Monday, January 22, 2018

Holidays in Tenerife | Our Experience ♥

 View of the town of Garachico which was destroyed by volcanic eruption in 1706.

Back when I was pregnant with Tyler in 2012, Jacek and I went on two holidays in the space of two weeks. The first was to the Algarve, where we also went on a day trip to Lisbon and the second was to the Canary Island of Tenerife.

I had never thought about featuring these holidays on the blog before, but since I'm really into the travel and adventure aspect of my blog at the moment and I thought, why not feature these places and the things we did?

In case other people are looking to holiday on the island, check out Holiday Gems Tenerife deals. There are always great offers to be had on holidays to Tenerife and not only is the island perfect for couples, but it's an ideal destination for families too. I've previously shared the best family activities in Tenerife if you're thinking of visiting with your little ones in tow.

Tenerife was never a place which I thought about going before Jacek booked our holiday - Lanzarote was always out Canary Island of choice, but holidays to Tenerife always seemed to be so popular amongst our friends and family so we thought, why not experience the island for ourselves?

When we arrived on the island I immediately liked the atmosphere, it had a cool, relaxed vibe, just the type of setting you want for a holiday, away from the hassles of everyday life. The island itself was beautiful and even though the island doesn't have much by way of flowers or greenery, the volcanic ash beaches, rolling hills and crystal clear waters by far make up for this and gave a sense of being in another world - the landscape being very foreign to the rolling green fields of Ireland that I'm used to.

A close up view of the town of Garachico.

The weather was hot, but not overly so. During our week in Tenerife there seemed to be a haze in the sky that just wouldn't clear until the very end of our holiday, this meant that the sun couldn't come through as intensely as it usually would have (a great aspect if you have children who you want to protect from direct sunlight) but it was still lovely and warm.

This is the hazy effect you can see in all the pictures in this post, it's actually called the 'calima effect' and is caused by dust blowing over from the Sahara Desert and reducing viability - you learn something new everyday!

Statues of the ancient leaders of the island before it became colonised.
 
We stayed Playa de las Americas, one of the most popular spots on the island and in the Bungalows Barranco, which were lovely, charming, little apartments with a bedroom and bathroom upstairs and a kitchen come sitting room downstairs.

We had a little patio that led directly out to the pool and it was just perfect for a couples holiday. We spent our days on the beach, which was just a fifteen minute walk from our apartment, the nearest beach was full of volcanic ash - a unique trait of the island, whereas the beach further along the strip (and the one we preferred to visit) did have sand, sun chairs and umbrellas. It was lovely and the perfect spot to have a dip in the warm sea, I've never had as much fun as I did swimming with Jacek in those waters, it was Heaven on Earth.

The 'calima effect' over one of the beaches in the north of the island, caused by dust blowing over from the Sahara desert which lowers visability.

There were sellers on the beach with everything from alcoholic drinks to watermelons - the latter which we enjoyed in abundance, due to me being pregnant and all so you didn't have to leave the beach for any refreshments, unless you wanted to of course!

The strip full of shops, restaurants, bars and clubs was just a ten minute walk from our apartment and we went down there for dinner every night. Once again, the atmosphere down there reflected my impressions of the island when we first arrived - cool, chilled and just a really nice place to be in the world. I can see why the island is so popular because of this!

One of the many catherdrals in the capital, Santa Cruz.

Tenerife offers lots of activities such as water sports and excursions, but as I was so ill from crippling morning sickness that I didn't feel up to doing much apart from lounging by the pool and lying on a sun chair at the beach.

Being in the warm waters of Tenerife really was lovely though and such a cure for my sickness too. We did manage to go on one excursion though, Jacek always ropes me into these excursions whenever we travel, which was a bus journey around the entire island, so we really did get to experience all that Tenerife has to offer and all aspects of the beautiful island.

Casa de los Balcones.

We got to stop in the north of the island, which is far less touristy and which actually has a lot of history and culture - like the statues of the ancient rulers of the island before it was colonised by the Spanish, the Black Madonna and the Casa de los Balcones (House of the Balconies) - the latter which Jacek had a particular penchant for, he must love balconies!

My favourite part of our holiday was having dinner on the strip, right by the beach and strolling back to our apartment along the beach holding hands. It's lovely watching the sun set over the water while having dinner with the one you love - yes I am an old romantic, but it really is the simple things that make a holiday truly special and which give the long-lasting memories from it all and this is one thing I'll always remember from our visit to Tenerife. It was actually quite a romantic holiday for us and the perfect getaway before we became parents.

One of the many volcanic ash beaches that Tenerife has to offer.

I will say that Tenerife has a lot going for it, it's suitable for families, couples and holidays with friends. It really does offer something for everyone, no matter what you're going there for. Hopefully I've shown you another side to the island rather than just the beaches, palm trees and sunshine - although I would have shown you all that too had my memory card not have become corrupted, a whole weeks worth of photos gone in a mere second... so a big thank to Jacek for these pictures, aren't I lucky that he's a fellow contributor to this little blog of mine?

Have you ever been to Tenerife? Is it an island you'd like to visit one day?
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2 comments

  1. I'd love to go to Tenerife, they say the old part of La laguna is really beautiful and I'd love to enjoy the sea, of course! :)

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    Replies
    1. It's a beautiful island, definitely visit one day if you can :)

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