Get Off The Beaten Track and Go Exploring
A holiday in Tenerife can still offer a few surprises. It’s a favourite destination for those who want the guarantee of some sunshine for their summer holidays but the good news is that in the last couple of years, there have been some great additions to life in Tenerife, so here are some fresh ideas to tempt you to try out Island life for your next holiday!
A Bit of Culture
If you love film sets, you could visit the lunar landscape terrain found around Mount Teide, which was chosen as a location for the filming of Clash of The Titans. The film which came out in March 2010, starred Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. And for real star gazers, this landscape was also used chosen by geophysicists and atro engineers to test drive robots, designed to land on the planet Mars! It’s a fascinating place, very raw and rugged – great for painters too.
The Auditorio de Tenerife is home to the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, and it also holds a variety of music concerts including jazz and bossa nova. The building is designed to resemble a huge, white crested wave – against the blue sky, it’s very impressive.
Tenerife Fine Arts Space is used to showcase changing exhibitions of modern art, photography and more. Its free to visit the space, but a donation to the centre is always appreciated. Again, its another new design, which is huge, with places to chill out, drink, read, and soak up the atmosphere.
New Things To Experience
If you are travelling with children, take a visit to Siam Park, which has made use of the wood that accrued inland, as a result of the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 that hit the coast of Sri Lanka. The debris was shipped to Tenerife, where it was worked on by a local team of Thai carpenters and craftsmen. Siam Park was created, there are temples, and complex water rides and for those who prefer a gentle pace, the park also has the more sedate boat trips. There’s also a white sand beach, imported from the Algarve, great for children!
Here’s one for the grown up’s….the well known crime writer, Agatha Christie stayed in Puerto de la Cruz in 1927, where she wrote ‘The Man from the Sea’. To mark the 80th anniversary of this visit, The Biannual Agatha Christie Literary Festival was established on Tenerife, with readings, plays and tea dances.
Purchasing Power
Tenerifes’ desert flowers are increasingly used in scent and natural medicines. The Aloe Vera plant, good for skin conditions and sun burn problems, is now widely available in a variety of creams, potions and lotions. There are natural flower perfumes and different types of honey to buy and more recently, the clothes market has picked up with a variety of eco cotton goods – good value, pretty and long lasting.
Classy Cocktails
Casa Abaco, is a former Governors’ Mansion House and it was built in 1760, near Puerto de la Cruz. There is a private, walled garden, salons and lots of beautiful old furniture and art work. Now, a visit to a stately home might not be your thing, but at the weekends, the building transforms into a cocktail and piano bar. It’s usually open on Saturday and Sunday evenings – there are also concerts and dance events too, so its worth keeping an eye open for whats on their programme.
There’s lots of interesting, fun and quirky things to do and experience on the Island alongside the better known facilities, such as great golf, great beaches and comfortable hotels – check out what’s available through Tenerife Holidays; it could be the place you’re looking for!