Luxury Tenerife Holidays

Golden shores and volcanic landscapes

Tenerife

With its sandy beaches, diverse scenery and year-round sunshine (even in January, you can expect the mercury to hit 20 degrees), Tenerife has been drawing in holidaymakers for decades.

The south is where you'll find the bigger resorts like Costa Adeje, Playa Paraiso and Playa de las Americas, as well as the island’s best beaches. The north of the island, meanwhile, showcases a lush landscape and a more traditional feel (particularly during February’s colourful carnival celebrations).

Standing tall in the centre of the island is Mount Teide, Spain's highest peak. It's set in a UNESCO-listed national park, which is covered in moon-like lava formations.

The island has plenty to keep you busy, from golf courses and whale-watching trips (pilot whales, sperm whales and bottlenose dolphins cruise the waters around here), to mountain hikes. Tenerife also flaunts one of Europe's biggest waterparks, Thai-inspired Siam Park.

Our pick of the top hotels in Tenerife

Every one of our hotels is handpicked and personally visited by our team

Hotel Bahia del Duque

Tenerife, Costa Adeje

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Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa

Tenerife, Costa Adeje

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Iberostar Grand Hotel El Mirador

Tenerife, Costa Adeje

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The Ritz-Carlton, Abama

Tenerife, Guia de Isora

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Iberostar Anthelia

Tenerife, Costa Adeje

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Hotel Jardines de Nivaria

Tenerife, Costa Adeje

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Sovereign Recommends

Family holidays in Tenerife

Sovereign’s hotels offer everything from adventure pools to kids’ clubs, spa treatments and golf courses, so the whole family can enjoy their luxury holiday.

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Destinations in Tenerife

Costa Adeje

Costa Adeje drapes itself over the sheer south-west coast of Tenerife. It’s the leisurely neighbour of Playa de las Americas, offering clifftop hotels above and petite sandy beaches below.

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Guia De Isora

Westerly Guia de Isora stretches from the inland town centre, with its whitewashed church and green-shuttered houses, to the beach-lined coast. It dishes up designer hotels along the way, too.

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Playa De Las Americas

Playa de las Americas offers a full deck of award-winning beaches, no-holds-barred hotels and evening shows that’s kept it on the map since the 1960s.

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Playa Paraiso

Follow the snaking coastline north from Costa Adeje, and you’ll stumble across Playa Paraiso – a collection of high-end hotels and cliffside bars arranged around deep-cut sandy bays.

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Puerto De La Cruz

Puerto de la Cruz was once a retreat for well-heeled Victorians. It still has a polished look, laying out a smart promenade alongside volcanic beaches.

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Things to do in TenerifeScale Mount Teide

The tallest peak in Spain, Mount Teide, towers over Tenerife, and comes surrounded by a wild volcanic landscape. Take a cable car up to its highest point and you'll be treated to views over the island and across the water to neighbouring Gran Canaria and La Gomera. Even the drive up to the cable car is scenic. Rent a car to pick a route via little alpine towns like Vilaflor – an arrangement of typically Canarian houses and a church – and bizarre off-planet rock formations.

Things to do in TenerifeBrave the slides at Siam Park

TripAdvisor reviewers have voted Siam Park the best waterpark in the world. And it’s no wonder – this is one of the biggest waterparks in Europe, racking up everything from white-knuckle multi-riders and helter-skelters to swimming pools and sun terraces. Adrenaline junkies should check out the banana-shaped slopes of Kinnaree or the high-speed Mekong Rapids. You can also take the plunge on the zero gravity Dragon slide or the iconic nine-storey-high Tower of Power. Elsewhere, The Lost City serves up a dedicated splash area with waterfalls and miniature chutes for little children.

Things to do in TenerifeExplore Santa Cruz

The capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz, is well worth a visit. You'll find handsome historic buildings, pastel-painted houses, and stacks of shops and restaurants. The Auditorio de Tenerife hosts musicals and gigs in its wave-like concert hall. Or you could always wander around the palm tree collections of the Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife botanical gardens. If you're visiting in February or March, you might be lucky enough to catch the colourful Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife – the biggest fiesta in the Canary Islands.

Tenerife Specialities Tenerife’s cuisine has its roots in Spanish and Mediterranean cooking, with African and Latin American influences. Seafood lovers, be on the lookout for succulent giant prawns, mussels and octopus, as well as sardines generally baked or grilled and served simply with salt and lemon juice. If you want to try some real Tenerife dishes, look out for cabra con papas (goat stew with potatoes), vieja (parrotfish) and puchero, a mix of spicy chorizo, beans and potato.

Typical Costs

Bottle of beer

€2-3

Bus return

€5-7

Cup of coffee

€1.50-2.50

Glass of wine

€3.50-4.50

Main course

€14-16

Small souvenir

€8-10

Flight Information

Flight time from the UK to Tenerife is around 4 hours 30 minutes.

When to go

Tenerife enjoys a classic Canarian climate: hot sunshine, all year round. You’ll get around 11 hours of sunshine a day throughout summer, which starts warming up around April and regularly pushes into the low 30s around July. Even in the off season, it’s unlikely to fall below the low-to-mid teens.

Visa Information

Currently visas are not required for UK citizens travelling to Spain.

Tipping

Restaurant bills include a service charge by law in Spain, so whether you choose to tip further is up to you. If you enjoyed the meal and service, it is customary to leave 5-10%. Hotel porters and maids will appreciate a small tip, and while taxi drivers don’t require a tip, it’s common to round up the fare.

Introduction to languages

The official language of Spain is Spanish. English is widely spoken too, so getting by is easy.

Sovereign Family Trusted Advisors

Claire Wood

Why not try whale and dolphin watching? The clear waters off Los Gigantes are home to a variety of species of whales and dolphins - particularly bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales. Take a boat to go and try and spot them in their natural habitat. We can’t guarantee a sighting, but we know the odds are pretty good!

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Louise Burling

We can advise you on flying with toddlers - for example, some airlines will allow you to take up to two things free of charge, so your pushchair, car or booster seat don't need to be included in your allowance.

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Helen Lippe

Always ask us about equipment for hire at your hotel – things like baby baths, nappies and bottle sterilisers. It saves having to carry everything but the kitchen sink with you!

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Luxury Tenerife Holidays

Tenerife

Hotel Bahia del Duque

Sheraton La Caleta Resort & Spa

Iberostar Grand Hotel El Mirador

The Ritz-Carlton, Abama

Iberostar Anthelia

Hotel Jardines de Nivaria

Family holidays in Tenerife

Search for your holiday here

Sovereign Family Trusted Advisors

Claire Wood

Louise Burling

Helen Lippe

What our customers think