The Canary Islands known as a place for European holiday makers to get away from the cold.  Living in New York, it may seem odd that I took a trip to Tenerife, but I was headed to Dublin for business and this was a perfect stopover (4 days) to catch up with a close friend.

Tenerife is the largest of the Canaries, just sitting off the west coast of Africa.  It brings a landscape so unique, dominated by Mt. Teide and filled with beaches all around.

We decided to make Plaza Fanabe our base, and rented an Air Bnb in the Lagos de Fanabe resort on the island.  It was a bit kitschy but worked well as a base for us.

We spent the majority of our time diving with Aqua Marina Dive Center, which was a good outfit nearby at Las Galletas.  The water was about 21 degrees, so cool enough to be in a 7mm wetsuit, but overall it was surprisingly good diving. The water visibility was clear and there was a ton to see – shipwrecks, sea turtles, fish, octopus, stingrays, and I even managed to fit in a deep cave dive!

On our day off diving, we made the drive up north to visit Centro Historico de San Cristobal de la Laguna, which is a little town in the north.  It was fine for an afternoon, but I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way for it.

We then continued down south and visited Las Teresitas, which we really loved as a beach destination.  Head in the direction of Montana Roja, and find a nice spot to camp out on. Just note that part of the area is a nudist beach, so be prepared!

We did manage to fit in a bit of childhood fun as well.  We visited Siam Park, a thai-themed waterpark filled with large water slides. Since it wasn’t high season, we bought the fast pass and sped through the water park taking in all of the slides, including the Tower of Power, which plummets you down a 90 foot drop!

We ended the trip with dinner in Los Gigantes.   The views of the giant cliffs are just gorgeous!