Tenerife - Santa Cruz to La Orotava

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

We are planning on renting a car and driving to La Orotava while in port for the day. We'd like to take the TF-24/TF-21 route either to La Orotava or back from La Orotava as it looks like an amazing route.

 

Just wondering if anyone has any advice on which would be better getting to La Orotava via TF-24/TF21 and then head back to port via the TF-5 or head to La Orotava on TF-5 and then head back via TF21/TF/24?

 

We'd likely be heading out around 7:30 /8 am based on docking time and need to be back by 2:30 as ship leaves at 3pm.

 

Any information/advice would be appreciated!

[TenerifeSharon]

Just saw your inquiry about the drive from Santa Cruz to La Orotava ... via Mt. Teide and the Parque Nacional. If the weather is clear, it will be a great trip! Don't know when you will be on Tenerife, but the north side of the island can get quite a bit of rain (actually even snow when you get up to Teide in the winter!) and early morning fog. The roads leading up to the Parque are mostly one-lane each way and following a slow tourist or bus or truck can take quite a bit longer than the stretch appears on the map.

 

If your main sightseeing aim is La Orotava, you won't be able to spend a lot of time enjoying the moon-like lava-rock scenery of the Parque. Plan on approx. 3/4 of an hour taking the T-5 to La Orotava (if no traffic ... luckily at the time you are planning, traffic will all be headed TO Santa Cruz) and double that by taking the 21/24. So, 1 1/2 hrs. to Mt. Teide via 24, approx. 45-50 min. from Teide to La Orotava. La Orotava back to Santa Cruz can be done in approx. 40 min. (again, without traffic). It may be a bit tight to do both Mt. Teide and La Orotava and be back in time to return the rental car and get back to the ship (wait for the shuttle bus - or a hike of about 15-20 minutes) by 2 PM.

 

We usually rent from Cicar.com, which is located at the Fred Olsen Ferry Building at the port, and they generally have the best pricing for a one-day rental. The other agencies are all a little further away from the dock.

 

What ship are you on, and when are you leaving? I'll try to help if you have any other questions, but we'll be on Freedom OS beginning Sunday (23rd), and I won't be online much during the 14 day TA.

 

Enjoy!

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

Hi Sharon,

 

Thanks very much for the information. We will be arriving on Tenerife on May 22nd (Monday) on the Independence of the Seas. We did book a car with Cicar based on comments on these boards! We weren't planning on going up Mt. Teide or into the Parque - we will have just come from hiking the moonscape on Lanzarote. With the limited time on Tenerife, we had planned to simply wander around La Orotava for a while. For us the scenic drive up to the town (weather permitting!) would be a highlight on its own with the lovely vistas and the observatory!.

 

We weren't sure if driving up the 21/24 in the morning would be better than driving back that way in the afternoon (you mention fog in the morning) We'd take the 5 in the opposite direction. We had planned on 2.5 hrs on the 21/24, 1.5 hrs in La Orotava and 1 hour back on the 5. Assuming we leave at 8:30 from Cicar that would get us back around 1:30. Does that sound viable?

 

Thanks again for any advice!

 

Anthony

[TenerifeSharon]

Hi Anthony,

Yes, I think your schedule would probably work out fine!

A suggestion: Try to get to Cicar before the rest of the passengers. It's a small office in the ferry building - located on the upper floor, and is very often manned by only one person (never more than two). Since they are the agency closest to the pier (Hertz or Avis used to also be in the same building, but moved into town) it's the one that most cruise passengers race to once the ship is docked. If you want to get an early start on your trip, get there quickly. If you are used to hiking, you might be at the office faster than with a port shuttle bus, especially if the bus isn't yet full and is waiting for more passengers before it leaves!

Enjoy your day in port! (We have a house in Icod de los Vinos, about 20 kms. north of La Orotava - so we know the island quite well.)