Tenerife in 3 days
Three days, three sides of the island: south, volcano and north
- Day 1
- South: beach and harbour
- Day 2
- Teide: cable car €42
- Day 3
- North: La Laguna and Anaga
Three days on Tenerife work when each day belongs to one side of the island, and they fall apart when two days try to share one long drive. Spend the first in the south, the second on the volcano and the third in the north, and book the one thing that cannot wait, the summit permit, before you fly.
The south, from the airport to the beach
You land at Tenerife South, and the resorts of Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos and El Médano are the ones within easy reach. The page on where to stay sorts them out, so here the day simply starts at the base you chose. Walk the sand at Playa del Duque in Costa Adeje, about 700 m of fine pale sand where the water enters flat and the waves arrive softened by a breakwater.
In the afternoon, stroll the harbour at Los Cristianos, where the ferries to La Gomera tie up. This is the place to watch the boats and plan nothing more strenuous. Anyone who starts in the north instead can swap the beach for Las Teresitas near Santa Cruz, a golden bay behind a concrete barrier, and keep the rest of the day unchanged.
Check the same room on both sites: price and cancellation terms can differ.
Teide
The cable car's first departure is at 9:00, and in the last weeks of 2026 it runs 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, last ascent 4:00 pm, last descent 4:50 pm. The ride takes about 8 minutes to the top station at 3,555 m, and without a permit you have about an hour around it. With a permit you get up to two hours to walk from the station to the summit, inside one of the four slots, four slots: 9–11, 11–1, 1–3 and 3–5. Permits go on sale Mondays at 7:00 Canary time, up to 28 days ahead.
Wind decides whether the plan holds, because the cable car stops when it blows and departures can slip. If it closes, the permit is refunded only when the trail shuts for weather or the cable car does not run. Roques de García and the Parador, on the road back, make a decent consolation on a lost morning. Buses 348 and 342 reach the cable car, with timetables at titsa.com.
The north, La Laguna and Anaga
Costa Adeje to Puerto de la Cruz is about 67 km and about an hour by car, and from Los Cristianos the drive to La Laguna takes around 40 minutes on the TF-1. La Laguna has been a UNESCO town since 1999, which makes it the right first stop of the day. Its guachinches, the vine-growers' taverns, mostly serve lunch only, so the hours of the walk and the meal need to fit around them.
Then head up into Anaga, where the visitor centre at Cruz del Carmen is the point to aim for and Taganana the village at the far end. Benijo has no sand to offer, since the beach there has been closed since July 2024, but the viewpoint stays open. Lunch at a guachinche, cash in hand, rounds off the outing, because their kitchens stop at about 3:30 pm.
What goes first
Masca, Loro Parque and La Gomera are the three things that fall out of a three-day plan, and each has its own reason. Masca needs a booked slot, a bus and a boat back. La Gomera costs about 50 minutes of ferry each way. Loro Parque costs €42 for an adult and sits outside all three routes. If one of the two has to stay, Teide wins over Masca, since Masca asks for a fixed time and a bus on top.
- Wind closes the cable car: move the volcano to another day and let the south day absorb the delay.
- No summit permit: stay about an hour at the top station and leave the summit trail for another trip.
- Running late on day three: drop the walk in Anaga and keep La Laguna and lunch.
- More time than three days: give the extra day to La Gomera, which asks only for the ferry across.
Where to next
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like Tenerife
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Can you do Tenerife in three days without a car?
Yes, though the plan loses its slack. Public buses climb to the Teide cable car, and bus 076 runs from La Laguna to Cruz del Carmen and Taganana. The south asks for nothing more than your feet.
Can you do Teide and Masca on the same day?
It is a poor bet. Masca lets walkers in during fixed slots between 8:30 am and 1:00 pm, requires arriving an hour early and means a bus ride from Santiago del Teide, while Teide is ruled by wind and a permit slot. Give Masca its own day.
What if one of the three days is windy?
Swap days. The cable car stops without notice when the wind picks up, so the volcano belongs on the day with the most room around it. The permit is refunded only if the trail is shut for weather or the cable car does not run.
Ready for Tenerife?
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