Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
2,038km²
Area
434km
Coastline
3,715m
Highest point
Teide
955,063
People
24°C
Warmest sea
September
255km
To the mainland
When to go to Tenerife
Best for the beach from July to October.
The sea is warmest in September (24 °C) and coolest in March (19 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to November.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
One of the main islands of the Canary archipelago
Tenerife is an volcanic island in Spain. It belongs to Canary Islands. It covers 2,038 km², with 434 km of coastline. Its highest point, Teide, rises to 3,715 m. About 955,063 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 255 km away.
Getting there
- Tenerife Sur Airport (TFS)main airport (2 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at TFS airport (Tenerife)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesMorrojable (Fuerteventura) - Santa Cruz (Tenerife), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Gran Canaria) - Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife), Santa Cruz de La Palma (La Palma) - Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Tenerife), Huelva - Tenerife (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)
- 255 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Tenerife.
- 261beachesPlaya El Cabezo, Siam Beach, Charco El Romantico and 258 more
- 484viewpointsMontaña Roja, Cabezo del Tejo, Piedra La Jurada and 481 more
- 11lighthousesFaro de Anaga, Faro de Rasca, Faro de Punta Abona and 8 more
- 10ferry terminalsNaviera Armas, Fred. Olsen Express Terminal Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Fred. Olsen Express terminal and 7 more
- 19marinasPuerto Colón, Puerto Los Gigantes, Puerto de Playa San Juan and 16 more
- 442named peaksMontaña Blanca, Guajara, Roque del Almendro and 439 more
- 128volcanoesPico Viejo, Volcanes de Fasnia, Montaña de Sámara and 125 more
- 80waterfallsWaterfall Barranco del Infierno, Saltadero el Bebedero, Saltadero Tamuja and 77 more
- 9castles and fortsBatería de Santa Bárbara, Castillo de San Felipe, Batería de San Francisco and 6 more
- 213ruins and archaeological sitesCasas de Tafada, Horno Tejas, Casa de Las Breñas and 210 more
- 20dive centresDive Center El Cardumen, Easy Divers, Espiritu de Buceo Tenerife and 17 more
- 14surf spotsPalm Beach Tenerife Surf Shop and School, Quivers Surf Pro, Surf Spot and 11 more
- 194waymarked walking routesPlaya de El Socorro - Pico del Teide, Los Regatones Negros, Roques de García and 191 more
- 83campsitesÁrea Recreativa y Acampada de Chanajiga (Los Realejos), Zona de Acampada de Las Hayas, Zona de Acampada de La Tahona and 80 more
- 733hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 3,526restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Tenerife in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Tenerife, each with its own numbers.
89beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
23.9°C
Playa del Tamadite
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
89 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Playa de la Arena23.8°C
- Playa de las Vistas23.7°C
- Playa del Socorro23.9°C
- Playa Jardin23.9°C
- Playa la Pinta Puerto Colon23.7°C
- Playa de las Américas23.7°C
- Playa el Bollullo23.9°C
- Playa de la Viuda23.8°C
81 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 871 m above the sea. 18 % of it is below 200 m.
- 5 %0–50 m
- 13 %50–200 m
- 21 %200–500 m
- 25 %500–1,000 m
- 25 %1,000–2,000 m
- 11 %> 2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife211,359 people
- La Laguna150,661 people
- Arona78,614 people
- Adeje43,204 people
- La Orotava41,833 people
- Granadilla de Abona39,993 people
- Los Realejos36,405 people
- Realejo Alto35,963 people
- Puerto de la Cruz32,219 people
- Candelaria24,319 people
- Icod de los Vinos24,024 people
- Tacoronte23,562 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 19 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 20 |
| Night low (°C) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 18 |
| Sea (°C) | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 21 |
| Rain (mm) | 29 | 33 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 42 | 44 |
| Wet days | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Sun h/day | 6.4 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 9.5 | 9.9 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 8.8 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 5.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 19 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 26 | 24 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 20 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +1.3 | +0.5 | −0.3 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.5 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +1.0 | +1.5 |
| 2023 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +1.5 | +1.1 | +1.5 | +2.0 | +2.0 | +1.7 | +1.7 | +1.8 | +1.8 | +1.5 |
| 2024 | +1.6 | +1.9 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.9 |
| 2025 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.8 | +0.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
La Gomera
Spain368 km²1,484 m63 km away
Gran CanariaSpain1,565 km²1,956 m105 km away
La PalmaSpain708 km²2,426 m130 km away
El HierroSpain268 km²1,501 m149 km away
FuerteventuraSpain1,662 km²813 m255 km away
LanzaroteSpain808 km²649 m302 km away
GraciosaSpain27 km²266 m322 km away
AlegranzaSpain10 km²289 m326 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q40846) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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