Things You Need to Know About Tenerife

I’ve never been to Spain before going to Tenerife, so it was a totally new experience for me, lifestyle related, culturally and also language vise. I speak Italian, so I have always been able to understand a little bit of Spanish when they speak slowly. Some words are very similar, some words are totally different. I always feel uncomfortable when I don’t understand the language in a country, but sometimes it’s inevitable, not this time. I didn’t understand everything, but quite a lot and I was even able to order my food and drinks. Anyway, stopping with the long introduction to this post now, here are some important things to know about Tenerife.

-       The language: They obviously speak Spanish and a lot of people speak English or even German, but not everywhere. It could be that you get someone in a shop, who can barely speak English, so it’s helpful to know a few Spanish words and expressions.

-       Sales assistants: They can very rude, arrogant and annoying. All they want is sell things and they try to sell their clothes or whatever in a very rude manner, not letting the costumer walk through the shop normally without following. When you touch something, they start talking about the piece of clothing and recommend more. It’s just too much. Of course there is also the very nice kind, who reserves stuff for you and is very friendly.

-       Nature/weather: They nature and landscape can be very different, depending on where you are on the island. Black sand, black beaches with lava stones, brown hills, green mountains, cliffs, normal sand etc. The variety is impressive and there is so much to see. The weather can also be very different. Sun in the south, clouds and fog in the north, because oft he mountains clouds sometimes can’t get through.

-       Wind: It’s always very windy on Tenerife. It’s an island in the Atlantic, so it’s normal. They can also get a very warm wind called Calima, it comes from Africa and brings lots of sand. The temperatures then are very high, around 32°C.

-       Temperatures: The temperatures in average don’t go over 25°C even in summer. Of course it can get a lot warmer, but that’s the average. Even in January the average is 20°C.

-       El Teide: With his 3718 m above sea level, he is the highest mountain of Spain, interesting, right?

-       North vs South: They say they are two different worlds and it’s true. The landscape is very different; the weather can be different. They also say the north is more tropical and wilder. However, the south with Las Americas, Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos is more popular when it comes to hotels and the question of where to stay.

-       Car: Hire a car to explore the island. It’s much better than the excursions they offer. You can do your own thing, in your own time frame.

-       Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands.

-       The Tenerife flag is the same as Scotland’s, this is because St Andrew is the patron saint        of the island.

-       A lot of Italians and people from Eastern Europe or even South America live on Tenerife and work there.

-       Tenerife has a different time zone tot he rest of Spain. They are one hour behind.

The island is very fascinating, so it’s definitely worth a trip.