the view is pretty enough and I could see someone bringing a nice book and a snack up there to pass time until the next guagua arrives.

Radazul

The town of Radazul is a popular scuba diving location and is less than 30 minutes away from the Intercambio de Santa Cruz on the 111, 122, 128, 138, and 139 bus. There’s a cute little food stand with tequenos and a delicious mango drink as well as a couple of nice beach spots that you can plop down at. If you take the stone stairs leading away from these beaches, you’ll be greeted by more beach spots in the town of Tabaiba.

Other Beaches

What makes Tenerife so wonderful is there are so many beaches! I don’t cover them all in this post because this is long enough, but I’ll quickly mention a few more: Playa del Cabezo is the first beach I visited in Tenerife in order to see the Windsurfing World Grand slam, Bollullo is great if you’re going to be visiting Puerto de la Cruz, Las Gaviotas is nearby Teresitas but has much more limited bus availability, and a friend and I spotted Montaña Roja from Playa El Médano and made it to the peak in our bikinis whilst others were in full hiking gear (lol). There are also popular beaches in the north like Almáciga and Los Castillos, plus the many beaches in the south that are popular with tourists for the year-round sunshine and warmth.

**SAFETY NOTE***

I recall shortly after landing in Tenerife, I saw a public advisory stating that many of the drowning deaths on the island are of tourists. I don’t play around with sea safety as is, but I understood the point was that as an outsider, we don’t always have the knowledge of how the sea behaves at different beaches. I, unfortunately, witnessed someone almost drown to death at Playa Almáciga.

What happened

The red flag was up at the beach as soon as we arrived and prior to this incident, the lifeguards had already done an amazing job descending to the shoreline and literally herding people in the water like sheep. They seemed to be reading the waves and telling people when we needed to move to a safer zone of the water. The man who began drowning had somehow slipped past the lifeguards and was in one of the no-go swimming zones. The harrowing incident lasted upwards of five minutes, and I went from thinking I was going to see someone be rescued to falling apart at the idea that this might be someone in their last moments. The waves were so intense that a lifeguard swimming out to rescue him appeared to not be gaining any forward momentum for large swaths of time. Another lifeguard on the sand eventually had to fend off a desperate beach-goer who wanted to try his hand at rescuing the swimmer. While the swimmer eventually made it back on land and was conscious, it was a horrible episode. It was unsettling to hear dogs happily barking and unknowing children giggling on one area of the beach, while on the other end adults watched in horror. And it was just as disquieting when things seemed to snap right back to normal once he was removed from the water. A month prior, I’d spoken with a shopkeeper at the neighboring Playa de las Roques who told me strong waves were the reason nearby Playa Benito had been closed. He told me with a laugh that there were still people who would pass the barrier and visit the beach anyway. I guess I’m just including all of this to say be extra careful when it comes to some of these beaches. Especially since the strongest waves that I witnessed were always on the north side of the island.

Museo Militar de Almeyda

I am far from a military enthusiast, but this museum was free, a nice stroll from my apartment, and had good reviews. I’m glad I listened to those reviews because it’s true that the museum is well done! You get to enter caves, learn about military communication methods, view bayonetes, guns, knives, canons, helicopters, body armor, antique uniforms, and even hand-sewn flags from the late 1700s! At the end of the visit, you can play a video game and put on a 360 VR headset that takes you through various scenes across the island. It felt like I was saying a final goodbye to many of the locations that had become familiar to me during my time in Tenerife.

Casa del Carnaval

Tenerife has their own annual Carnaval celebration and this free museum walks visitors through the history and its beautiful costumes. It is located along a quite street that has practically no foot traffic during the weekend, so it’s a nice area to read a book or eat a snack in some peace and solitude if that’s something you’d like to do before or after your museum visit.

Museo de Bellas Artes

This is another free museum that’s nice for a short visit. There’s a nearby park and two ice cream shops as well, if you’d like to grab a treat after your visit.

Parque Garcia Sanabria

One day I stopped to get ice cream and bumped into a couple fresh off of a cruise ship. It’s unfortunate that the cruise ship dropped them off around siesta time and required them to be back by 8pm, when things are just starting to open up again on the island. But when they asked me what they should check out with the time that they had, it was an easy answer for me: walk the Rambla up to Parque Garcia Sanabria.

It’s one of those lovely parks where you can find the right spots inside of it that make you feel like the city around you doesn’t exist. From outside, it looks like a perfect reserve with a dense brush of tropical trees enveloping the treats within. There’s even a museum in there! I’d walked past it prior without ever noticing since it’s tucked away and keeps limited hours. It’s not much, but a pleasant, free experience to have if you’re already in the park.

Plaza Militar

This is a good spot to catch buses going around Santa Cruz and visit a kiosk restaurant where you can grab a beverage or a light meal.

Parque La Granja

An easy second favorite park after Garcia. You don’t get the same feeling of being totally immersed because there isn’t as dense of tree coverage, but there are still plenty of beautiful trees! Once while hanging out there with a friend, I marveled at all the different colors flowering from the trees: yellows, reds, pinks, and so on. There’s a skateboard park and a few small playgrounds as well.

Plaza Veinticinco de Julio de Los Patos

This is a nice spot to read a book or take some photos on or of the beautiful benches.

Recinto Ferial

I visited Recinto Ferial when I went to support a friend in her CrossFit competition, but there was a wide display of other sports competitions: boxing, traditional Canary Island wrestling, dance competitions, gymnastics, and the list just goes on. There were also health food and sports equipment vendors on site. The venue is known for holding different sorts of events, so check their calendar in case there’s something that suits your interests 🙂

Auditorio

While I ended up never making it inside, you can spot this stunning auditorium from many places around the island and should look into their calendar to see if there are ever events you’d like to check out.

Mercado de Nuestra Señora de Africa

Most cities and towns in Tenerife (ex: La Laguna, Mercadillo del Agricultor La Matanza de Acentejo, etc) have their own local farmers market. This specific market in Santa Cruz is open every day of the week and although it’s listed as closing at 4pm, most vendors wrap up by 2pm in time for siesta. If you can avoid going on weekends when it gets super crowded, do so. It may seem a bit surprising considering the market comes across as meant for tourists, but I had numerous locals tell me that this market is actually the best place to go for the freshest and best-priced fruits and vegetables. There are also small local produce shops in most neighborhoods that also keep limited hours and I found that, for the most part, supermarkets weren’t the best place to get fresh produce.

Sailboat whale watching

This is the type of tour I’d already decided I wouldn’t do. I’m not big into boats or swimming past the shore, and I didn’t want to pay money if I wasn’t guaranteed to see sea life. However, a friend was in town who is big on all three, so I caved. In the end, being on a sailboat was a beautiful experience 🙂 I got to relax on the boat with champagne while a few passengers went snorkeling, and we actually saw two families of whales! The sailors know exactly where to find the whales and they’re so used to them, they can identify each whale by the shape of their head. They even name them, including the newest babies.

Mt. Teide, Parque Nacional del Teide, and Stargazing

With proper planning, I would’ve climbed Teide by reserving a spot to visit the peak far in advance. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to summit the volcano alone or wait for a visitor to agree to a date. It’s the type of thing you must reserve months in advance and not only that, you have to make sure to reserve it on the exact date that the registration is released. The spots get booked in seconds. However, in my time in Tenerife, I got to see Teide from a number of vantage points — both the sea, the sand, and the highway. It would be lovely to see it during the winter when it’s snowcapped!

The best part of booking a tour was hiking around Parque Nacional del Teide and discovering that there’s also an option to hike from the base of the park all the way up to the peak. You must have a permit and be prepared for the arduous trek. A close second in the experience was getting to see the night sky full of stars. A guide pointed out so many constellations that I couldn’t even retain all the information, but it was cool to experience. Keep in mind, you’re at a bit of a higher elevation and the night will be very cold, so it’s advisable to pack layers.

Let me start by saying I’m a digital nomad that doesn’t really use coworking spaces for a few reasons:

• In the work that pays me, I often work nights when most coworking places are closed
• My work requires lots of virtual meetings and I don’t want to take those calls in public places
• I’m not making a ton of money and prefer not to put a chunk of my budget towards coworking spaces (instead, I focus on booking the most comfortable Airbnb I can afford)

Plus, even when I was making more money and living in Buenos Aires, I didn’t want to risk taking my laptop out onto the streets with me. Even though I only use cheap laptops, it’s just not worth the potential headache/trauma for me. That said, I would spend my days working on writing projects in Tenerife and these are the two coworking options I would recommend:

Rincón del Pan Pulido 72 & Coworking

I went here a few times. Of the paid co-working options in Tenerife, this one was the cheapest. For 10 euro, you get a pulgita (small sandwich), a coffee to your liking, and orange juice. Not to mention you can stay the entire day, meaning 7am-9pm, and you can leave and come back throughout the day. The other coworking options I found in Tenerife were over 20 euro for the day, only included coffee, and closed early. At Rincón, you can only keep liquids at your working desk and have to eat the actual food in the break room or in the main cafe space and the overhead lights were super bright for me, but I pretty much prefer complete darkness or natural light to artificial lights, so take this with a grain of salt. At least the stark lighting and environment made it so that I got serious work done while I was there. As far as culture, there are no coworking events and it doesn’t get too crowded in there, but I found that if you start up a conversation, the other workers are pretty friendly.

Biblioteca de Arte TEA

This is where I did most of my work for the first month or two. It’s a beautiful library and, of course, it’s free! My main complaint is that there’s never enough air conditioning there. I’d walk 30 minutes to get there and spend the first moments trying to cool my body temperature down. Once I was fed up with the humidity of the place, I just stopped going. But it’s a beautiful area with plenty of options for lunch (either going to the nearby mercado or bringing your own lunch and eating in a pretty spot) and you can visit the museum exhibits right next to and on top of the library for free also.