Boats in Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest of the seven islands that comprise the Archipelago of the Canary Islands. It occupies a central place between Gran Canaria, La Gomera and La Palma. The island lies at something more than 300 km from the African coast, and at some 1,300 km from the Iberian Peninsula. It measures 2.034 square kilometres in surface area, and has a peculiar triangular form, rising up in its centre to the gigantic Teide Peak, which with its 3.718 metres is Spain’s highest mountain.

In Tenerife one can visit the Puerto de la Cruz with its benevolent climate, and La Orotava, in its attractive northern valley. Or one could try the south, where towns such as Arona or Adeje appeal, lying as they do near tourist nuclei like Los Cristianos or the Beach of Las Américas, spots which now provide more than 65% of the available tourist accommodation on the island. Each year Tenerife receives more than 5000,000 visitors, and is in this way the most popular of the Canary Islands. Teide National Park, a World Heritage site is a must, if one comes to Tenerife.

The climate here is in a transition zone between temperate and subtropical. It benefits from the so-called Canaries Cold Current, which tends to temper the conditions, as do the refreshing trade winds, much appreciated by sailors. The climate is precisely what makes Tenerife so popular all the year round. Here it is always spring, with a mean annual temperature of 23ºC and scant swings in temperature. In this framework of mild conditions one can find however microclimates for all tastes, with a surprising variety, all the more so for their proximity. Thus in the south, dryer and warmer, the sun shines for longer, while in the northern zone, which is wetter, the conditions are much milder.