Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands covering an area of some 2034km² and like the rest of the Canary islands it is of volcanic origins. Mt Teide is the central volcano of the island and stands at 3718m above sea level, making it not only the highest point in the Canary islands but also the highest peak in Spain. The island has a population of around 780,000 people.

The canary islands are situated in the Atlantic ocean just off the coast of Africa.

The capital city of Tenerife is Santa Cruz and is situated at the north of the island. Santa Cruz is also the co-capital of the Canary islands, sharing this duty with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Tourism on the island is concentrated more to the south which is much hotter and drier than the north. The main tourist areas being situated around the bright lights of Playa de Las Americas and the quieter Los Cristianos.

The weather in Tenerife is excellent all year round, earning the island its nick name, "The island of eternal springtime". In fact, Tenerife has the lowest temperature difference between Winter and Summer seasons than any other place in the world. Ambient air temperatures range from 15°C in the winter to 24°C in the summer.

The island has a very interesting landscape with several climatic zones or micro climates. From the dry baron areas to the southern coast, to the pine forests of the El Teide National Park and the lush almost jungle like vegitation of the north. The island is an excellent place for outdoor pursuits such as walking, mountain biking, cycling and wind surfing to mention just a few.

The island is served by two airports, Las Rodeos or Tenerife Norte and Reina Sofia or Tenerife Sur. Both are served by excellent motorway links to the rest of the island.

Getting around the island is easy using the local bus service (T.I.T.S.A) which runs a large fleet of very clean and efficient air-conditioned buses. The drivers are generally very helpfull and the bus service offers a great way of seeing the island. Alternatively there is a plentiful supply of clean new taxis but this service is obviously a more costly alternative.

Tenerife Island Map

Tenerife Weather

To see the current 5 day forcast for Tenerife from the BBC weather service please click here

Island History

The following is an extract from the online encyclopedia - Wikipedia

Known to the Romans as Nivaria (from the Latin nix, nivis, "snow"), a reference to the snows atop the volcano known as El Teide, Tenerife bears a name that is also a reference to this volcano, and was used for the island by the Guanches of the neighboring island of La Palma, “Tene” signifying “mountain” and “ife” white (the “r” was added by the Spanish). To the natives of Tenerife, the island was known as Chenech, Chinech or Achinech.

Tenerife at the time of its conquest was comprised of nine distinct menceyatos, as the small kingdoms of the Guanches were known. Though the Spanish forces under the Adelantado ("military governor") Alonso Fernández de Lugo, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Guanches in the First Battle of Acentejo in 1494, the Guanches, eventually overcome by superior technology and diseases to which they were not immune, surrendered to the Crown of Castile on December 25, 1495.

As on the other islands of the same group, much of the native population of Tenerife was enslaved or succumbed to diseases at the same time as immigrants from various associated parts of the Spanish Empire (Portugal, Flanders, Italy, Germany) settled on the island. Native pine forests on the island were cleared to make way for the cultivation of sugarcane in the 1520s; in succeeding centuries, the island’s economy was centered around the cultivation of other commodities such as wine and cochineal for making dyes, as well as bananas.

The island was attacked in 1797 by the British. On July 25, Horatio Nelson attacked Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the capital town of Tenerife and headquarters of the Captain General. After a fierce engagement, the British were repelled; Nelson lost his right arm as he tried to disembark at the shore. On September 5, another attempted landing in the region of Puerto Santiago was fended off by the inhabitants of the Valley of Santiago, who hurled stones at the British from the heights of the cliffs of Los Gigantes.

Less hostile visitors arrived at the island in succeeding centuries. The naturalist Alexander von Humboldt ascended the peak of the Teide and remarked on the beauty of the island. Tourists began visiting Tenerife in large numbers in the 1890s, especially the northern towns of Puerto de la Cruz and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Before his rise to power, Francisco Franco was posted to Tenerife in March 1936 by a Republican government wary of his influence and political leanings. In Tenerife, Franco organized the political coup that would result in the Spanish Civil War; the Canaries fell to the Nationalists in July 1936 and its population was subject to the mass executions of opponents to the new regime. In the 1950s, the misery of the post-war years caused thousands of the island’s inhabitants to emigrate to Cuba and Latin America.