Tenerife is made for outdoor adventure. From hiking up Mount Teide to enjoying the surrounding Atlantic Ocean, there’s so much to love on this Canarian Island. If you’re a fan of the outdoors, this guide to adventures in Tenerife should help you to see more of it.

One of the best things about Tenerife is that it’s a year-round destination. Its southern position makes it warm all year, and it doesn’t rain very much. So, whether you’re visiting Tenerife in winter or in the summer months, you can usually spend as much time on these outdoor adventures as you want.

Surf the Playas

Surfing Tenerife

One of the best outdoor adventures in Tenerife is taking to the waves. The island’s prime position in the Atlantic Ocean makes it perfect for catching crashing, barreling waves. If you’re a keen surfer, there are plenty of beaches where you can take to the waves independently, but there are also lots of surf schools in Tenerife too.

Some of the most popular surf spots include Las Americas, which is close to the town of Playa de las Americas on the south coast and Playa del Socorro on the north. Las Americas is largely better for beginner surfers and Playa del Socorro is better for intermediate or advanced.

Need to know

The waves are generally bigger in winter and smaller in summer, so if you’re a beginner the summer is better. Surf Life Tenerife is a popular surf school with lessons suitable for all levels.

Scuba Dive the Atlantic Ocean

Scuba Dive Tenerife

Descend into an underwater world and find a spectacular rock formation that’s perfect for avid divers. La Catedral is part of a volcano that crashed into the sea. Nowadays it’s a rocky shelf with a cave inside, and the inside resembles a beautiful cathedral.

These dives are suitable for people who have an advanced certification, but there are other dives around Tenerife that are great for people who have an open water certification or even just for taster dives.

Need to know

There are a few diving schools all over Tenerife, one of which is the Tenerife Diving Academy. You can also do your PADI course on the Canary Islands. Check out Get Your Guide for a whole range of tour options.

Hike the Anaga Mountains or summit Mount Teide

Hiking Mount Teide

Hiking in Tenerife is spectacular. With a few mountain ranges traversing the entire area and the huge Mount Teide looming over the entire island, there are so many incredible trails that you can take. You can also walk around beaches and through the Anaga Mountains.

If you’re after a real adventure, summit Mount Teide. This is the highest peak in all of Spain at 3,715 metres, and it’s certainly not for the faint hearted.

Need to know

Although there are ways to hike to the summit of Mount Tide unguided (with or without a permit), there are so many options (including catching a cable car part of the way up or down) that visitors will most likely want to book a tour through Get Your Guide or Viator Travel. Get Your Guide also has Anaga Mountains tours. If not using the cable car, this is an incredibly challenging hike that you’ll need to be well prepared for.

Stargaze Tenerife’s dark skies

Stargazing Tenerife

Tenerife is one of the world’s best locations for stargazing, thanks to the elevation at Mount Teide and the lack of light pollution. It’s been described by NASA as a “window to the universe”.

You can visit Mount Teide and enjoy the panorama of stars above you, looking out for the Milky Way, Orion’s Belt and the North Star. It’s best if you go on a guided tour, as they’ll have all the equipment and be able to offer you expert advice about which stars to admire.

Need to know

Undertaking one of the hikes above as an overnight trip would be a great way to spend a night stargazing, but alternatively there are a number of well-run tour experiences on Get Your Guide and Viator Travel.

Explore the Cueva del Viento lava tube system

Cueva del Viento

Image courtesy of Museos De Tenerife Cueva Del Viento

One of Tenerife’s best attractions is a lava tube. This is the result of a volcanic eruption, which then cooled and hollowed out to form a tube, which is now called Cueva del Viento. It’s the sixth largest lava tube in the world and the largest outside of Hawaii.

You can take guided tours around the lava tube, which will detail its geology and the animal life in the caves. Plus, you’ll see some of the area’s beautiful nature and viewpoints too.

Need to know

You should book your lava tube tour in advance, which you can do via their website.

Paraglide over Tenerife’s volcanic landscape

Do you fancy taking to the skies, and seeing the Canary Islands from a bird’s eye perspective? Then you should go paragliding over Tenerife.

Paragliding tours take place throughout the island, enabling you to either see the north or south beaches. And of course, any paragliding destination will have a view of the epic Mount Teide.

Need to know

It’s easy to book paragliding tours either online or in person when you arrive in Tenerife. Tenerfly are the most popular paragliding company.

Get up close to the sea life on a whale watching cruise

Cueva del Viento

Do you fancy taking to the skies, and seeing the Canary Islands from a bird’s eye perspective? Then you should go paragliding over Tenerife.

Paragliding tours take place throughout the island, enabling you to either see the north or south beaches. And of course, any paragliding destination will have a view of the epic Mount Teide.

Need to know

There are a variety of whale watching and dolphin watching cruise tour options available via Get Your Guide.

When it comes to outdoor adventure, there’s nowhere quite like Tenerife. With incredible activities both on land and in the sea, if you love getting outdoors, Tenerife has so much on offer that’s just waiting for you.

Have you been to the Tenerife? Got it on your bucket list? Got any questions, comments, updates or corrections? Let us know by commenting below.