You will probably get a map with the car rental. If not, a guide book from over here usually has one in.

You can go up Mount Teide (just follow signs from tf1 in the direction of the airport from the resort)
And get the cable car to the top (approx 24 euros each) on a clear day you will see all of the canary islands.

You can drive up to Puerto De La Cruz for a different side of tenerife, very different to the resorts in the south. To get here you can go several ways either up over teide and down the other side, or go longer way round in distance, but probably faster, through tf1 towards santa cruz then norte motorway across.

Santa Cruz, capital of the island, good for shopping.
Candelaria in the direction of santa cruz just off tf1, for a bit of culture.

You have Garachico which was a town covered by a lava flow years ago, and in that vicinity you have the 1000 year old dragon tree in icod de los vinos.

There is sooooo much to see and do. this is just a snippet.

If its your type of thing, you've got Loro Parque for a good day out in Puerto de la Cruz

Thanks, I'll look them-up

Anymore for anymore!?!?

Another must, in my opinion is the village of Masca in the west of the island. The drive alone is an experience. The village sits at the bottom of a huge, impressive valley surrounded by rugged mountains. You can stop and explore the village and then have a meal in one of the restaurants. It really is a beautiful setting but I would advise getting there early as parking is at a premium. You could easily combine this with a trip to Garachico, another of my favourite places. If you have time, I would also recommend a trip to the Anaga Mountains in the far north above Santa Cruz.

Check out this site for places to visit

Click on the blue buttons for the details

http://bjuk.iifree.net/

And if you want to a really, peaceful quiet day how about taking the ferry over to La Gomera from Los Christianos? If you take the slow Armas ferry you stand a good chance of seeing dolphins while you're at it. Not sure how much it costs and whether it's worth taking the car with you because there are very reasonably priced buses serving elsewhere on the island from San Sebastian. Let me know if you're interested and I can point you in the direction of further info on both ferries and buses.

SM

Thank you everyone for your ideas, I'm looking through them all now!
SM - Yes please, sounds like a fine day!

Hi Mongoose,

You'll find lots of info on the La Gomera within the 'Other Canary Island' forum but you'll also find a wealth of information on:

http://www.gomera.info/

including links for the ferries and local buses. Usually I would suggest that you get the 8.45am Armas ferry from Los Christianos (LC) - slow, old and lumbering but such a nice way to start the day sat on the open deck at the stern soaking up the morning sun and watching Teide as it recedes behind you. It takes about an hour to get to San Sebastian (SS) which means that you'll have time to have a look around and/or have a coffee at one of the beachside cafes before getting the 11.00am bus over to Valle Gran Rey (VGR) in the southwest of the the island. This will take you right over the top of the island and enable you to see the amazing range of scenery and plant life to be found on the island depending on the altitude. It would be worthwhile breaking the journey at the top of the Valle Gran Rey Barranco at the Caesar Manrique Restaurant and miramar (viewpoint). There is a small garden area but the best bit is the view from the restaurant and it is a very reasonably priced place for lunch. From here you can walk down into the valley (about an hour at a brisk pace following your nose downhill all the way), wait for the next bus (but probably not until 3ish) or ask the staff to call you a taxi to take you down to the coast (about 15 euros last time I did it). Either way you are aiming to be down at the harbour in the Vueltas area for the 4.00pm local Garajonay Express ferry back to Los Christianos. The only problem with this is that it might stop running in mid-May, put out of business by the extension of the Olsen car ferry which is due to extend its service to here in late May/early June and for which timetables haven't been published yet. So before embarking on this itinerary do check the ferry timetables.

If by the time you go, the Olsen ferries are serving Valle Gran Rey, I suggest that you do this in reverse, that is get the first ferry of the day from LC to VGR (which will probably be the 9.00am). This will give you plenty of time to explore the Vueltas end of VGR and walk right round the bay to the La Playa end in time for the 2.00pm bus back to SS. If you want to break the journey at the mirimar as above, it makes a great place for a late lunch and the next bus - 2 hours later - would still get you back into SS for 6.30pm bus back over to LC.

Another great but alternative itinerary would be to get the Armas ferry over to SS and after exploring SS, get the11.30am bus to Vallehermosa in the north of the island. Again it will take you right over the centre of the island but the north is much lusher with acres of terreced banana plantations. As far as I know the bus still goes right down to the bay in Hermigua which is where I'd get off rather than going to Vallehermos. At Hermigua you'll find a nice little open air swmming pool (the sea is too dangerous for swimming here but note that the pool is shut on Mondays!) from which it's a short walk round the headland to the Castille del Mar which is a restored and converted banana export station which is now run a as cultural centre. The setting is spectacular and they do good tapas on an open terrace overlooking the sea. A leisurely lunch and swim should still leave you plenty of time to get the last bus back to SS (it currently leaves Vallehermos at 4.00pm) in time for a 6.30pm ferry back to LC. You have the choice of the fast Olsen ferry or the slow Armas one, which would be my choice. I can't think of a better way of ending the day than sat on the the open stern deck with a cold drink in my hand watching the sun set over La Gomera.

Whatever you decide to do, all the ferry and bus companies are notorious for changing their timetables at short notice, particularly in the Spring and Autumn so do check these once you arrive in Tenerife and before you commit yourselves. As far as I'm concerned, spending a night on La gomera is no hardship - we go for a week every autumn - but you might think differently if stranded there without your toothbrush

SM

PS There is no open air deck access on the Olsen ferries so the Armas ones are better if you want to stand a chance of seeing dolphins or whales on the crossing.

Thanks for that! Sounds like a great day!

The only problem with this is that it might stop running in mid-May, put out of business by the extension of the Olsen car ferry which is due to extend its service to here in late May/early June and for which timetables haven't been published yet. So before embarking on this itinerary do check the ferry timetables.

Since my last post re La Gomera, it looks as if the Garajonay Express has been given a reprieve and it is still running - the note about services ceasing on May 15th has been removed from the website. It would appear that they are now accepting reservations up until the autumn on their website - not that you actually need to do this. I understand from a local contact that it looks as if they have been given a subsidy so they can afford to keep running this service. As yet Olsen have still not published a timetable for extending their service round to Valle Gran Rey.