Tenerife in a single day: The grand Teide tour from Santa Cruz
This tour is designed for cruise passengers who wish to explore Tenerife’s volcanic landscape in a hire car. It takes you from Santa Cruz via La Esperanza up to Teide National Park, through the Cañadas to Vilaflor, and back via the south to the cruise port.
The entire route is around 170 kilometres long. Of this, around 70 kilometres are on the TF-5 and TF-1 motorways. Depending on traffic, you should allow around three and a half hours for the journey itself. With a six-hour timeframe for the trip, this leaves around two and a half hours for viewpoints, sightseeing and a break.
It’s not just the distance that matters, but also the number of stops. You won’t be able to linger for long at every interesting spot during this tour. So choose your key stops in advance and keep an eye on the time.
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From Santa Cruz via La Esperanza to Mount Teide
From the cruise port, head initially towards La Laguna on the TF-5 motorway. At La Laguna, follow the signs for the Parque Nacional del Teide and join the TF-24. This road leads steadily uphill through the forests of La
Esperanza to El Portillo. There, the TF-24 ends at the junction with the TF-21. To continue through the national park, follow the signs towards Las Cañadas, Parador and Vilaflor.
My first must-see stop: the Mirador de Chipeque
One of my favourite viewpoints along this route is the Mirador de Chipeque. The turn-off is well signposted and is just a short distance off the TF-24. The viewpoint is often situated above the typical trade wind clouds, which can spread out several hundred metres lower down. When the weather conditions are right, you’ll have an unobstructed view of Mount Teide from here, whilst an impressive sea of clouds lies below you.
It is precisely this contrast between the green forest, the white blanket of clouds and Mount Teide that makes Chipeque one of the most beautiful viewpoints on this tour. On particularly clear days, the view stretches far across the Orotava Valley and the north of Tenerife. Allow around 15 minutes for this detour, including a photo stop.
The Visitor Centre at El Portillo
At the junction of the TF-24 and TF-21, continue along the TF-21 into the national park. Shortly afterwards, you will reach the El Portillo Visitor Centre. The visitor centre provides a clear explanation of how Tenerife, the Las Cañadas Caldera and the Teide-Pico Viejo complex were formed. The centre also features a botanical garden where a large proportion of the plant species found in the national park can be seen.
Admission is free. According to the information currently available, the centre is open daily from 9 am to 4 p. It is closed on 25 December and on 1 and 6 January.
Allow in the centre around 30 to 45 minutes for this. If you’re short on time, you can shorten your visit or skip visitor centre out of your itinerary.
Coffee break at Restaurant Bambi
About five kilometres past El Portillo, I often stop off briefly at the Bambi restaurant. You can park there, have a coffee and grab a bite to eat. If you buy something in the restaurant, you can also use the toilets for free. A short, hassle-free break like this is particularly handy on a six-hour round trip. Allow about 15 to 20 minutes for this and, to be on the safe side, check the current opening hours before you set off. This break is optional. If you’d like to have a tortilla or some tapas at Tito’s later on, you should only stop briefly at Bambi.
Minas de San José: a landscape like that on another planet.
The journey continues along the TF-21 to the Minas de San José. Light-coloured pumice fields, dark lava and bizarre volcanic formations create a landscape here that seems almost otherworldly. There are parking facilities right by the road. The spot is ideal for a quick photo stop and is also the starting point
for various trails through the volcanic landscape. For cruise passengers, five to ten minutes is usually enough to take in the surroundings and snap a few photos.
Roques de García and the famous Roque Cinchado
The next major stop is the Roques de García, opposite the Parador Nacional. Here, the Roque Cinchado is one of Spain’s most famous photo opportunities. The rock formations, with Mount Teide in the background and the vast expanse of the Cañadas, have been photographed millions of times – and yet this stop is worth it every single time.
From the Mirador de La Ruleta, a short, easily accessible path leads into the rocky landscape. The full circular walk around the Roques de García is about 3.5 kilometres long and takes around two hours. I’ve described this route in detail on my blog:
The Zapato de la Reina, this stop is a must.
Continue along the TF-21 towards Boca Tauce and Vilaflor. After passing through the wide plain of Ucanca, you’ll reach the Zapato de la Reina – the ‘Queen’s Shoe’. This striking rock formation does indeed resemble a woman’s high-heeled shoe and is another lovely spot to stop for photos. Five to ten minutes here is usually enough.
Optional: the Ethnographic Museum of Juan Évora
Near the Boca Tauce junction, where the TF-21 and TF-38 meet, lies the small Juan Évora Ethnographic Museum. Juan Évora was the last inhabitant of the Cañadas to preserve the traditional way of life of the mountain dwellers and shepherds. His former dwelling, built from boulders, has been restored and now illustrates the simple conditions under which people lived in this rugged high-mountain landscape.
Admission is free. According to the information currently available, the museum and its car park are open daily from 9.00 am to 3.45 pm. On a six-hour cruise itinerary, I would only recommend including this visit if you are well on schedule at the previous stops.
The Pino Gordo near Vilaflor
The TF-21 now winds its way through the Canarian pine forests down towards Vilaflor. Just before the village, the famous Pino Gordo stands right by the road. This giant tree is 45.12 metres tall and has a trunk circumference of 9.36 metres at breast height – that is, almost 9.5 metres. At its widest point, the trunk is around 3.16 metres wide.
The tree’s age is estimated at between 750 and 800 years.
I was back there again just recently. Standing in front of this immense tree, I felt like a dwarf. One would love to listen to it and find out what it has experienced over the past centuries: storms, forest fires, periods of drought and Tenerife’s transformation from a remote island into an international tourist destination. A stop here usually takes five to ten minutes.
Vilaflor oder eine Pause bei Tito?
About one kilometre further on, you’ll reach the turn-off for the centre of Vilaflor. The village centre lies at an altitude of around 1,400 metres. Vilaflor is considered the highest village in the Canary Islands and is one of the highest municipalities in Spain. The village square, the church and the old houses are well worth a quick stroll.
On this short tour, however, I usually stick to the TF-21 and stop at the Restaurante Cafetería Tito. I enjoy having a freshly made tortilla española or some tapas there. Tito is situated right on the TF-21 and is therefore ideal for a break without wasting much time looking for a parking space in the village.
What I particularly appreciate about Tito is that there are usually no long waiting times. This is a major advantage, especially on a cruise itinerary where every minute counts. The shop also sells unique souvenirs, including knives whose blades are shaped to resemble the contours of Tenerife’s mountainous landscape. You should allow around 30 minutes for a tortilla, some tapas or a quick coffee break. A full lunch would be a bit of a risk time-wise on this route.
Route and Distances
Route section / Parameter details / Distance
Port of Santa Cruz to Visitor Centre at El Portillo approximately 55 kilometres
El Portillo to Cafetería Tito in Vilaflor approximately 36 kilometres Vilaflor to the harbour of Santa Cruz approximately 80 kilometres total distance around 170 kilometres
Of which on the motorway around 70 kilometres
Pure journey time approximately 3 hours 30 minutes
Recommended duration of the trip at least 6 hours
Route TF-5 – TF-24 – TF-21 – TF-64 – TF-1
My realistic itinerary
For a trip lasting around six hours, I recommend the following stops:
Mirador de Chipeque: 15 minutes
El Portillo Visitor Centre: 30 minutes
Minas de San José: 5 minutes
Roques de García: 20 minutes
Zapato de la Reina: 5 minutes
Pino Gordo: 5 minutes
Cafetería Tito: 30 minutes
The stops listed add up to around 110 minutes in total. Together with three and a half hours’ driving time, this comes to about five hours and 20 minutes. This leaves a buffer of about 40 minutes to allow for traffic, finding a parking space, slower vehicles on the mountain roads and returning the hire car.
The Juan Évora Museum, the Bambi restaurant and a walk around Vilaflor should only be added if you are well ahead of schedule. Alternatively, you could skip the visitor centre or the break at Tito’s.
Important information for the journey
Secure your valuables: Do not leave any bags, suitcases, cameras or other visible items in parked hire cars. Do take your valuables with you even brief photo stops as well.
Keep your focus: The El Portillo Visitor Centre and the Museo Etnográfico Juan Évora are optional stops on the itinerary. There are only a few routes on Tenerife that scenically offer such a wide variety of scenery . Nevertheless, you must choose your stops carefully and cannot stop at every viewpoint .
Do not plan to take a cable car: For a ride on the Teide -cable car is not enough time for this round trip. The cable car doesn’t take you directly to the summit, but rather to the mountain station La Rambleta at around 3,555
metres above sea level. For the further ascent to Pico del Teide apply additional access requirements.
Punctuality & ferry company rules: In the event of a trip organised by the cruise line organised excursion apply in the event of a delayed return as a rule special provisions. In the case of a privately organised tour, the responsibility for the
punctual return solely lies with you.
Weather and clothing: The Cañadas are situated at more than 2,000 metres above sea level. Even in summer it can be in the National Park cold, windy or foggy conditions. In winter there may be snow and ice. Do take a warm jacket and sturdy footwear with. Check the road conditions in advance.
My tip: car hire in advance book
Every minute counts, if your cruise ship is only about eight hours in port is moored. That’s why I recommend that you book your hire car well in advance of your journey to book and collect it from one of the branches in the immediate vicinity of the port before.
Provider 1: The station is located just about 250 metres from the cruise terminal.
Provider 2: The station is located approximately 400 metres from the terminal away.
This way, you won’t waste any valuable time on long shuttle journeys or the search for a car hire office in the city centre. Just a few minutes after leaving the harbour you can drop off your
at the car hire office in the city centre. a67> harbour you can start your tour here.
For cruise passengers it may also be worth to choose an option where the vehicle can be driven without refuelling beforehand, a85> vehicle can be returned without having refuelled it. Depending on the provider may charge for the full tank of fuel in in advance or the
consumed fuel may be charged subsequently. Please note however that, the refuelling settings and the calculated fuel price are shown clearly.
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