A Cyclist's Life in Tenerife (Canary Islands)

Having never been to Tenerife, we would appreciate any guidance on places to stay – we prefer to stay away from booming nightlife but would like reasonable access to a beach and some good places to eat.

The best place to stay is probably Puerto de la Cruz. Puerto de la Cruz is not like ugly Las Americas. It’s a more upmarket resort aimed at German & Scandinavian toursists. There are two beaches within El Puerto, and several better black beaches within easy cycling distance from there. I’d suggest the quieter «El Botannico» region of El Puerto to stay.

Garachico is a very tiny little town with just one or two places to stay (Quinta Roja), and a tiny tiny beach. Mainly tourists pass through there but don’t stay more than a day… there are also a bunch of traditional houses but they are generally not close to any beaches or restaurants.

Thanks very much for your enquiry,

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What we would hope to do is a mix of road and mtb. Would it be feasible to rotate the bikes?

Swapping bikes is also okay with me – provided you stay close by or are prepared to drop the bike(s) back here yourself. Otherwise it will likely incur an additional delivery charge…

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Hello Leslie,

I can use your reservation form of course, but I have to know little more about possibilities. So I am pleased if you can give me your answers for the following questions.

Do you think that I could find suitable routes for three days (or even more if I like)? And so that the starting and finishing point is my own hotel Barcelo Varadero at Los Gigantes?

I have seen and planned your easier routes from PdlCruz to Teno and El Tanque or something like that. Is it possible to cycle from Los Gigantes via TF454 to Santa Barbara or somenthing? And what about TF47 to Adeje?

I am willing to have a pleasant trips for appr. 4 to 6 (more if necessary) hours per day?

And I am not a pro cyclist, anyway I have had road bicycle (with pedals) 8 years, but just a hobby. The total climbing is new matter for me, that is one reason to be so curious.

Thanks,

Hello,

Yes I think you will find some inteteresting routes for 3 days…

Firstly, I would cycle from Los Gigantes first to Santiago del Teide, then Masca, El Palmar valley, Buenavista, Garachico, El Tanque, Erjos and back to Los Gigantes. Click here for the route map. Another way past Santiago del Teide is via Los Llanos and La Vega.

Road TF-47 is OK but generally busy with traffic. There are several loops you can do around Adeje / Guía de Isora initially via TF47. I would ride to up to Chio via Playa San Juan, Guia de Isora and return via Arguayo and Tamaimo.

Although it is very scenic, the road TF38 to Mt Teide is quite bumpy… I think most people don’t enjoy riding down that road. It would be much better on a MTB / hybrid. Also the side roads to Teno Alto and Punta de Teno are interesting + scenic…

Thanks very much!

Leslie.

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To whom it may concern,
I was wondering if you have a women road bike for me to rent while I am in Tenerife. I am only 5 feet height and I think I am only comfortable for a 17.5″ frame. if you have a bike that fits me, please let me know. Thank you very much.

Hello,

Yes we do have 1 extra small 46cm road bike available. We also now have a 14″ MTB. Both bikes are a great fit for people 5’0″ – 5’5″ tall. I.e. women and children.

They have an alloy frame, alloy rims & good components. The most important thing is that they are XXXS size, with an ultra-short stem, so I know either one will fit you well. I’m not sure of the exact geometry … I can go and measure them if you like and get the exact top tube lengths. Plus they’ve both only been used once before!

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I am staying in Las Americas during the week. I wont have a bike with me. I would like find some guided/group road rides about 3-4 hours steady winter pace, I usually ride with one of the foreign owned companies and I not checked the web for years. It would be nice to ride with a group I can understand.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Hello,

Well we can certainly supply you with a quality road rental bike + equipment, but group rides are not happening at the moment.

Regarding group rides, may I suggest you try the following:

1) Look at the following list of bike clubs in Tenerife and the Canary Islands. There are a few cycling clubs located in the South of Tenerife, such as Chaveña Cycle Club in Granadilla de Abona and Club Ciclista Chineje near Guía de Isora. You can then contact them directly for further info about group rides…

2) Failing that, consider joining the forum to post a question about meeting other cyclists here (just ask for help if you’d like to sign up).

3) Post a comment below with your intentions, in the hopes that other cyclists read it and respond.

Do please get back to me regarding your bike sizing + equipment needs. It’s best if you fill out the bike hire reservation form for that.

Thanks very much & happy cycling!

Les.

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Hello. Do you speak italian? If yes:

Salve.
Volevo sapere se mi potete noleggiare una bici Merida Road 905 o una Merida TFS 300, per tre giorni. Vorrei sapere il prezzo, e se la bici ha un bikecomputer.
Io dovrei essere al Jacaranda Hotel di Tenerife di Costa Adeje.
Grazie

If no:
Hello.
I wanted to know if I can rent a bike Merida Road 905 or 300 TFS Merida, for three days. I would like to know the price, and if the bike has a bikecomputer.
I should be at the Jacaranda Hotel in Tenerife Costa Adeje.
Thanks

Hello,

Unfortunately I don’t speak Italian, but naturally I would like to learn.

Many of our road bikes are already reserved/booked from next week. Yes we have a 300 TFS Merida in large size available whenever you need…. yes we can also install a cycle-computer for no extra, and you have a choice of slick or offroad tyres…

Thanks, Leslie

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Having found your web page very useful a trip to Tenerife is certainly being considered for a week of road cycling. Do you know if there any organised training camps on the island, or is it just a case of organise it all yourself?

Many thanks

Hello,

There aren’t any dedicated training camps organised on the island that I know of. This isn’t for the lack of trying, because I’ve been googling words like «cycling tenerife» etc for over 3 years. I have only ever seen a few cycle training camps in the Canary Islands, over in Lanzarote. These are usually organised in the UK & Germany; for that reason, I can’t see how they would be able to offer the best possible experience if they aren’t actually based there.

Tenerife Training camps and guided road rides were my original business plan. Since then, people have requested bike hire only so I’m happy to specialise in that now. When I’m a little more well known and have a bit more capital, I’d eventually like to get back to my original goal (probably after the economic crisis) and offer all-inclusive packages, including the neighbouring island La Gomera. For now, I think it’s easier and cheaper for people to organise their own cycling holidays in Tenerife. That way, you have more flexibility about where you want to stay, where you go & your travel dates. I provide a lot of free information & offer quality road and mountain bike hire.

Hope that helps.

Thanks,

-Leslie

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I am hoping you can help me I am arriving in tenerife south on Friday 14th March and I am staying in Puerto De La Cruz.

What is the best, quickest and cheapest way to get there from South Airport? Can you get from South Airport to North Airport and how?

I would be grateful for any help at all.

Many thanks

Hi,
The cheapest way is to catch the 340 bus right outside the airport terminal building. It goes pretty much directly to El Puerto & I it also stops at the North airport on route. But the trouble is there are only a limited number of services per day.

The alternative is to get the 341 bus to Santa Cruz, which comes each hour. Then from Santa Cruz, it’s best to get the 103 direct bus to El Puerto, or else the 102 which also goes via La Laguna & the North Airport – they leave every 30 minutes or so. The 101 bus from Santa Cruz to El Puerto is basically an «all stations» service so it takes much longer to arrive.

It’s best if you can buy a bono bus card first as it saves a bit of money. Have a look here for more info about other airport transfer options (you can also download the bus timetables there too).

Even from Santa cruz a taxi will cost > 45 Euros. Not much less from the North Airport, depending on the traffic.

Thanks,
Les

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Do you still offer guided road training rides?

Bike hire is proving to be the popular thing, so I have scaled back the emphasis on guided road training rides, and these days I pretty much offer bike hire exclusively. I also enjoy taking people on guided MTB rides.

Road rides are a bit of a different story. Right now I prefer to invest most of my capital my ever-expanding fleet of bikes than a dedicated van + trailer, etc. In the future I will surely offer guided road rides again, when I have a regular base of customers and people wish to explore the lesser-known regions of Tenerife & La Gomera. Then I will invest in a suitable vehicle to enable pickups and dropoffs (which is what cyclo tourists really want after all). We still don’t even have an official shopfront yet, but all in good time…

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What happens if I have trouble with the bike when I’m travelling with the bike on tenerife. Do you have a service for this like a replacement bike?

Yes I generally have replacement bikes available, except during peak periods.

My policy regarding broken bikes:

If you are riding somewhere in the North, then you can always call my mobile number, and I will come to you directly to fix or replace the bike provided I am free. I will try to get you back on the road and riding again as soon as I can, but since it is just me essentially running the whole business, I can’t be in two places at once so you may need to be a little patient and understanding. I can re-imburse (refund) you for the days you don’t have a bike (the wasted days), but so far that hasn’t been necessary. [Read more →]

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Are there any restrictions on riding a MTB in Tenerife?

Yes, there are some restricted areas as far as mountain bikes are concerned. Mt Teide National park is now a World Heritage area so riding on any of the dirt tracks and trails within that zone is prohibited! If you get caught, you risk a large fine. The closest you can get to seeing the Volcanic crater on a bike is along track number 8 called «El Filo» on this hiking / walking tracks in Tenerife. Note that this particular track is located inside a «terrain of future incorporation», so it might not be possible in future…

Riding a bicycle on the narrower walking trails / singletrack is also technically prohibited, athough lots of local and foreign riders ignore this rule. (they’re called pistas de senderismo in Spanish)

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Is it possible to transport the bikes on public buses?

It is not possible to take the bikes inside the buses with passengers. If you can fit them under the bus, in the cargo hold, then yes you can take them (but that depends on what type of bus it is). Some have very small luggage compartments. I have written more information about this on my forum, here and included some photos of what buses can easily take bicycles on board.

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How’s the weather looking at the moment? Will I be ok in shorts and shortsleeve jersey?

Be aware that although it’s Tenerife, in the Winter months the mountains are much colder than the coast. Right now it is still quite chilly up there above 1000m. Lengthy ascents will require single layer clothing, short or long sleeve depending on your tolerance to cold weather and also depending if you’re riding in the North or the South. When climbing, your body produces a lot of heat due to the constant excercise, so there is usually no need to wear more than a single lycra base layer. Obviously there is no wind chill experienced either. The best plan is to bring layered clothing and you can always peel it off if you get to hot. Nothing worse than freezing your fingers off though eh?

Like I always say though, at an altitude of ~2000m, frost appears in the morning. Add 30mph wind chill factor onto that plus the fact that you’re not pedalling as much going down hill for an hour and you have a recipe for disaster if you only bring a short sleeve jersey and nothing else. So definitely bring a windproof jacket, arm + leg warmers and preferably long
windproof gloves, if only used for descents from Las Cañadas to sea level.

Keep in mind that it also all depends on what you are used to; I’m an Australian, so I don’t have much tolerance to cold weather plus I’m used to riding in the North, not the South, and it’s usually a little tiny bit colder up this way. Please check the weather page for futher info (temperature forecast and more).

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I collected some information about the weather conditions on Tenerife. And about that I am a little anxious because i found some information about the differences between the south and the north of Tenerife. South should be a lot more sun and the north a bigger chance to get al lot of rain more cloudy. What can you tell me abouth the conditions in your neighbourhood?

Personally, I think the difference between the North and South of Tenerife is often exaggerated. I refer you to this link.

Yes it is usually one or two degrees cooler in the North where I live (La Orotava, 450m above sea level). I think the difference between Puerto de la Cruz & Las Americas is even less. But I wouldn’t describe the weather as ‘cold’ here in the North. Not by European standards anyway.

The cloud that people refer to is a thin stratus band that hovers over Aguamansa often between 1200-1500m or so. These are not rain clouds, so no I don’t think it rains more here in the North than in the South. Above that layer, it is always sunny with not a cloud in sight, unless there is a tropical storm brewing (in which case the whole island is affected). Sometimes the weather is even reversed and the South has more clouds than the North!

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Do you provide any support for serious mechanical failures?

Good Question.

The bikes are really well maintained and therefore I haven’t had (m)any serious mechanical failures. Three spoke breakages over the last two and a half years. A couple of broken chains. And one broken seatpost. Keep in mind there are 20 bikes in the fleet so that’s not bad going for the total amount of kilometres travelled on all the bikes. [Read more →]

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Hello
Your website describes trails mostly in the North, any mountainbike trails on the south-side of the island?

Apart from my webpage (which incidently takes a while to load fully), for further information about mountain bike routes in Tenerife I suggest you take a look at these three links in particular:
Swotch (a simple but good information site for MTB trails in the South of Tenerife… also in English)
Pista del Rayo (a fantastic website about discovering Tenerife’s trails with extremely detailed mountainbike ride descriptions and maps… in Spanish)
Freeride MTB (a MTB blog with several great mountainbike rides)

There is also this link which is normally quite a good resource:
MTB Tabai (detailed ride descriptions, but all in spanish and it’s currently offline and/or registration is required)

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Hi

Do you provide recumbent bikes for hire?

Regards

Hello,

Not at this stage we don’t, no. You are very unlikely to find recumbents for hire anywhere on the island… I have not seen a single recumbent bicycle or tricycle in the three years that I have lived here in Tenerife.

Thanks,
-Leslie

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What are the road conditions like in the South of Tenerife?

Firstly, for general information about the condition of roads in Tenerife, take a look at this page.

Regarding quality of road surfaces, I’ve heard conflicting reports about roads in the South. Honestly I haven’t had time to explore all the roads in that region, especially the ones around El Medano and Granadilla. I tend to go as far as Vilaflor or Masca and that’s it. I can tell you to stay away from road TF38 that goes between Boca del Tauce & Chio. It’s badly in need of resurfacing, but it’s perfectly okay for a MTB! It’s best to look on the forum for other roads to avoid in Tenerife.

As you can see from this map, there are many roads in the South of Tenerife. The road surface between Granadilla and Vilaflor is excellent, but I’m not always sure what route people take to get there from the coast! I usually make a point of asking, but it’s frustrating, because people don’t always know exactly where they went. Obviously it’s in my best interests to find out asap. I’d love to explore them all, but these days I’m pretty busy with marketing & whatnot to go and explore much. Of course if I’m made aware of any other roads to avoid by my clients and other cyclists, I’ll be sure to update this.

I generally suggest that people stay in either El Puerto, Garachico, Los Gigantes or La Orotava instead of the Los Christianos / Las Americas region. Partly because they’re nicer resorts. But also because you can expect traffic around the major resorts.

Both videos I made were filmed entirely in the North. You’ll find the best roads of all in the Anaga region. But it really isn’t very easy to get to…

Thanks,

Leslie.

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Can I ask you more about the rent. Is bike covered in case of a fall/crash/accident? In real world this happens from time to time. I am sure this bike is worth a few quid, just Mavic Axiums alone probably cost 200-300. I would hate to scratch the bike and the be anxious about the consequences. Have you got a a solution?

Hello,

The bike is not insured for those kinds of accidents, no. You need to pay a security deposit of €150 to rent the bike. The idea of that is that you will take a lot more care of the bike if you have just payed close to €300.

If you crash and cause damage yourself, in theory you would lose the deposit. If you read the fine print, most places will charge you for the full replacement value of the bike.

In the case of a serious accident, I imagine the biggest cost to you would be the hospital medical bill, not the bike. I think the UK has a reciprocal health arrangement with Spain (I am unsure of other countries?). If you are worried, you should definitely get yourself travel insurance and make sure that sporting activities in particular ‘cycling’ are covered in their policy.

Remember to take care on the roads, especially on the descents. Trucks & buses commonly go to the other side of the road around corners (they have to because sometimes there is no space for them to make the turn) so don’t ride close to the central road marking unless you can see there are no vehicles coming. I check the bikes personally each time they are rented so they are in mechanically A1 condition. Steering + brakes, gears, wheels and tyres. [Read more →]

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Hi,

Thank you for your quick and detailed reply. We would most likely be looking to hire 10 racing bikes for 3 days between the 3rd and 10th of Feb I am not too sure of sizes yet but what sizes do you have avaliable? How much could you do 10 bikes over 3 days for?….and would we be able to keep them over night?…as ideally during a training camp we would like to ride early morning!

On a practical note, how far away are you from Los Cristianos/Las Americas? Is it practical to hire from you if you are far away? Finally…How easy and expensive would it be to deliver the bikes?..because we havent arranged any transport.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hello Jonathan,

Yes you can keep them overnight. Assuming 10 bikes, here’s my discounted prices:

• 10 bikes for 3 consecutive days will cost €525 (= €17.50/day per bike).
• 4 consecutive days for €17/day
• 5 consecutive days for €16/day
• 1 week for €14/day per bike
• other rates on request.

It is no problem to deliver anywhere on the island! Directly to your hotel. That’s what we do! Delivery/pickup will cost an extra ~90€ for that many bikes – basically we have to hire a big van for a day, at least ‘til we get one of our own (then the standard delivery/pickup fee of €36 applies to Los Cristianos).

We have sizes from 46 – 61cm in road bikes and 14 – 21″ in mountain bikes. It’s best to give me the sizes you need, and I’ll see what I can supply. But just a question: have you thought about staying in the North? Better roads, and better rides than the South!!

Can you provide more details about the training camp? I’m also happy to advise you with the logistics of such a big group of bikes… i.e. it might be better for you to hire some mini vans, and transport the bikes separately to your riders.

Please do get back to me with those sizes – the sooner the better. We do appreciate your business,

Thanks very much, and hope to hear from you again soon!
Leslie.

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