About Tenerife
Capital: TENERIF
Second Biggest City:SANTACRUZDE TENERIFE
Population:839,000 (2006 estimated)
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Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and also attracts the highest number of tourists.
The population figure (839,000 Jan 2006) is steadily rising as more and more EEC citizens realize
the dream of living in this wonderful climate, the majority of the locals live in and around the
capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz. The area of Tenerife extends to some 2057 square km of very
mountainous terrain. Apart from the main tourist areas most of the inhabitants don't speak a word
of English, only Spanish. Even the Tenerife tourist information offices have only now realized that
visitors spending their hard earned cash expect staff to speak other languages. The majority of
tourists come from Great Britain and Germany, although there are large numbers of Scandinavian.
The Tenerife driving style is, to say it kindly, strange. Very few drivers in Tenerife follow the
accepted international traffic rules. If a car stops to let you cross the street that is looked upon
as a real favour from the driver, you are supposed to nod and feel lucky, (a nod in Tenerife goes
in the opposite direction, a lift of the head!) zebra crossings are treated as extra parking spaces,
a left indicator means either I'm turning left, or I'm pausing here so don't overtake, please don't
ask me how one tells the difference! More about the Tenerife transportation system.
Tenerife one can take ferries to visit the other Canary Islands, one has to allow a full day for the
nearer islands and over night stays on the others. There are also a growing number of local
inter-island flights.
Tenerife is popular with walkers and mountaineers, because Tenerife has Spain's highest peak,
Mount Teide (3718 m) which is also the 3rd largest volcano on earth and of course warm climbing
and walking in Europe's winter months. The national park has many other interesting and challenging
summits to visit.
Other attractions on Tenerife include; animal parks, surfing, windsurfing, paragliding, camel tours,
diving centres, golf courses and the excellent Tenerife symphony orchestra.
Walking in Tenerife
For many years Tenerife was recognised as a holiday destination only under the sun, sea and sand
category. However during the last ten to fifteen years or so with the advent of the opening up of
business encouraged by the 'common market' many people have been encouraged to welcome rural
tourism and the largest category of customers for this type of tourism is the climbing and walking
brigade. Tenerife has some of the most varied scenery within a short distance of any country in the
world, added to this is the attraction of Spain's highest mountain set in the amazing scenery of
Las Canadas national park. From dry desert like conditions to weird and wonderful volcanic lava flows
to moss festooned laurel forests Tenerife has it all for everyone from the 'rambler to the dedicated
mountain enthusiast.
Tenerife Carnival 2007
Tenerife carnival has got to be on everyones must do list, even for those non party people,
the sheer spectacle of the queens dresses, costing thousands of Euros each, the infectious
gaiety of the people in fancy dress, the whole mad party atmosphere that goes on all night for
days on end means that this has to be experienced at least once in a lifetime.
The men from Tenerife take great delight in dressing as women for the slightest excuse and
carnival is the biggest excuse of all, some of these are solid, hairy, heavily made up women
with falsies and fishnet stockings, others take the whole thing far more seriously and spend a
fortune on their exotically beautiful costumes, handmade boots and make up that would make
any movie starlet preen with delight.
The theme for next years carnival is discussed and decided as soon as this years is over,
dates are announced for the various competitions, parades, fireworks and finishing spectacle,
months before it happens and yet it always runs late. When carnival fever hits Tenerife nothing
happens on time, so whats new you ask? Alright in carnival season (which isnt just in Santa
Cruz, many other towns have only slightly lesser versions, so for the real enthusiast it can last
for several weeks) things just take much longer than usual.
Tenerife Accommodation
There is a vast range of available accommodation in Tenerife, from the humble studio apartment
through, one bed roomed, two bed roomed apartments etc to penthouse apartments, bungalows,
houses, villas and golf property. Apart from the self catering side of accommodation in Tenerife
there is also an incredible choice of catered accommodation with a few (mostly foreigners)
offering traditional British, Bed and Breakfast in their own houses, through the whole range of
standards of hotel accommodation which can vary considerably, usually the newer hotels, having a
larger range of services and facilities, have a higher star rating and consequently cost more as the
number of stars increase. During the last few years the number of five star hotels in Tenerife, both
built and being built has leapt in proportion to others when compared with say fifteen years ago.
The latest category to be added to accommodation in Tenerife is casas rurales (rural houses)
and rural hotels these usually provide simple but good quality accommodation in outlying areas.
Cheap flights to Tenerife
The increasingly popular holiday option of owning ones own property in Tenerife for holidays rather
than the traditional package holidays has led to more and more people looking for cheap flights to
Tenerife. With the plethora of companies offering 'unbeatable offers' and lowest prices for flights
to Tenerife it's a difficult choice for the client looking for those cheap flights to Tenerife that
actually exist. With the growing popularity of the internet time spent searching for that elusive
flight can be utilised in the best possible manner. No more traipsing down to the local travel agent
and waiting to be served and no more interminable hours spent dangling from the end of a
telephone 'holding on while I check for you'. Check out the best deals on flights.
Holidays in Tenerife
Since the advent of the package holiday concept, holidays in Tenerife have become extremely
popular due mainly to the fact that Tenerife has probably the best climate in the world for those
of us looking for virtually guaranteed sunshine without excessive heat. It's very rare indeed that
one cannot find sunshine in some part of this small holiday island and even when we get those
rare cloudy days it's still warm enough to stroll around without coats while enjoying your holidays.
Car hire in Tenerife
Without doubt car hire in Tenerife is the mode of transport that gives the greatest amount of
freedom of travel and the freedom to stop whenever one wants. Photos of Tenerife play such
an important part of many peoples holidays in Tenerife that the flexibility of a hire car or minibus
is essential for those spur of the moment snapshots and the accessibility of those places off the
beaten track of public transport or mass island tours. A word of warning to those British holiday
makers renting a car hire in Tenerife for the first time, driving on the "wrong" side soon becomes
familiar but beware, it's often after the initial wariness wears off that the unfortunate accidents
occur, after a photo, petrol or lunch stop.
Tenerife property
Tenerifeproperty has become a very popular form of investing and enjoying the fruits of ones
investment. The fact thatpropertyinTenerife offers the nearest place for mainland Europeans
to enjoy almost guaranteed winter sunshine means that those investors that buy property for
their own enjoyment as well as having the capacity to earn a return, from holiday rentals,
obtain double benefits bearing in mind that Tenerife enjoys an all year round season. This
increases the possibilities of earnings all through the year while reserving those weeks to suit
ones own needs. To learn more about having your cake and eating it.
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