My husband and I are looking for a place to go in Spring 1997 in order to take some "biking holidays". We think about going to Tenerife : it will be sunny, and as far as we know there are a great number of passes to climb. We still don't know what to do with accomodation. Is there any possibility to find some B&B, or must we stay in hotels? Have you any routes to propose ? I've look in the Trento Bike Pages but I didn't find any info about Canaries.
I visited Tenerife in december 1994 for two weeks. The weather was fine. In Holland it was freezing, but on the island it was hot, 27 degrees but windy. We have stayed in a apartment in Playa de las Americas. From there we made a lot of trips by bike. I have no experience with hotels or B&B, but the island is small enough to get to almost every place. We have cycled totally 1400 km, without getting bored. There are a lot of beautiful climbs. Tenerife is really an eldorado for mountain goats, without a flat kilometer. The highest mountain of Spain is situated in Tenerife, the Pico de Teide (altitude 3700m+). This volcano dominates the island. The landscape is formed by this volcano and it is amazingly beautiful. There are a thousand different colours and the lava streams are impressive. You cannot reach the top by bike. The highest point you can reach is about 2400 meter. There are about four different routes to get to this point and they are all very nice, but heavy (from sealevel to 2400m in about 40 kilometers). It is not a very steep climb but 40 km is very long.
Although the Teide is dominating the island, there is much more to see. There is a lot of variation in the nature. In the south region it is very dry, with the climate and vegetation of a desert with cactuses and a strong wind.
The northern region is rather wet with a lot of forests. There are two mountain ranges which are very different from the Teide area, the Teno mountains and the Anaga mountains. Although it is not very high (max 1300 meter) these regions have a lot of very steep climbs and hairpins.
This trip was rather cheap. We booked a last minute trip for two weeks including the apartment and flight for about 800 guilders (2400 FF). The airport is difficult to reach and is only accessible by a freeway. For two days we have rented a car to see the Anaga mountain area on the other side of the island. And if you are getting tired of the mountains you can use the touristic facilities like beaches and disco's... :-p
If you need more information, please mail me.
Have fun!
Luddo