The island of Tenerife is an island where it is easy to find in short spaces of land, different microclimates and diverse areas that will make you think you’re completely elsewhere.
Where else can be accentuated this feature of the island of Tenerife, if not by comparing the southern part of the island with the north. From the same road, without leaving your transport and driving down the highway from north to south, you can easily see that it looks like two totally different islands. Here we show the main differences you’ll find in each area.
Beaches
The northern area of Tenerife has a much greater wealth of beaches, characterized by volcanic black sand, and where you can find some of the beaches located in the very city of Puerto de la Cruz. And in the surrounding villages, wild beaches of difficult access but the efforts to get there are worth it, as being more hidden, they have a purer nature and far fewer people. The southern part of Tenerife is characterized by white sand beaches, some of them are also very beautiful and worth visiting, and others that are overexploited and overcrowded. For all the beaches that can be found in Northern Tenerife, do not miss the section “beaches” of our blog where we have analyzed one by one the fundamental aspects of each, and their location and directions.
Tourism
The southern part of the island of Tenerife, especially the part of Los Cristianos and Las Americas is especially crowded with tourists. Walking through its streets may not feel like you’re in Tenerife or Spain, since it will be easy to find everywhere he you look, numerous advertising signs in English, German, Italian, French and/or Russian. In the north, in places like Puerto de la Cruz, although it will be easy to find many tourists, it is much easier to know the culture and people of Tenerife, as there is a perfect symbiosis, where the culture of the place it has not been lost, and tourists feel equally comfortable and welcome.
Hiking
Because the terrain in the north is much more mountainous than in the south and the vegetation more abundant, the north of the island is the temple for tourists who come to Tenerife to enjoy hiking, being able to find a lot various and beautiful paths to enjoy nature in its purest form. If you want to know some of the most recommended hiking routes in northern Tenerife, you can visit the post we wrote in our blog with all the information on these tours you’ll love.
Vegetation
The southern area is an more arid and flat climate that does not allow so easily that vegetation appears in multiple forms, as happens throughout the entire north side of Tenerife, where there wherever you look, you will always find the characteristic green nature. A view from some of the viewpoints that can be found around Puerto de la Cruz, will serve to realize the magnitude of the vegetation stretching, especially in the Orotava Valley, the Teide reigning over it and the whole island.
Climate
Although in the north of Tenerife, as throughout the island, it is common to enjoy a pleasant climate almost all year, the southern region is characterized by being a little warmer, mainly because it is a much less full of vegetation and less mountainous area. Anyway, as we noted in our post where we discuss in detail the climate of Puerto de la Cruz, in the city portuense you can enjoy an annual average temperature of 20.03 ° C. By something they call the Fortunate Islands!
Parties
If you come to the island of Tenerife in a party mood, much will depend of the type of party you want, whether the south or the north of Tenerife is recommended. For younger people who want to enjoy parties till long hours in the morning, possibly find the southern region attractive with the clubs that are there. But also Puerto de la Cruz, where several places exist where you can surround yourself with young people and enjoy good music or even enjoy comic performances with the best humorists of the Canary Islands and Spain. If the nightlife is not your main goal during your stay on the island of Tenerife, but you like to know the local culture and popular festivals: in Puerto de la Cruz and the surrounding villages there are every month village festivals such as pilgrimages, art festivals in the street as the MUECA Festival and numerous cultural events about which we continually inform you on our website. Visit the section of our blog where we talk about the festivities in Tenerife North to see if any of them coincides with the dates you are thinking to stay.
History
With respect to history, there is no doubt that Puerto de la Cruz and surrounding towns have much more to tell that the south of Tenerife. Every street and corner of Puerto de la Cruz has many stories, places and monuments worth visiting and legends, partly because Puerto de la Cruz was the first city of the Canary Islands to develop touristically and which have visited renowned personalities as the Beatles, Agatha Christie or Alexander von Humboldt (among others), which we discussed in our blog.
In summary
We have tried to make a picture as realistic as possible of the various attractions that can be found in the different places of the island of Tenerife, and depending a lot on your tastes and your expectations and objectives during your visit to Tenerife you’ll like to stay in South or North. We obviously would like you to come to Puerto de la Cruz, and if possible meet you and offer you during your stay in the north of Tenerife a maximum comfort. If in the end you decide to stay in Puerto de la Cruz, we will be happy to receive you. Just fill out the contact form and we will confirm the reservation.
