Tenerife is a great place to visit, even if you're only stopping over for a day during your cruise. As the most visited island in the archipelago, Tenerife offers plenty of activities for everybody and after your short visit, you will definitely want to come back to spend more time here.
Tenerife is also the largest Canary Island and in consequence, it is impossible to visit the entire island in just a day. You can opt for an island tour and go to see the highlights of the island, but there's so much to see and do in Tenerife, that you could stay here for a few months and still find new places to explore.
If you're visiting in Tenerife during your cruise, then your stop will be in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island's capital.
In this case, these are our suggestions for what you can see in Tenerife in a day:
Spend your time visiting Santa Cruz, as the city has plenty of lovely parks and square, good restaurants and bars and offers plenty of opportunities to do some shopping. You can go on an interesting city tour to discover the best sights, then spend the rest of the day wandering on your own and chilling at of the many terraces and bars downtown.
From Santa Cruz, it's easy to hop on the tram and get to La Laguna, the oldest town in Tenerife and the island's former capital. The journey only takes 15 minutes, so it's short and you'll be there in no time.
If you're passionate about history and culture you will love visiting La Laguna, which still has many buildings with typical Canarian architecture, a pedestrian old town and also interesting museums like the Museum of the History of Tenerife.
Did you know that the Teide volcano is the 3rd largest volcano in the world and the highest peak in all of Spain?
For us, Teide National Park is the symbol of Tenerife and every time we visit dedicate at least a day to exploring this beautiful park and its trails.
If you want to make the most of your time in Tenerife, we would recommend getting a private tour of the island. This way you won't be stuck in a bus with tens of other passengers from the cruise ship and you will be able these places at your own pace (as much as the limited amount of time permits).
But we guarantee that after seeing Mount Teide and spending just one day in Tenerife touring the island, you will want to come back.
If you're on holiday in Gran Canaria and you want to come and visit Tenerife for just a day, you have several options, depending on how to plan to get here.
As you can see, you have plenty of options for spending a great day in Tenerife, although we personally consider this to be an insufficient amount of time to enjoy what the island has to offer. If you decide to come over for an extended stay, you can see our recommendations for a full Tenerife itinerary.