Tenerife Drive & Hike

Tour Type:

Discovery | Think of it as a ‘local’s guide’ to the best of the region. It includes a combination of activity and transportation to give you the freedom to explore and cover more ground at your own pace. We do all the research and organisation for you. All you have to do is turn up and enjoy!

Activity:

Multi Centre Walking | With a mix of loop and point-to-point walks stay 2 or 3 nights in one place which offers the chance to slow down and really explore a destination.

Activity Level & Terrain

This walking tour is graded moderate overall. Walks are between 3-7 hours on a mixture of rural tracks, footpaths and animal trails. Some of the terrain is quite rocky and you may encounter some loose rocks or muddy/slippery sections in wet weather.  The higher areas may even have a dusting of snow during early spring or winter so warm clothing should always be taken with you. Ascents are between 400 and 900m (with a long descent of 1350m if you choose to do the longer loop walk to Mount Teide). This tour is not suited to anybody who suffers from vertigo as some of the paths do have steep drop-offs and narrow paths and therefore require a good level of sure-footedness.

As Mount Teide is located at 3718m there is the chance that you may feel the effects of altitude if you choose to do this option. 3 nights in the Parador gives you time to acclimatise to the high altitude and that is why we recommend doing the summit of Mount Teide on your last day there.

Navigation

The routes on this trip are generally well way-marked but we will also provide detailed route notes and maps. You will also have access to the Macs Adventure Smartphone App enabling you to follow the route using your phone’s GPS so using this combined with the provided route notes and maps means you should have no problems finding your way.

• 7 Nights in 3 and 4* rural hotels
• 7 Breakfasts
• 7 days compact group car hire
• Detailed route notes, maps and pre-departure information pack
• GPX tracks and access to our smartphone app
• 24/7 emergency telephone support

• Travel insurance (required)
• Travel to and from Tenerife
• Lunches, dinners, snacks and drinks
• Personal equipment

• Additional nights before, during or after the tour

When To Go

You can start this tour on any day of the week subject to availability between September and June. Tenerife experiences a year-round dry, and sunny climate. We do not offer this tour in the summer months as it would be too hot for comfortable and safe walking then. You can expect average temperatures of between 16 and 25 degrees between September and March, with it beginning to heat up a bit in the springtime. There can be some rainfall and winter storms in the winter months of November to February but the showers do not usually last long. 

Being at a high altitude of 3718m, there can be snow on Teide any time between October and May so you should always be prepared with warmer clothes if you do plan to summit Teide.

Please note that due to mouflon hunting restrictions in the Mount Teide National Park, at certain times of the year during the spring and autumn months, there are restrictions on which walks you can gain access to. This will be detailed in your information pack.

Getting to the Start

By Air: Tenerife North Airport (TFN) is the closest airport to Garachico. There are no direct flights to Tenerife North from the UK, but you can fly there with various airlines from the rest of Europe including Iberia, Vueling and Air Europa. After collecting your rental car at the airport, it is approx a 45 minute drive to Garachico. Alternatively you can fly into Tenerife South Airport (TFS) which has better connections from the UK with airlines such as Ryanair, TUI, Easyjet, Jet2 and British Airways. From here it is approx 1h 20min drive to Garachico.

Getting from the End

By Air: Tenerife North Airport (TFN) is approximately 1hr 20mins drive from the Parador del Teide.  Tenerife South Airport is approx an hour’s drive.

General Information

The distances and ascent/descents are approximations of the recommended routes. Please be prepared by packing all necessary items, for example, proper rain gear (jacket and pants), sun hat, sunscreen. Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes for the cooler months and lightweight clothing for summer, and a day pack.

Mount Teide

If you would like to visit Mount Teide you will need to book cable car tickets and/or a permit to ascend to the summit in advance. Details of this will be included in your information pack.

Equipment

Please be prepared by packing all necessary items, for example, proper rain gear (jacket and pants), sun hat, sunscreen. Your information pack has a detailed equipment list which includes standard walking gear such as good walking boots or shoes, warm and waterproof clothes for the cooler months and lightweight clothing for summer, and a day pack.

Rental Car

7 days compact group car hire (similar to a Seat Leon) is included in the cost of your tour as this is a drive and hike itinerary. You will be able to park your car at all of the accommodations and the walks detailed all have parking areas where it is safe to leave the car. The car rental includes airport surcharges, a zero excess insurance, road tax, unlimited mileage and a sat nav.

Travel Insurance

It is a requirement of booking this tour with Macs Adventure that you have suitable travel insurance which covers you for the activity and emergency evacuation and hospital care.