Tenerife is an ideal destination for travelling with children. Its impressive landscapes, its volcanic scenery, its starry skies and the stories of the Guanches, its first settlers, arouse children’s senses and curiosities. Travelling to Tenerife with children is like entering the pages of books about pirates, explorers, seafarers berthing at unknown ports and naturalists seeking peculiar animal and plant species.
Everything is excitement once the airplane gets closer to the island and, on clear days, you can even make out Mount Teide with all its splendour. After that first visual impact, you will see leafy parks, beaches, water pools, enchanted forests and trails between ravines which will turn your holiday time into a stimulating experience. You should also enjoy the festivals which liven up the villages and help you discover the essence of Tenerife.
Travel to Tenerife with children so that you can conquer Mount Teide
A good way to start a trip to Tenerife with children is to go to the Cañadas del Teide. The strange volcanic formations, the contrasting colours and the sense of being on a remote planet that you have to conquer will be thrilling. Nevertheless, nothing can compare to riding the cable car to the highest peak in Spain, from where you can see some of the other islands of the archipelago. It will be an unforgettable adventure.
The day visit is dazzling but so is going at night to stargaze and dream while seeing the shooting stars in one of the world’s clearest skies, a privileged place for astronomical observation. Specialist guides and professional telescopes are available for visitors.
We are all cosmonauts and artists
Travelling to Tenerife with children is quite an adventure! Your experience at Mount Teide National Park, where the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics is located, can be supplemented with a visit to the Museum of Science and the Cosmos in the beautiful colonial and university city of La Laguna. It organises activities for everyone. The youngest children can play in the ‘Microcosmos’ area, with modules adapted to their needs. The older ones, aged between 6 and 14, can participate in exciting astronomy camping trips. There is also the option to celebrate a birthday under the stars. This is a wonderful way to learn how to stargaze and start finding out about the secrets of the Universe.
Another interesting museum to visit with children is the Museum of Nature and Archaeology in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where you can learn about the history of the islands and their first settlers, and which is very close to the TEA or Tenerife Espacio de las Artes [Contemporary Art Museum], which has a MiniTEA area, where children pretend to be artists and carry out fun creative activities.
Journey to the centre of the Earth
There are many fun ways to learn when visiting Tenerife with children. One of the most thrilling ways, and suitable for intrepid explorers aged over five, is to enter the Cueva del Viento [Wind Cave] in Icod de los Vinos, a 17-kilometre-long lava tunnel, one of the longest in the world, which can be accessed in the company of guides who provide quite a potholing lesson. The sense of mystery pervades throughout this journey to the centre of the Earth, among different levels, passages and strange lava formations. In Icod de los Vinos, there is also the Drago Milenario [Thousand-Year-Old Dragon Tree], which is 3,000 years old, so the more imaginative children will ask questions about the island’s past.
Things to do in Tenerife with children: sail to admire whales and dolphins
Enjoying the Atlantic and the many beaches and natural pools on the island is a good reason for travelling to Tenerife with children. The youngest kids will have fun doing something that never fails: building sandcastles. The oldest ones can start learning to surf or scuba dive or carry out any other water sports. Remember to visit the water parks such as Siam Park and Aqualand in Costa Adeje, on the southern side of the island, with their exciting giant slides and attractions. And there is one more perfect plan for the whole family: joining a boat trip as intrepid seafarers in the search for dolphins and pilot whales in the area of Los Gigantes and Masca.
Activities for children in Tenerife: being friends with animals
Dolphin acrobatics delight everyone at Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz, one of the most visited places when travelling to Tenerife with children. Some kids will feel that they have become friends with these intelligent animals since they will observe them closely, just like with the sea lions, killer whales and penguins, when visiting this theme park which has a large collection of parrots who will captivate them with their sounds and striking colours.
Playing among trees and other ideas for children
Travelling to Tenerife with children is also a good option for hiking enthusiasts and those who love being in contact with wild nature and trees. Our recommendation is to visit the adventure-packed Forestal Park between Monte de la Esperanza and Las Lagunetas, an area surrounded by Canary Island pine trees, where children can descend long zip lines, go liana swinging Tarzan-style and go climbing.
Another place to visit is the Enchanted Forest in the Anaga Massif at the Pijaral Integral Nature Reserve (Santa Cruz de Tenerife). The ecological value of this area, which resembles a fairy tale, is unquestionable since it is a laurel forest haven, typical of the Tertiary period, with three-metre-high bracken. And once you are in the centre of the capital of Tenerife, you should take a walk in García Sanabria Park, a garden where children can run among exotic plants and discover the sculptures appearing between the trees.
Going to fiestas
The festive atmosphere is typical of the island. If you travel to Tenerife with children during the Carnival period, all you have to do is put on your costume, join the street parties and enjoy the parades, musical ensembles and troupes. If you visit in October, an ideal plan is to go to Los Silos in the north of the island, where the International Storytelling Festival is celebrated, a well-loved competition which, of course, delights young children. During the summer, in many villages you will easily find popular fiestas, fireworks by the sea, brass bands playing on the streets and religious processions where you can appreciate the Tenerife folklore, the typical costumes and the island’s traditional food.
