Tenerife
Since the sun has finally made an appearance and the clocks have gone forward, I thought I’d share some holiday inspo in the form of a travel blog – well, an attempted travel blog. I went on a few holidays last year, so I’m going to try to write about them as best as I can remember!
My first trip of 2018 was with my boyfriend – our first holiday as a couple. After going back and forth between where we wanted to go, we decided on Playas de las Americas, Tenerife. We thought this would be a nice mix of chilling and partying, with beaches and clubs galore. A lot of Brits like to jet off to Tenerife at all times of the year, and we were keen to know what all the fuss was about.
Playas de las Americas is a classic British holiday paradise – sun, man made beaches, Irish bars, karaoke nights, and as many all-inclusive resorts that you can count – a new holiday experience for both me and my boyfriend. We had a nice hotel room with comfy mattresses and a nice bathroom. The pool was big and due to the time of year, there was always a free sunbed. The breakfast and evening buffets were diverse and, contrary to other all-inclusive/half-board locations I’ve visited, surprisingly appetising. A leaflet with all the available excursions the island had to offer lay on our bed, and after arriving at 10pm, we started to plan our week.
Our first excursion, we decided, would be Siam Park (the best waterpark in the world, according to TripAdvisor). So, after our first breakfast of the week, we booked our tickets with the rep and headed to the beach; mistake number one.
Tenerife’s volcanic beaches are beautiful. Black sands juxtaposing the blue waves, palm trees lining the roads connecting the sandy shores to the shops and restaurants. A mixture of surfers and tanners, locals and tourists and absolutely no litter. We set down our towels, got out the Go-pro and embraced the cloudy, but warm weather. The clouds were deceiving though, and in classic Brit fashion, we got absolutely roasted. Two lobsters rushing to buy the closest, overpriced Aloe Vera products and running back to our shaded, air-conditioned hotel room to complain and regret our inadequate application of sun cream. We had well and truly effed up.
The next day we woke up bright and early, knowing we’d be cursing ourselves even more when we were trying to enjoy the rough decent of Siam Park’s water rides. It didn’t take us long to realise we wouldn’t have to endure any of this pain after all. Mistake number two: we lost our waterpark tickets. I was feeling mixed emotions, to be honest – annoyed because we had both automatically lost €40, but also relieved for my poor, red back. We decided to call the waterpark off, and instead of buying more tickets, we had another chilled day (in the shade).
Our next (and favourite) trip was a coach journey up Mt Teide – Spain’s tallest volcanic structure, and third tallest in the world! At the foot of the volcano is Teide National Park – A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and rightly so. We were promised lunar landscapes and blue skies, and that is exactly what we got. The long ride with a tour guide that had to repeat everything she said in 5 different languages (impressive, but extremely irritating to listen to) was worth it. On this trip we took on tiny, winding roads (in a relatively large coach, btw) to visit Masca Valley, a beautiful village in a ravine on the mountain with some serious postcard potential. We also saw the worlds oldest Dragon Tree!! This day out was definitely the most photogenic of the trips, and it was great to see “the real Tenerife” (aka, where the locals live). Being above the “sea of clouds” and feeling the full force of the sun really made us realise why we got sun burned on the first day, too.
Other than the day we went whale and dolphin watching (certainly one of my favourite moments), chocolate coated Oreos and cocktails were the main focus of our final few days. We caught the sunset down at the beach a few times and hurried back so we didn’t miss dinner! The perfect wind down from exam season and start to the summer.
So, what’s the verdict?
Tenerife was fun, and there was a lot to do. If you’re looking for some pubs, sand and a tan, Playas de las Americas is amazing. Personally though, I’d rather go somewhere a bit less British – maybe we’ll check out the north of the island next time!
Until next time…
Ella X
