Canary first timers mount teide

[Alyhels]

hello, we are going on P&O Ventura in June to the Canary Islands and wanted to visit mount Teide in tenerife of our own accord ( not a shore excursion) but wanted to know the following.

 

How far is it from the port of Tenerife to mount Teide. Are there busses, trains or would we be able to get a taxi?

Having read online about mount Teide you can get a cable car to the second station but it says you need to fill in a form or permit to access the summit? Has anyone done this and does it need to be done in advance?

 

Thanks.

[cruisingmimi]

We visited Tenerife a couple of years ago on a cruise stop and did go to Mt. Teide. What an awesome day we had and the ascent up Teide was gorgeous. This was our favorite day ever on a cruise. We loved visiting Tenerife and Teide too. We didn't have a planned excursion thru the ship so got off the ship and walked towards the town. You will be inundated w/ taxi drivers looking for business. Some spoke ok English but I was looking for one that spoke excellent English. We just kept walking along the sidewalk until we found one we liked. Bingo, what a perfect day we had. The taxi driver was better than any tour guide we could have found. He lives on the island and was so knowledgeable. We had many stops on the route up to photo shoot, etc. He took us to a little seaside town after we came off the mountain and we walked along the promenade and had lunch, shopped, etc. He showed us several more places on the way back to the ship.

 

Here's the info on the cable car: http://www.telefericoteide.com/en/prices-and-opening-times

 

Here is some info I found from a poster on TA:

 

"Mt. Tiede is the highest mountain in Spain and the third highest volcano in the world. Even at the base station it can be cold, but at the same time the sun's rays are very strong. The air is thin, so anyone with heart or breathing problems, need to take extra care. So wear layers of clothes, good walking shoes, a sun hat and sun screen. The cable care takes you to within 200 meters of the peak, you need a permit for this. The view from the peak, is 'out of this world'. On a clear day you can see all the Canary Islands. But even the park around the base station is unique, so much so NASA used this area to train its astronauts and trial its moon buggy. There are guided timed walks around the park, which also has a hotel, visitor center, cafe and church."

 

Check out the Teide National Park Forum on TA for info as well. You will need to be aware of your ship's sailaway so you don't miss the ship. In June there will be lots of tourists making the trip so factor that in as well. Roads will be busy and traffic slower. We were there in Dec. so it was nice touring.

 

Unfortunately I do not remember the name of the taxi driver we had and I have tried to do a search so I could post his name.

 

Here is a tour company that does day trips from the port. A friend of mine used them and she said they were fine.

 

http://www.orangebus.eu/cruise-ships.asp

 

Good luck. Have a wonderful day visiting Teide! The changing landscape is awesome too.

[cruisingmimi]

I've been searching for the taxi driver we had but not had any success. There are lots of taxis in Tenerife. LOL

 

I did find the name of a tour company that you might consider for taking you to Teide for 1/2 day or however long you want to spend. I think that we spent about 4 hr. round trip, maybe a bit longer w/ the photo op stops. This company has excellent recommendations and I did contact them about a tour when we were there two years ago. The group that booked this company wanted to do the winery tour and we wanted to do Teide so did not go on this tour. Feedback was excellent from the winery group.

 

http://www.toursintenerife.com/index.htm

 

There are recent reviews on Trip Advisor so check them out. Price reasonable for Teide tour and you might be able to get a few others from your cruise to share the trip. The cable car ride is weather dependent and they may not operate if too windy. You may be better off just touring Teide and seeing all the wonderful landscapes there.

 

Good luck.