Tenerife holidays

The Canary Islands are a popular holiday destination for Brits, but one thing has stopped me from returning in recent years.

I’ve holidayed on every Canary Island you can think of – Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, La Palma. These islands are a hit with travellers globally for their agreeable weather and stunning landscapes.

They’re often referred to as the “Islands of Eternal Spring” due to their consistently mild temperatures throughout the year, rarely dipping below 18°C.

These islands emerged from ancient volcanic eruptions, and their volcanoes remain active to this day. Mount Teide in Tenerife is not only Spain’s tallest peak but also ranks as the third-highest volcanic structure globally.

I’ve relished numerous ascents to Teide’s summit, yet despite the archipelago’s allure, one aspect has deterred me from returning lately.

That would be the black sandy shores. Tenerife boasts an array of black sand beaches, particularly in its northern regions, reports the Express.

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Although there are white sand and pebble beaches too, they’re less prevalent.

The black sand originates from volcanic lava, which, over time and under the relentless motion of the ocean, gets pulverised into fine grains.

Lanzarote is home to several black sand beaches as well, including Playa de Janubio and Playa de El Golfo. While these beaches are undoubtedly picturesque and steeped in natural history, they just don’t cut it for me when it comes to beach holidays.

During the intense heat of Canary summers, I’ve always found the black sand to be unbearably hot underfoot, absorbing more sunlight than its white or golden counterparts.

I found the beaches to be less appealing than the idyllic images on postcards had led me to believe.

Take Sardinia, for instance, which I recently visited during my holiday. It was adorned with pristine white beaches and crystal clear water everywhere, offering a more luxurious and tropical feel compared to my time in the Canaries.

However, it’s worth noting that many people are drawn to black sand beaches for their dramatic beauty, rarity, and association with volcanic landscapes, so it really boils down to personal preference.

There are also some golden beaches on the islands. Las Teresitas, situated near Tenerife’s capital, is a golden sand beach renowned for its tranquil, shallow, and safe waters.

This man-made beach was constructed in the 1960s using over 5,000 tonnes of sand from the Sahara Desert. Despite being a stunning beach, it’s always bustling as tourists and locals alike vie for a spot.

A Brit living in Tenerife has shared a vital warning for visiting Brits, urging them to be ‘very careful and aware’ if they’re planning to visit for some winter sun

A Brit who traded the UK for sun-soaked Tenerife has issued a stark warning to fellow holidaymakers heading to the popular winter sun destination. The video resurfaced as one visitor to the island claimed three ‘racist’ hospitals turned her away.

The Canary Island, a favourite among those seeking some winter warmth, may seem like paradise, but visitors are being urged to stay on their toes. TikTok user @theknightstrider1, who’s called Tenerife home for over a decade, warns of a recurring issue that hits the island every winter season. Unlike mainland Spain, which winds down in winter, Tenerife’s tourist trade thrives, drawing in criminal gangs who “fly in” with the sole aim of pickpocketing from tourists – some even treating it like a “full-time job”.

In his video, which he posted last year, the expat explained: “They are very good at it, and they will do pickpocketing. They will steal from cars if you leave stuff inside them, so please do be very careful with your wallets, and stuff like that.”

He went on to say: “If you’re down here, busy, the golden mile area, the Sunday markets, the Tuesday markets, all of that – those busy areas – people bumping into you, just be careful. Just like at home, we do have pickpockets around.

“I normally just take my little wallet out, and I have it in my front pocket. Just be very careful and aware. You’ll be absolutely fine if you are but, unfortunately, so many people switch off, and they have their wallet busting with cash hanging out of their back pocket.”

He warns that pickpockets can be shockingly quick, swooping in for the pinch when you’re least expecting it.

The expat also claimed thieves are on the hunt for pricey electronics like cameras and iPads, which shouldn’t be left unsecured or in plain sight. Recently, he’s heard “more and more” tales of holidaymakers being targeted.

The video sparked a wave of comments online. One user remarked: “I genuinely was expecting you to say bring a coat.”

Others fondly recalled their holidays, with one posting: “Never had an issue over there. Can’t wait to go back in December.”

Not everyone is eager to return though, as another commented: “I don’t know what is going on in Tenerife. I know it’s not just Tenerife, but the vibe is off. I don’t think I would go back, and I’m not alone in that.”

Another person added: “Such a shame. Always come in the winter, but noticed it’s definitely getting worse. Just don’t feel safe in the evening.”

Important recommendation for parents who are planning to take young children on a trip to Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Fuerteventura have been issued by one mum

A British mum has shared important crucial guidance for all parents with young children planning a getaway to one of a number of popular Spanish islands. Mother-of-one Melissa O’Donnell praised a firm that assisted her baby during a recent family break to Gran Canaria.

“If you are taking a baby abroad to one of these locations – Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Fuerteventura – you need to listen to this,” she began in a TikTok video. Confirming that the firm in question played no part in creating her clip, Melissa stated: “I’m doing this off my own back – I just want people to know how helpful it is.” She went on, revealing that Travel 4 Baby provides parents with the chance to rent “anything you could possibly need” for your baby whilst you are away.

“Cots, bath seats, sterilising machines, buggies, car seats – even down to potties – they have everything you’d want to put it in your suitcase but aren’t able to bring,” Melissa raved. “They are priced really fairly too.”

To highlight her point, she revealed she paid €20 [£17.34] for a snooze shade “for as long as we wanted it”. Melissa added: “They drop the item off at the hotel wherever you are staying and come and pick it up the day that you leave.”

Scores of others rushed to commend Travel 4 Baby as well, sharing their own holiday experiences with the firm.

“We used them when we went to Lanzarote!” one TikTok user wrote. “They have no idea how much it helped us!”

A second satisfied customer shared: “We used them for Lanzarote when baby was only 12 weeks old. When we arrived at hotel the steriliser, bottle, formula and water were all there when we arrived at check in. Definitely recommend them.”

A third added: “We hired so much from them in Tenerife last month. Made life so much easier and they were brilliant to deal with. Everything waiting for us at the hotel.”

Whilst a fourth person praised: “They are fab. We used them back in 2022 for our little one’s first holiday. Walker (so he can mooch about tiled rooms safely) and travel cot. But they have so much more – even bottle safe water – fab company.”

Travel 4 Baby also caters for those holidaying to several destinations across Spain and Portugal including major cities, and plans to extend its services to further hotspots including Benidorm in the near future.

The company offers further advice online, listing its top tips for a stress free trip with baby – which are:

• On the plane, babies under two years old can sit on your knee or some airlines let you book and pay for an extra seat for more space and comfort
• Change your babies nappy or take them to the toilet just before you board the aircraft
• Try keep them awake at the airport so they will sleep on the plane (fingers crossed!)
• Feed them when you get on the plane rather than before. The combination of feeding and the rocking and noise of the plane, will often send your baby to sleep.
• Take extra formula, snacks, nappies etc just in case of a delay.
• Always remember, if you don’t want to be traveling with too much luggage and baby items, check with us before you travel as most baby items can be hired and delivered to you in resort. Travel 4 baby has everything you will need and the less luggage you have to bring the better.

The bustling capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz is a city that offers a perfect mix of beach relaxation and cultural exploration – and it’s just a short flight away

Santa Cruz, the vibrant capital of Tenerife, is a favourite amongst holidaymakers with its stunning black and white sand beaches and rugged mountainous landscape.

With a matter of weeks before the end of summer, the UK is already bracing for the cooler temperatures and frequent heavy showers of autumn and winter. Luckily, there is a Spanish port city offering a warm haven for Brits in search of some winter sun.

Tenerife boasts warm temperatures all year round, averaging 24C throughout November and a comfortable 21C well into December, reports the Express.

A post-Christmas getaway to this Spanish city could be just the ticket, especially as Santa Cruz hosts one of the world’s largest carnivals each February.

During the carnival season, the streets of Santa Cruz come alive with music, dancing and a riot of colourful costumes.

These festivities typically draw around 150,000 tourists, contributing to the nearly one million participants who join in over the approximately five weeks of celebrations.

Outside of the carnival season, Tenerife offers a more tranquil retreat, making it the perfect time to unwind and soak up the rich cultural history of Santa Cruz.

Nestled near the city centre is the Palmetum of Tenerife, a vast botanical garden boasting one of the world’s largest collections of palm trees, where you can also savour breathtaking views of the island’s coastline.

The main beach in Santa Cruz is Las Teresitas, a stretch of golden sand specially crafted using sands imported from the Sahara desert.

In the bustling port of Santa Cruz, one of Spain’s busiest, holidaymakers can discover the Auditorio, a contemporary concert hall that echoes the design of the Sydney Opera House and is crafted to resemble a ship’s sails.

Tenerife, already a favourite amongst British holidaymakers, is frequently serviced by numerous budget airlines, with a flight time just over four hours from the UK.

Santa Cruz, situated near the North Airport at the island’s peak, offers flights from London for a bargain price of as little as £36 during the winter season, according to Skyscanner.

One 18-year-old woke up to a horrendous reality after one or two drinks with her cousin on a family holiday in Tenerife. The next day she was smattered with bruises after a night of projectile vomiting.

A make-up artist from Northern Ireland lived through a true horror story while on a family holiday in Tenerife.

Suzy O’Neill went missing for almost an hour and remembers nothing that happened, waking up to a terrifying reality.

Then just 18-years-old when she and her cousin went on a night out that ended in violent vomiting, memory loss and bruises all over her body. Suzy warned fellow holiday-makers that she has had her “fair share of not nice experiences in Tenerife.”

Suzy said “We had had like two drinks I think and next thing I woke up at the side of the road.” Her cousin said she “was missing for basically an hour I could not be found – she was freaking out.” Suzy told her 2,872 TikTok followers: “I’m not like that – like you wouldn’t just lose me like that I’d be with someone I would not go off on my own.”

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Then she woke up to a horrific and terrifying sight. She said: “I woke up and this man was standing over me and I was like what the f*** is going on and I was freaking out. He wasn’t really speaking English and then my cousin heard the commotion and came running.”

Her cousin asked her where she had been and Suzy replied “What do you mean where have I been – what the f*** has happened to me?”

That night she was “violently ill” and her dad had to put her on her side and watch her throughout the night. She said the next day she was “covered in bruises.”

She added: “I was projectile vomiting in my sleep but I refused to go to the hospital. I think the reason I was so scared of going to the hospital is that I was so scared that they would tell me that I’d been spiked or this that or the other had happened.”

For the rest of the holiday she stayed close by her dad’s side because she was “terrified”. She added: “I feel like also something that’s not something that’s not spoke about is really how unsafe Tenerife is sometimes – it can be a very dangerous – it’s a lovely place but it also can be very dangerous.”

She said in another instance a man “latched onto my arm and wouldn’ t let me go” in broad daylight in Tenerife. She said he asked in broken English where she was staying, adding he was “very strange”.

She added: “One night I vividly remember sitting in a kebab shop and I caught this man’s attention and he wouldn’t leave. He was standing outside the kebab shop heavily breathing.” In another instance she was a man arrested in a bar and he bit the police man.

Tegan_French commented: “I’m going in August and I’m terrified.” Another chimed in “I’m going in August or July with my mom stepdad and brother! and I’m honestly scared. especially for my brother cause he’s so young and he likes going on the parks.”

The Canary Island set a new benchmark for international tourism, despite ongoing anti-tourist protests – and holidaymakers from one EU country in particular make up the largest tourist segment

The Canary Islands are still a major holiday hotspot for Europeans despite cries of overcrowding from locals.

According to Spanish publication Canarian Weekly, more than 4.36 million foreign visitors descended on the islands in the first quarter of this year alone – with holidaymakers from one EU country making up the largest segment.

And it appears German tourists cannot seem to get enough of the archipelago’s sunshine and beaches. Euronews reported that Spain remains the top holiday destination for Germans in 2025, with the Canary Islands leading the way with year-round sun.

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The Canaries offer an unusually stable subtropical climate, with daytime temperatures rarely falling below 20C even in January. Gran Canaria is often touted as the hottest, retaining such heat due to its proximity to Northern Africa.

Like Britain, Germans endure cold and snowy conditions from the months of December through to February. Another strong appeal for German travellers is likely the home comforts that can still be enjoyed in places like Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

The undeniable abundance of German tourists over the years mean that popular destinations have adapted to offer German-language menus and Bavarian staples. Direct flights from cities like Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin also make travel relatively simple.

Regular departures to the Canaries from Germany also enable spontaneous and cost-effective travel. A flight from Dusseldorf to Lanzarote takes around four hours and 30 minutes, a similar time-scale to planes departing from London.

Germans also have a notorious love of the outdoors and hiking that also makes the Canary Islands particularly appealing. The archipelago is packed with coastal walks and hiking trails, and the laidback lifestyle is ideal for recuperating.

It is certainly no surprise why Germans, Brits and all international travellers return again and again to Tenerife and Gran Canaria. However, the frustration of locals and increasing pressure on the housing market exacerbated by expats and tourists is only mounting.

Ivan Cerdena Molina, an activist within the protest movement and a member of local environmental group ATAN, voiced his frustration that despite the protests, more tourists visited his homeland last year than the year before.

“We had 16 million tourists [in the Canaries] in 2023 and 18 million in 2024. In 2025, the number is increasing again. The government didn’t do anything; it just spoke nice words with no real action.”, reports the Express .

Local governments are also implementing taxes to manage tourism. British holidaymakers heading to the Canary Island of Fuerteventura will soon have to pay a tourist tax. The island’s government has confirmed it will introduce the charge for the wild beach of Cofete, the sand dunes of Correlejo and the sea caves of Ajuy.

The move will follow the example of Tenerife, which has already started charging visitors to the mountain-top village of Masca and intends to do the same with Mount Teide.

Hundreds of British holidaymakers found themselves trapped in ‘inhumane conditions’ at a packed Spanish airport with just two booths open to check their passports

An emergency meeting has been called among top Spanish politicians after British travellers found themselves trapped in two-hour queues and “inhuman” conditions at the start of the school holidays, before even making it through passport control.

On Monday (May 26), around 500 UK holidaymakers found themselves stuck waiting on the tarmac at Tenerife South Airport for up to 45 minutes, before disembarking to find broken-down escalators and vast lines stretching in and out of the terminal to have their passports checked.

At the airport, some travellers reported seeing four officials manning just two passport control booths. As a result, passengers were crammed into a situation described as “claustrophobic” and “third world”.

Lourdes Tourecillas, a local resident who was returning from Bristol, told Canarian Weekly that, “Some parents lifted their children onto their shoulders to stop them from suffocating,” adding, “there were no toilets, and people were visibly distressed.”

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The President of Tenerife’s ruling council, Rosa Dávila, has called an emergency meeting in light of the incident, with chaos and long queues becoming a common problem at the busy airport during peak tourism periods.

Dávila called the situation “unacceptable” but blamed the situation on the continued failure to provide sufficient staff for border checks ever since the UK left the European Union.

She added: “This is a structural issue. We can’t continue to operate with the same staffing levels we had pre-Brexit.”

A major issue facing travellers on Monday was the inability of the airport’s automated checking systems to process children’s passports. This meant families having to queue with kids and baggage for hours in sweltering, lengthy, lines to kick off their holidays.

The council’s President said she had written to mainland politicians, but received no meaningful response. “There’s a serious lack of respect towards Tenerife. We’re managing essential services locally, but without state support, we’re being left to fail,” she said.

Lope Afonso, Tenerife’s Tourism Minister, warned: “This is the first impression our visitors get. After hours on a plane, they’re met with long waits and no explanation. It’s not acceptable, and it’s hurting our brand as a quality tourist destination,” he said.

“Tenerife competes globally. Other countries have adapted their systems since Brexit. Why haven’t we?”

He also had a warning for summer travellers, if mainland politicians don’t take action, saying: “We need immediate solutions to avoid this happening again, especially with the busy summer season ahead.”