Tenerife Island Tours - explore the island in comfort

Island tours by coach are a popular and comfortable way of seeing more of the island. It has so much to offer, so why not give one of them a try?

Here is a selection of the island tours available

Full Day Tour

This tour leaves from the Los Cristianos/Las Americas area every day at 8am. There is a free pickup from your hotel or apartment complex.

It takes an anticlockwise route around the island, first heading towards the Teide National Park, aiming for the village of Vilaflor. After a brief stop there, the coach heads on through the National Park to Mount Teide, where there is a great photo opportunity for you.

Next stop is further north, the town of La Orotava, one of Tenerife's oldest. Then on to Puerto de la Cruz, where there will be a break of a few hours, to allow you to have lunch and do a bit of sightseeing. There is even time to visit Loro Park, Tenerife's famous zoo, if you wish.

The tour then heads back along the east coast of the island, stopping at Candelaria for more sightseeing, including the statue of the Black Madonna, the patron saint of the Canary Islands.

You will be dropped off back at your accommodation by about 6pm.

Rough guide to price: Adult 26 euros, Child 13 euros

Vilaflor

Half Day Tour

The various different tour operators take in the same places on this tour, but can go in different directions. One version is this:

Leaving the Los Cristianos/Las Americas area at about 8am, after a free pickup from your accommodation, this island tour heads for Vilaflor. From there, it moves on into the Las Cañadas National Park, with plenty of photo opportunities. Eventually, the tour takes you up to near the summit of Mount Teide, as far as motor vehicles can go. At this point, you have the option of taking the cable car to the actual top. (The price of the cable car is not included in the tour cost and it is usually necessary to queue.)

For the rest of the tour, the coach descends the mountain, passing through the villages of Guia de Isora and Chico. You are finally deposited at your accommodation at about 2:30pm.

You are advised to take some warm clothing with you, as the top of Teide can be quite cold.

Rough guide to price: Adult £25, Child £13
Cable car price: Adult 25 euros, Child 12.50 euros, one way 12.50

"Classic" Island Tour

Another all-day island tour, this time taking you to some of the oldest villages on the island. Starting off, as usual, with a free pickup from the Los Cristianos/Las Americas area at about 8:30am, the coach heads for the village of Vilaflor, then onto Mount Teide. It descends the other side of the volcano and arrives at the elegant town of La Orotava. There you may disembark and explore the ancient village, including such famous landmarks as the "Street of Balconies".

Next stop is Icod de los Vinos, with its famous dragon tree, a tree that has been standing for several thousand years.

On down the coast, then, to Garachico, once the capital of Tenerife, until it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1706.

From there, the tour moves further south to the quaint "hidden gem" village of Masca.

Lastly, the tour descends on Los Gigantes, named after its magnificent cliffs, rising dramatically from the sea.

You are deposited back at your accommodation by around 6pm.

Rough guide to price: Adult 25 euros, Child 12.50 euros

Shopping Tour

Occurring every Wednesday, this is really a trip for shopaholics! The coach departs the southern resorts at about 9:15am and travels up the TF-1 motorway, heading towards Santa Cruz.

First stop is the Carrefour Shopping Centre, just outside the capital, where you can disembark if you wish.

The coach then spends the rest of the day going round a route to include the other famous shopping centre in the north, Al Campo, the large Ikea store, a store called Leroy Merlin, which is rather like the UK's B&Q and the largest department store on Tenerife, El Corte Ingles.

This circuit is performed five times during the day and you can get off at any of these shopping places and have a good look round, getting back on the coach at its next visit.

Departure times from each of these venues are as follows:

You should be back in your resort by about 6-6:30pm...laden with shopping!

Evening Wine Tour with Dinner

If the last island tour was for shopaholics, this is certainly not for alcoholics!

Leaving at around 6pm, after being picked up from your accommodation, you will be taken up into the hills to a Bodega, or winery, where you will be given some wine to sample and have the opportunity to buy some.

Travelling on for a further 10 minutes or so, you arrive at a typically Canarian restaurant.

There, you have the chance to try a selection of Canarian dishes. You may sample each of them, to see which ones you like, which you can then order as your dinner.

On offer will be such things as meatballs, croquettes, goat, rabbit and the traditional Tenerife food, gofio and they'll be a tad different from the equivalents found in tourist restaurants.

The price includes all food and a half bottle of wine.

You are dropped off back at your accommodation by about 10pm.

Companies Offering Island Tours

• Viajes Excursions Shop
  Website: www.tenerife-direct.com/excursions.html
  Email: excursionshop@tenerife-direct.com
  Telephone from UK: 0844 598 7133
• Orange Bus
  Website: www.orangebus.eu/excursions-tenerife-island-tours-day-trips/
  Email: info@orangebus.eu
  Telephone from UK: 0844 598 3555

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