{"id":345,"date":"2026-02-05T16:45:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T16:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/2026\/02\/05\/day-trip-around-the-island-of-tenerife\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T15:43:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T15:43:43","slug":"day-trip-around-the-island-of-tenerife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/2026\/02\/05\/day-trip-around-the-island-of-tenerife\/","title":{"rendered":"Day trip around the island of Tenerife"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Route:<\/strong> TF-1 towards Santa Cruz, then continue on the TF-5 to Puerto de la Cruz, then back via Icod de los Vinos and the TF\u201182 to Costa Adeje.<br\/><strong>Total distance:<\/strong> approx. 170 km<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Morning start: Take the TF\u20111 to Puerto de la Cruz<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the morning, take the TF\u20111 and drive towards Santa Cruz. Shortly before the capital, turn onto the TF\u20115 towards Puerto de la Cruz. After about 1 hour and 20 minutes, you\u2019ll reach this traditional coastal town, which many visitors consider one of the most beautiful places in the north of the island.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A first highlight is the Botanical Garden of Puerto de la Cruz. It was created in 1788 by order of King Charles III and today features more than 3,000 different plant species. The original idea was to acclimatise plants from the New World to Spain\u2019s climate on Tenerife first, before sending them on to Madrid or Aranjuez.<br\/>Video impression: <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/JNfro-T8S8Y\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/JNfro-T8S8Y<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stroll through Puerto de la Cruz<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Take your time to wander through the old town of Puerto de la Cruz. Personally, I like parking at the Marti\u00e1nez shopping centre, then walking from there along the seafront to Playa Marti\u00e1nez, past the Lago Marti\u00e1nez seawater pools to Playa San Telmo and Plaza del Charco. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For me, Plaza del Charco is the most beautiful square in Puerto de la Cruz: a lively meeting place where you can enjoy a coffee under the plane trees in one of the many caf\u00e9s and watch the world go by.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many visitors combine their stay in Puerto de la Cruz with a visit to Loro Parque:<br\/><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.loroparque.com\/\">https:\/\/www.loroparque.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I recommend buying tickets in advance. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parking around Loro Parque is often difficult. A small tourist train takes you conveniently to the entrance. The park is large\u2014plan at least four hours to enjoy the different areas and shows at a relaxed pace. There are plenty of places to eat in the park, or you can head to one of the many restaurants in Puerto de la Cruz afterwards.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On to Icod de los Vinos<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After your time in Puerto de la Cruz, continue on the TF\u20115 towards Icod de los Vinos. The town\u2019s best-known landmark is the \u201cDrago milenario\u201d, the legendary dragon tree. No one knows exactly how old it really is\u2014but thanks to the good signage, you definitely won\u2019t miss it.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Very close by, there are two more worthwhile sights:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Iglesia Mayor de San Marcos<\/strong>: an architectural gem and a peaceful place.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mariposario del Drago<\/strong>: a large glasshouse where many butterfly species live in a natural setting. No matter your age, it\u2019s fascinating to watch big and small butterflies up close.<br\/>More info: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mariposario.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.mariposario.com\/<\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Return via El Tanque and Santiago del Teide<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the afternoon, your day trip will slowly be coming to an end. Take the TF\u201182 through typically Canarian villages such as El Tanque and Erjos towards Santiago del Teide. This route offers lovely views and a bit of \u201cisland feeling away from the motorway\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Santiago del Teide, you have two options:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stay on the TF\u201182 and continue enjoying the country road, or<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Switch to the TF\u20111 motorway and you\u2019ll be back in Costa Adeje in under 20 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Personal tip on driving direction<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It doesn\u2019t really matter whether you take the TF\u20111 first thing in the morning towards Santa Cruz or towards the west. However, I usually choose the option via Santa Cruz in the morning, and in the late afternoon I like to return to Costa Adeje via El Tanque, Erjos and Santiago del Teide. Many tour buses use this route in the morning, so in the afternoon you\u2019re more likely to avoid getting stuck behind buses for long stretches.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Route: TF-1 towards Santa Cruz, then continue on the TF-5 to Puerto de la Cruz, then back via Icod de los Vinos and the TF\u201182 to Costa Adeje.Total distance: approx. 170 km Morning start: Take the TF\u20111 to Puerto de la Cruz In the morning, take the TF\u20111 and drive towards Santa Cruz. Shortly before [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-day-trip","category-with-children"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":346,"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions\/346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tenerifeessential.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}