Cycling Tenerife:
your ultimate guide

Cycling Tenerife: routes

As far as Tenerife road bike routes go, by far the most famous ride is cycling up Mount Teide. The mountain dominates the island and if you’re coming to Tenerife to cycle, it’s unthinkable you’d leave without tackling it.

Our Tenerife cycling routes map

Below you can see a map showing Epic Road Rides’ Tenerife routes overlaid on top of one another. If they don’t all appear on your screen, make sure the “show all” button is clicked at the bottom righthand side of the map.

Guide to our favourite Tenerife routes

Each of the buttons below are links to in-depth guides to what we think are the best cycling routes on Tenerife. This selection includes some of our own favourite rides. You’ll find a great selection to choose from! Click through and find out what to expect – you’ll find firsthand accounts of the ride, GPX files, photos and lots more.

Rides

Anaga rural park loop

92km 3100m

El Médano to El Poris de Abona loop, Tenerife

75km 1,567m

Masca and Teno lighthouse loop

103km 3560m

Masca loop

74km 2,115m

Mount Teide loop via Granadilla and Vilaflor

142km 3360m

Mount Teide loop via La Orotava

136km 3450m

Tour of the Island loop from El Médano Tenerife

177km 3,977m

Cycling Mount Teide

There are five major routes up Teide; our post will help you choose which to do – Cycling Mount Teide: which is the best Teide cycling route? Any one of these up and down routes of Teide could easily be a whole ride in itself: even the fittest amateurs will take at least 2.5 hours to climb to the top.

But if you’ve got all day and want a truly special ride, check out our two Teide loops below. On a good day, we reckon either of these could be contenders for being one of the best cycling Tenerife routes, if not the best road bike rides in the world.

Two unmissable rides for once you’ve done Teide…

Yes, you’ve got to tick off the Teide climb by bike. But there are some other awesome Tenerife bike routes too. To really experience the island, ride the road north to Masca where craggy Andes-style mountains are dotted with rustic Spanish villages before they plunge into the turquoise sea. The scenery is epic – but so are the gradients. This is one tough ride.

From Masca it’s not far to the unforgettable Teno lighthouse. The road clings to the cliff and offers draw-dropping Atlantic views before bringing you to the spectacular lighthouse at the end of the peninsula.

We also love our Anaga loop. It’s on one of the island’s most beautiful roads where you’ll find quiet, smooth ribbons of tarmac that wind up into green forests and down narrow lanes to the sea. It’s easier than the Masca loop too…

However, you do need to bear in mind that Masca and Anaga are in the north of the island. This can make accessing these rides a bit tricky unless you have your own transport or book a tour. Something to think about when you decide where to stay: our guide to where to stay in Tenerife for cyclists might help! Also check out our map below, which shows the routes overlaid on each other, so you can see their location on the island.

Easy cycling in Tenerife

If you hate climbing, cycling holidays in Tenerife are not for you!

Most of the roads either go up or down, there’s very little in the way of flat cycle routes on Tenerife. What there is is not that exciting.

But while most of the roads go up or down, at least the main roads (like those up Teide) are generally at decent gradients (just avoid some of the extremely steep side roads). Cycling in Tenerife is more about endurance than extreme fitness: you don’t need to be a Contador or Quintana, you “just” need to be able to keep going for kilometre after kilometre!

If you’re looking for a rest day ride that avoids some of the major climbs you should be able to put together a moderate route with a bit of planning. Here are some ideas for bike routes in Tenerife that take in a little less climbing.

• A loop around La Orotava via Palo Blanco, Benijos and La Perdoma, along the TF-326, TF-21 and TF-324: around 24km with 700m of climbing. 
• Granadilla de Abona to Arafo along the TF-28 and TF-525: roughly 54km and 1,000m of climbing each way. Our Teide via Vilaflor loop includes this section. 
• La Orotava to Tejina on the northwest coast, along the TF-21, TF-217, TF-1224 and TF-16: around 32km with 600m of climbing.  

Ride responsibly

• Stay on paved roads or way-marked tracks; off-piste riding is prohibited in Teide National Park.
• Do not discard gels or bidons – carry litter to the next bin.
• Keep to the right and ride no more than two-abreast on secondary roads. File down to single-line when there’s poor visibility, such as on blind bends, or when traffic builds up.
• Respect the rules in Teide National Park: no collecting rocks or flora, no fires, and no off-road driving.

And finally…

Before you leave home, don’t forget to check out our tips for cycling on Tenerife! This includes important tips for bike set up.

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Cycling events in Tenerife

Fancy timing your trip to Tenerife with an event? The Vuelta al Teide Gran Fondo is due to take place on Saturday 16 May 2026. It’s a full-island loop of 175 km (with 4,400 m of climbing) plus a shorter 95 km option, both taking in Teide National Park.

The Giro d’Italia “Ride Like a Pro” Tenerife event, held in 2022 and 2023, might still form the inspiration for your riding. There were two back-to-back stages (94 km and 107 km) starting in Arona and Adeje, that gave amateurs a World-Tour style experience on closed roads around Teide.

Cycling Tenerife: where to stay

Start here

If you’re deciding where’s best to stay in Tenerife for cyclists, start with our in-depth article on the pros and cons of each resort: Best places to stay in Tenerife (for cyclists). This article also includes hotel suggestions for cyclists.

Our choice: Landmar, Playa La Arena

We spent five nights at Landmar, Playa La Arena (formerly Be Live, Playa La Arena). It’s a large hotel with lots of facilities and it’s a good option if you’re travelling with children and/or looking for an all-inclusive package.

What we liked

• Good location on the west coast, giving access from the door to Teide (via Chio) and also to Masca in the northwest.
• Large, attractive pool area with three pools surrounded by palm trees, facing the sea. The main pool is in the middle and pool activities are run here (for example water aerobics). The pool closest to the sea does not permit the use of inflatables and so is quieter and has an adult focus. The small children’s pool is furthest from the sea. It is divided into two with half being the drop off zone for the water slide and the other half the shallow pool for toddlers. 
• Our 4 year old loved the waterslide and spent at least an hour just taking himself up and down it.
• Kid-friendly activities in addition to the pool area. The kids club (open 11-12:45 and 3-5, children under 6 have to be accompanied by an adult) is based next to an excellent pirate ship climbing frame. The same area also hosts mini golf, archery, a pétanque court, balance beams course and tennis court. Near the pools there is also table tennis.
• Gym and spa. There is also a program of daytime and evening activities, should you wish to participate.
• Lift access from the hotel down to the black sand beach of Playa La Arena.
• Wide range of food available at each meal and each night has a different theme. A limited range of food is cooked to order (for example eggs or omelettes for breakfast).
• Our superior family room on the 6th floor contained a king sized bed and sofa bed for the children. It was sufficiently spacious for the four of us though the cupboard space was limited (we’d definitely recommend using packing cases so you don’t have to fully unpack). The children enjoyed the blackboard, floor puzzle and play tent in the room, as well as the kids bathroom accessories.
• We enjoyed the views from our room across Playa La Arena to the cliffs of Los Gigantes.

Things to be aware of

• The hotel is used by a number of British, German and French holiday operators. This is no small boutique hotel.
• We would suggest the hotel is more 3 star than 4 star. It’s comfortable, with good facilities, but don’t expect it to be overly smart. 
• The hotel charges for extras you might normally expect to be included. For example, use of the safe deposit box in each room and use of the hotel car park. A 12 euro deposit is also payable for each pool towel.
• Food is served at specific times in the main restaurant. Outside of those times, food is available in the snack bar but the choice is much more limited that the main restaurant and we didn’t find it very appetising.

Conclusion

We enjoyed our stay here. Our 2 and 4 year old kids loved the facilities and we liked the location.

Want more information on where to stay in Tenerife?

Read our in-depth post on Tenerife’s different resorts and hotels.

Bike hire Tenerife

Looking for road bike rental in Tenerife? Below you’ll find all the road bike hire shops we’ve been able to uncover on Tenerife. Missed one? Please let us know! We haven’t used these ourselves but would love to hear your experiences. Please drop us a line!

It’s possible to bike Tenerife from any part of the island but you’ll soon see that most of the cycle hire in Tenerife is clustered where most of the tourists are: in the southwest. If you’re staying somewhere else, don’t despair, some of the bike rental shops will deliver bikes across the island. We’ve made a note of where they offer this.

Most of the Tenerife bike hire and rental shops also offer Tenerife cycling tours and excursions, from half days to multi day cycle training camps. These are great ways to get to know the island from a local’s perspective, and discover the best riding on the island.

Bike hire Costa Adeje

Cycling in Tenerife

Parque Royal shopping centre, Av. Ernesto Sarti, 10, 38660 Costa Adeje

Free Motion T3

Avenida de los Acantilados, s/n, 38679 La Caleta de Adeje

Bike hire Las Americas

Bike Experience Tenerife

Tenerife Excursions Travel S.L, Avd. V Centenario, 2 Local 5, Playa de Las Americas

Bike Point Tenerife

Av. Quinto Centenario s/n, Edificio las Terrazas, 38660 Las Américas

Bike 4 You Tenerife

CC Fanabe Plaza, Av. Bruselas 20, Local 219. 38660 Playa de Las Americas

Bike hire Los Cristianos

Free Motion

Calle Finlandia 10, 38650 Los Cristianos

Bike hire El Medano

Bike Point Tenerife

Calle Villa de la Orotava 10, 38612 El Médano

Bike hire Puerto de la Cruz

Bike Spirit

Inh. Boris Alvarez, Calle Mequínéz 51, 38400 Puerto de La Cruz

Bike hire La Laguna

Kiraya Bike

Avenue Milan, 71, 38260 San Cristóbal de La Laguna

Other bike rental companies

Club Activo Cycling

Carretera General del Sur, 158, San Miguel de Abona

Tips for bike rental in Tenerife

• Book your bike in advance, particularly in peak season.
• Shops sometimes close, move or change their prices/bikes before we have a chance to update this list, so please contact them directly before you visit.
• Remember to bring your own pedals, shoes and helmet. This packing list may help!
• Check which way around your brakes are set before you ride away (i.e. whether the front brakes are on the right hand (as is usual in the UK) or on the left (as is usual elsewhere in Europe)). Also take a look at our list of things to check before hiring a bike.

Undecided on whether to hire a bike or bring your own? Read this now.

When to go

Average temperatures in Tenerife remain a solid 17-24°C throughout the year, making it a good choice for anyone whose main ambition is to cycle Tenerife in the sun. Rainfall is also low – you’re most likely to get rain in December and even then it’s only on average for six days of the month.

North-south differences

Throughout the year it’s worth remembering that the north side of the island is often cooler and wetter than the south. There’s a reason the scenery in the north is greener than the arid rocky south! Also know that the upper part of the island is often shrouded in a thin layer of clouds that forms around Mount Teide at 1,000-1,500htm.

As for the difficult question of exactly how much cooler and wetter the north is than the south, we asked local cyclist Carolyn Gaskell to comment. She lives in the north-east of the island and had this to say:

“Yes, it’s definitely wetter and colder in the north compared to the south. But it’s also much more beautiful! The north side (Los Silos – Puerto De la Cruz get the sunsets and is in the shade of the Teide and therefore cool in the mornings – generally). It’s much busier traffic wise that side, because the motorway stops at Puerto, so all the cars are on the main road. The side roads through the villages are nice, but steep! The Anaga mountains, is my favourite area, they are very often covered in a light mist cloud, and it also rains properly up there too. February-March are usually the worst months for rain. August is commonly the worst month for winds, November to January, usually have the calmest weather, but it’s not an exact science… and the last few years have been quite unpredictable!”

Here’s a table which summarises the differences:

Typical climate on Tenerife by month

Tips

Here we share our tips for cycling in Tenerife. If you think we’ve missed something, do let us know in the comments!

Books

We used and liked the following two guidebooks during our Tenerife trip:

• Marco Polo guide to Tenerife: the book gives an overview of the main destinations on the island and we liked the introductory chapters on the island and its food and drink. It comes with a separate map at 1:130,000 which was useful for high level planning but lacking sufficient detail to show all the minor roads.
• The Real Tenerife by Andrea and Jack Montgomery puts a bit more flesh on the bones. It’s a personal guide to Tenerife  and more opinionated than the Marco Polo guide. The enthusiastic authors help you get under the island’s skin, but we did find that some of their descriptions were a little over-romantic. Also the photos are black and white, there is no index and the map is poor. Nonetheless, a refreshing change to your typical guidebook.Maps

If you like physical maps for route planning, it’s worth buying the Globe series map of Tenerife. At 1:75,000 it shows all the roads relevant to cyclists. It is annotated with symbols for things like gas stations and tourist destinations which you may either like or not.

Getting to Tenerife

Tenerife has two airports, one in the south in the municipality of Granadilla de Abona (this is the larger of the two) and the other in the north in San Cristóbal de La Laguna.

Decide where you want to base yourself before booking your flights! You can see the location of the two airports in this article by Sky Scanner.

Rest-day ideas (no lycra required!)

• Take the Teide cable-car to 3,555 metres – it’s an 8-minute ride, open daily 9 am–5 pm (last up 4 pm); book online to avoid queues.
• Natural pools – Charco del Viento (La Guancha) is family-friendly lava rock swimming with Atlantic views.
• Anaga forest walks – short laurel-forest loops from Cruz del Carmen visitor centre; signposted and shaded.
• Los Gigantes sunset boat trip – dolphin spotting beneath 600 m high cliffs.

Taste of Tenerife: food to try

• Papas arrugadas with red or green mojo sauce – salty “wrinkled” potatoes boiled in Atlantic-salt water, a Canarian icon.
• Queso asado – grilled goat’s-milk cheese drizzled with honey.
• Ropa vieja canaria – slow-cooked chickpeas, shredded beef and potatoes in a cumin-scented broth. The name translates as Canarian Old Clothes!
• Barraquito – layered coffee cocktail, with espresso, condensed milk, Licor 43 and cinnamon; the perfect post-ride sugar hit?!
• Volcanic-soil Listán Negro red wine – look for the Tacoronte-Acentejo D.O. on labels.

More tips for cycling in Tenerife

Before you set out on your bike, don’t miss our article, top tips for cycling Tenerife. It’s full of practical ideas to help make your cycling in Tenerife as good an experience as possible.

What’s next?

Did you enjoy our guide to Tenerife? Let us know in the comments below!

• Wondering about other Canary Islands cycling? This overview to cycling the Canary Islands is the place to start. We also have guides to cycling the Canary Islands including Lanzarote cycling and our guide to cycling in Gran Canaria.
• Considering other destinations in Spain? Our article on the best places for cycling in Spain is a must-read.
• Looking for alternative sunny cycling winter destinations? Take a look at these additional suggestions for places to cycle in winter.
• Like the idea of Tenerife for training at altitude? Don’t miss this useful, in-depth guide on altitude training for cyclists.
• Or go somewhere that’s not Tenerife! Check out our destinations page. There you can search by the cycling destination you want to visit, with new articles and in-depth cycling guides added all the time!

Wherever you ride, take care and have an awesome time.

Clare Dewey is a cyclist with a passion for travel. She set up epicroadrides.com in 2018 to help make it easy for cyclists to explore the world by bike. Today her mission is still inspiring cyclists to discover new places on two wheels - and doing what she can to make sure they have the best possible time while they're there. Clare has visited 50+ destinations around the world, many of them by bike.

Want to connect with Clare? Find her over on LinkedIn.