Getaways from Santa Cruz de Tenerife: day trips and destinations close by.

Almost everything starts at La Laguna

Almost everything starts at La Laguna. From there the TF-12 climbs through the Las Mercedes forest to Cruz del Carmen, in the Anaga massif, about 25 minutes from Santa Cruz; the other entrance leaves towards San Andrés and climbs via El Bailadero to Taganana, about 35 minutes to the coast. Also from La Laguna, the TF-24 follows the ridge via La Esperanza to El Portillo, the northern entrance to Teide National Park: 50 minutes to the visitor centre and an hour and ten to the cable car or the Parador. The TF-5 continues along the north to Icod de los Vinos and the TF-42 to Garachico, in Teno and Masca, in under an hour. These are mountain roads: the map times fall short.

Without a car you can reach all three. From the Santa Cruz interchange leave the 946 guagua, which passes El Bailadero, Taganana and Almáciga, and the 947, which climbs to Chamorga; from La Laguna, which you reach by tram, the 076, 275 and 077 climb to Cruz del Carmen. To Teide you go with the 102 to Puerto de la Cruz and the 348 at 9:30 to the Parador, which returns at 16:00 and there is no other. To the north-west, the 108 reaches Icod in 1 h 15, hourly even on Sunday, and the 363 continues to Garachico and Buenavista, from where the 355 leaves for Masca.

Anaga, from the Forest of Enigmas to the Roque de las Bodegas

From 25 to 35 minutes, Anaga. The Sunday of laurel forest and black beach starts in the Forest of Enigmas at Cruz del Carmen and ends with fish at the Roque de las Bodegas. Without a car, Anaga by guagua from summit to sea walks down from El Bailadero to Taganana and returns from Almáciga.

The north-west is 55 minutes away: the Sunday in Garachico, El Caletón and Masca, with the old town, a swim in the lava pools and the afternoon in the hamlet along the TF-436.

At an hour and ten, Teide and the gorge. The Sunday of the cable car and Los Roques de García goes up to La Rambleta, at 3,555 m; Teide without a car does the Roques route with the 102 and 348 guaguas. The Saturday in the Masca gorge goes down to the sea and returns by boat to Los Gigantes.

Permits for El Pijaral, the Teide crater and Masca

The El Pijaral trail, in Anaga, requires a free authorisation from the Cabildo on Tenerife ON, up to 14 days ahead; places for the following week are released on Mondays at 7:00. If there is no place, the Forest of Enigmas is freely accessible. Benijo beach has been closed by rockfalls since July 2024.

On Teide, the cable car does not include the summit: the Telesforo Bravo trail, the last 168 m to the crater, requires a Tenerife ON permit, which opens 56 days ahead. Montaña Blanca also requires one, and from October 2026 three other high-mountain trails; without a permit, the fine reaches €600. With snow or ice, access to the summit is restricted.

The Masca gorge is booked with the Cabildo, from €40.66, with slots from 8:30 to 13:00. You park in Santiago del Teide, go up on the 355 guagua, which is compulsory, and return by boat with a separate ticket. The TF-445 to Punta de Teno remains closed because of the rockfalls of 29 October 2026, with the 369 guagua suspended, and the TF-436 to Masca can close in a fire or rain alert.

Clear mornings on the summit, before the trade-wind cloud

From October to May is the season for Anaga: the forest is at its best and the coast can be walked without the heat; in summer, the coast only at dawn. All year, mornings are usually clearer on the summit, before the trade-wind mist rolls in. Teide is good all year: in spring the red tajinastes bloom, in autumn the air is cleaner and in summer the sky above is almost always clear even when there are clouds on the coast. For Masca, spring and autumn; in summer, the first slot. Swimming at El Caletón depends on the sea more than on the month.

Teide at night, with a telescope and the Parador

• Without a car, in a day: Anaga by guagua. The 946 at 9:10, the old path to Taganana, fish facing the sea and back from Almáciga.
• With one night: Teide at night. Observatory, sunset and stars through a telescope, a night at the Parador and on Sunday the cable car with a crater permit. Closer, a night in Anaga, with El Pijaral at dawn.
• With two nights: Garachico and the Isla Baja, 55 minutes away. A palace house to sleep in, the Masca gorge with a boat back, Teno Alto and the lava pools.

The rest is in the one-day plans and the getaways.