Excursions during your practical training in Tenerife

Our practical training here in Tenerife has been incredible. Since we have two days off each week, we decided to make the most of it by exploring more of the island, and so we rented a car for a little road trip. Our internship is based in Los Cristianos, but for our two days off we booked accommodation in Icod de los Vinos.

On Friday evening after work, we met up with our family who came to visit and all headed to our accommodation together. It had a pool overlooking Icod and the ocean, so naturally we spent some time swimming and relaxing. Afterwards, we enjoyed a lovely dinner and ended the night playing card games.
Saturday started with a delicious breakfast. Our first stop was the famous Dragon Tree in Icod “Drago de Icod de los Vinos”, which we checked out briefly before hitting the road again. From there we drove to Playa de las Teresitas, which is a beautiful beach where we soaked up the sun, read our books, and tanned for a couple of hours. 🌊☀️ Our next destination was “Arco de Tajao”, a volcanic rock arch formed by wind and water erosion. It’s easy to reach and the dramatic, desert-like scenery makes it perfect for taking photos.

From “Arco de Tajao” we continued on to El Médano, where we strolled around town, browsed the cute surf shops, and enjoyed coffee and lunch. After that, we headed back towards Playa de las Vistas, which is a beach we often visit since we live in Los Cristianos. We laid down for a bit of extra beach time and played a few more card games. 🏖️🌴

Doing your practical training in the Canary Islands is such a fantastic opportunity, especially because it’s such a great destination for family and friends to come and visit. In the late afternoon, we planned to drive to Los Gigantes to watch the sunset, but then we changed our minds and drove up Mount Teide instead. The drive itself is stunning — the rock formations and natural scenery took our breath away. We stopped at about 2,000 meters altitude and watched the sunset while enjoying a little picnic we’d packed on the way. 🌅

Although we spent quite a bit of time in the car, all of these places are actually fairly close when you have your own vehicle. We can definitely recommend renting a car, especially if you have visiting family or friends who enjoy exploring as much as you do, like in our case. After sunset, we drove back to Icod de los Vinos.

And that’s how we managed to drive around Tenerife in just one day!
If you ever have the chance to go abroad during your studies — take it, and do your practical training in Tenerife. You will love it!

Now that our 6-month practical training in Tenerife is coming to an end, we’ve been reflecting on all the amazing experiences we’ve had and there’s one trip we absolutely have to recommend. Trust us, we’ve done it four times already! 🐳

Each time we went on this Whale watching tour, we saw whales—and on some days, even dolphins. The first time was right at the beginning of our internship. We booked the tour through GetYourGuide, boarded the boat in Los Cristianos, and set off into the ocean. We were beyond excited. And then, just as we reached the first stop, we spotted whales right away. The boat’s engine was turned off, and instead of chasing the animals, everyone just quietly watched and appreciated these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.

It really matters to us that the animals aren’t disturbed or herded together, which is why we specifically recommend booking with the boat “Lady Tenerife.” The crew is respectful of marine life, and the boat itself is smaller, which means fewer people and a much more intimate experience.

Each trip was different, and we saw more whales every time. Once, we were lucky enough to see a whole family of eight pilot whales including a baby! 🐳 After that stop, “Lady Tenerife” heads toward a nearby fish farm, where you might also get lucky and spot bottlenose dolphins. 🐬 On our first trip, we didn’t see any dolphins, but on the next three, we did! We even saw a few sea turtles along the way. 🐢

The tour also includes a stop by the so-called “Love Cave.” On sunny days, it’s especially beautiful, and you’ll often see people kayaking nearby.

Before heading back to Los Cristianos, there’s one final stop where everyone gets the chance to jump into the water and cool off—it’s the perfect way to end the trip. 🥰☀️🌊

Each time we went, there was something new to discover. We learned so much about the marine life and the island of Tenerife, and every time, we brought someone new along to share this amazing experience with us. The tour is peaceful, respectful of nature, and just one of those unforgettable things you have to do if you’re ever in Tenerife. ☀️💕🌴

At the beginning of our practical training in Los Cristianos, located in the south of Tenerife, we decided to explore part of the island. We had heard about Los Gigantes, which is a stunning coastal town on the island’s west coast, famous for its massive cliffs, the Acantilados de Los Gigantes. Naturally, we were curious to see it for ourselves, so we hopped on a bus and made our way along the scenic west coast. 🌊🌴

To be honest, the journey there wasn’t great. The route is really hilly, which we expected since it’s an island, but what we didn’t expect was ending up on a bus that made 43 stops before finally reaching Los Gigantes. If you’re prone to motion sickness, like us, we definitely recommend checking the route beforehand and choosing a more direct bus. By the time we arrived, we felt so queasy that we had to sit down in a café, get something to eat and drink, and just recover for a bit.

Thankfully, we felt better not long after, and we continued our walk toward a natural pool with a view of the cliffs. Despite the rough start, we were so glad we went. The view was absolutely stunning and those towering cliffs felt almost majestic. The waves were strong that day, and they kept splashing into the natural pool, which made it even more dramatic.

If you go, be careful near the edge of the pool. The waves can be powerful and potentially dangerous if you get too close since they can pull you into the open ocean. That said, we did go in, and with caution, it was a lot of fun. It was a really fun experience and the perfect spot to cool off.

We recommend visiting in the morning like we did. When we arrived, there were hardly any people around, and we had the natural pool all to ourselves for a while. The nearby black sand beach is a beautiful reminder that Tenerife was shaped by volcanic activity. 🌋🏖️ The water is crystal clear, and the area is also a popular spot for snorkeling, boat tours, as well as whale and dolphin watching. We didn’t do those activities that day, but we’re definitely planning to come back and try them.

As the day went on and more people arrived, we decided to take a long, relaxing walk through the peaceful town. We passed by several great-looking seafood restaurants and enjoyed the view of the charming harbor.

Los Gigantes is the kind of place that’s perfect for a slow, peaceful day. Whether you’re there to take in the views or explore the marine life, it has something special to offer. We’re lucky that our internship lasts six months, so we have plenty of time to return and discover even more.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at a nearby restaurant, then made our way to the Los Gigantes viewpoint to watch the sunset. 🌅 It truly takes your breath away. We ended our day with a few snacks and some card games, while watching the sun set at this incredible place – simple, relaxing, and just the way we like it. 🌊🥰

Last weekend we decided to see something new from the island instead of lying at the beach. The trip during our practical training in Tenerife was definitely worth giving up our much-loved beach day! We have started with a self-prepared picnic at the beach of the surfer village El Medano. 🏄🏼 While enjoying our meal we watched the surfers. After we walked through the small town with various beautiful little restaurants and alternative shops. Among all those restaurants and bars, we found our new favorite place – a little Crepería with a wide range of sweet and savory Crepes.

The next morning started early with a visit in a German bakery and the vegetable market in Las Chafiras, where we bought fresh, regional and healthy foods for the coming week. Afterwards, we drove to San Juan. We had our first relaxed break on the dark sandy beach and enjoyed delicious, fresh fish from the Canarian region in a small, relatively tourist-free restaurant in the heart of town. The second beach we went to was in Puerto de Santiago and was black, sandy and sparkling – amazing! Due to some unexpected big waves in this small bay all of us had a lot of fun in the water. 🌊

Of course, we also went to see Los Gigantes – which is, even from the land, an incredible view but the next time we want to see these amazing cliffs directly from a boat!

To wrap up the day nicely, we went back to the Crepería in El Medano. 😉 At the very end of this wonderful day we have had tea, nachos and dates with bacon in a nice tapas bar.

After a second vegetable market on Sunday (this time in Adeje) we went to the highest village on Tenerife – Vilaflor. There we have found the most delicious self-made lemon cookies in a little supermarket – that was amazing! Vilaflor is a small and quiet village with many ´senderos´ (hiking routes) starting from here. It is the last village before the National Park. A very good option if you want to have a relaxed day with lemon cookies :). Our secret tip: There’s a large open barbecue area called Las Lajas. All you need to bring is charcoal, some drinks, meat, vegetables—and a few friends—to enjoy a great day surrounded by nature! Good music and interesting unknown places made our weekend perfect for exploring more of Tenerife.

If you have also had some great experiences during your practical training in Tenerife or you know must-see places – let us know!

The journey started at 9.30 am at the bus station, where we were picked up. We decided for a bus trip because we didn’t want to drive by ourselves. The bus driver mastered the risky route and we had the chance to relax and enjoy the lovely views. 🙂😎

As our guide was extremely good at languages, we were lucky and got all explanations in four languages, even in our mother tongue. Apart from that, he was very experienced and this is why he told us many interesting aspects on the way to our destinations, for example about the Guanches, the origin of the name Vilaflor, etc.

The first station of the excursion was the National Park of Las Cañadas del Teide. During winter time it is getting fresh here on this height and the top of the mountain can be covered with snow. ⛰️

Afterwards we travelled to Icod de los Vinos, where we have seen the old famous Dragon Tree, which is one of the symbols of the Canary Islands. Furthermore, it is worth to look at the magnificent traditional architecture of Icod. The village is also well-known for the possibility to taste local delights like wine, jam, liquor, etc. 😋🍷

We continued our journey taking the northern coastal route to visit the beautiful village at the coast Garachico. Unfortunately, there was no time for making a break and swimming in the natural pools.

Finally, we had a stop in Masca, a small mountain village famous for its beautiful landscape. Masca is the starting point for a very popular hike through the canyon to the sea, which we will explore very soon. Drinking a barraquito and enjoying the sunset, this place was an ideal last station for a wonderful trip.

For the price paid, it is definitively worth booking this kind of trip during your practical training in Tenerife in order to get a first impression of the different landscapes on the Island. Of course, there wasn’t any time left to hike or swim, especially if you lose two passengers who aren’t able to get on the right bus again. 😀

Spending the summer months in Tenerife for your hotel internship? A day at the water park is the perfect way to cool off and have some fun! 🙂

Besides the world-wide-known Siam Park, Tenerife has another small but beautiful water park, the so called Aqualand. Although Aqualand is a bit smaller than Siam Park, it is definitely worth to spend a day in this great water park. Unlike Europe’s largest water park Siam Park, which is especially for tourists, the majority of Aqualand’s visitors are locals who just want to spend a relaxed day with their family in the water park. While the parents are enjoying a “siesta” in the midday sun, the kids are having fun by slipping over 15 water slides. And that´s also what we did! 🛝

Arrived at Aqualand, we grabbed a floating tire and tried the first water slides. It didn’t take long at Aqualand for us to realize that this water park had much more to offer than we expected. Our highlight at Aqualand was the dolphin show! 🐬 Once a day, they perform a dolphin show for dolphin lovers. We really enjoyed the dolphin show of Loro Parque which is located in the north of Tenerife. However, the show in Aqualand was even better. We absolutely loved the show and it is definitely worth to see! To have a remaining memory of this exciting day, we paid 20 Euro to get a photo with the dolphins. We are happy that we took the chance of making such a beautiful photo with these impressing animals! 🙂

Go and visit Aqualand to make your own experience in this great water park! Then you will understand why spending a day in this park is marvellous.

We wish you a lot of fun! 😃

A few weeks ago, some Spanish friends told us about the “Paisaje Lunar” on Tenerife. The translated “moon landscape” is a place near Teide where you can hike to and admire the spectacular views of the terrain which seems to be like the moon. With hikes taking you from Vilaflor to Granadilla and other places, there is ample opportunity to enjoy the wonderful landscape around Teide, the volcano on Tenerife. On a clear day it is possible to see Gran Canaria and La Gomera along the route. A walk around Los Escurriales is perfect for a short but scenic outing. Los Escurriales is a beautiful rocky coastal area on Tenerife, known for its quiet coves and stunning ocean views.

Along the way, you can also see the famous Paisaje Lunar (“Moon Landscape”), a unique volcanic rock formation that looks otherworldly. During the spring months, the walk becomes even more special as the Tajinastes bloom, which are striking native plants of Tenerife, known for their tall spikes covered in vibrant red or blue flowers. It’s a wonderful way to experience the island’s natural beauty up close. ⛰️☀️

We, the S-W-E-P interns, decided to go there for a hike last weekend with our Spanish friends, which we were happy to have with us because the starting points for the hike are quite hard to find. We took a (more or less) short hike around Los Escurriales to see Paisaje Lunar and went along another route back to the car. Our trip started with a lovely picnic of homemade bocadillos and fresh fruit. Along the way, we stopped to take photos of the landscape and each other. We also took time to watch the lizards, which are everywhere around Teide.

Altogether, the hike took us about four hours. You have a great variety of different “senderos”, which means hiking trails or walking paths in Spanish, around the base of Teide and neighboring areas. You can choose if you want to spend a whole day or only a few hours – whatever you like the best!

Thanks to the sunny weather we had the chance to see unique views of Gran Canaria and La Gomera and had a lot of fun while we were walking through the forest and enjoying the air, which is amazingly fresh being up so high. 🏞️ Afterwards we went to a cafetería and had an ice-cold coca cola to relax before we went on our way back home. Of course, we joined the beach for the afternoon to spend the rest of the Saturday in a more relaxing atmosphere and to recover from the trip :).

All in all, it was a great weekend with a nice trip and spectacular views on the Tenerife landscape. If you feel like hiking this is a perfect place to go during your practical training in Tenerife! 🌴