THERE is something about Tenerife. There must be – over the last 20 years, I have visited dozens of times and I’m not alone. Every year, thousands of Scots flock to this idyllic slice of Macaronesia.
I’ve just been back and would like to share my love of an often underrated and misunderstood island with you.
Tenerife takes its fair share of criticism. Often slightly surreal criticism. Ever since the 1970s, when jet travel allowed chilly Scots to swap the Clyde resorts for proper warmth just off the coast of Africa, tourism has boomed. We craved resorts, we craved pedalos and we craved Scottish bars. And we got them. Today, though, some visitors bemoan the very things we wanted.
In truth, for me, Tenerife has always been a dynamic isle that is all things to all people. Want to scorch your skin and karaoke by night? You can. Want to hike up a mountain almost three times higher than Ben Nevis? You can. Want to swirl around a town on Unesco’s World Heritage list? You can. Fancy parting at the world’s second-largest carnival after Rio? You guessed it – you can.
Tenerife has spent decades being a people pleaser for cold North Europeans. Some locals have clearly had enough. Last year saw a wave of “No Tourism” protests that hit the headlines in the tabloids south of the border.
I’ve just been back and found genuine frustration. Not with tourists per se, but with a lack of affordable accommodation, pressure on infrastructure and uncontrolled development. Similar concerns we experience here in the likes of Edinburgh and Skye.
I’ve watched over the decades as Tenerife tourism has grown arms, legs and more besides. But there are still pockets of space even in the heavily touristed south. When I first stayed at Bahia Del Duque in 1998 there were no fancy hotels in La Caleta next door. Now five-star hotels cram cheek-by-jowl around the old fishing village.
There is one luxury oasis that escapes the crowd just a little further along the coast. I’ve just been back and stayed again at the Ritz-Carlton Abama (ritzcarlton.com), which is all alone on its own barranco tumbling down to the Atlantic. It is overlooked only by banana plantations and brooding mountains. It’s a real oasis where I have a massage preceded by an exfoliating scrub using the local volcanic rocks.
The Abama used to stand out as having two Michelin-star restaurants, surprising a few years ago when the island was still more synonymous with British fried breakfasts than Michelin magic.
Today M.B retains its two Michelin star status, but they bravely surrendered Kabuki’s star to set up Akira Back last year. I dine there and it’s superb, the delicious sashimi and sushi spiced up with French flair and local ingredients like cod-like white fish cherne.
Their Mirador restaurant is also renowned for its seafood, washed down with sweeping ocean views.
Tenerife’s foodie scene is unrecognisable since my first visit. The island boasts 10 Michelin stars, just three fewer than Scotland.
I check out Il Bocconcino, one of the two new Michelin stars this year. It’s a sublime tour of the best Italy has to offer, using fresh Tenerife produce and drawing heavily on Italy’s superb wines. The deconstructed carbonara turns out to be the best I’ve ever savoured. It’s one wow dish after another. I wouldn’t be surprised if they snare a second Michelin star.
Of course, Tenerife is not just about five-star hotels and that is very much its charm for me. I spend the other half of my trip out in the east. I snare a room in a basic hotel in El Médano, a town that is very popular with surfers and kiteboarders making the most of the wind and Atlantic breakers.
I make the most of the hikes up volcanoes and swimming in the ocean.
I spend three days based in El Médano a world away from the resorts with more Spanish voices than British and German. One lunch I ease south to Los Abrigos for one of my favourite places to eat seafood in the world. The Restaurante Los Abrigos is a boat-fresh joy where you pick your own shellfish and local fish and they grill it up for you with an ocean view.
I also make a trip to Tajao, another seafood spot beloved of Tenerfenos.
There is always more in Tenerife. How about hiking in the rainforest of Anaga, delving through Unesco World Heritage culture in La Laguna, or savouring that life-affirming carnival in Santa Cruz de La Palma?
Then there is whale-watching, wine touring, tandem paragliding, and cycling.
Or maybe just chilling in the old capital of Garachico?
I leave Tenerife as I do every time – sorry to be leaving the island with the same Saltire flag as us, the land of eternal spring so beloved of us Scots. I resolve to come back. I always do as there is always more on an island that refuses to be sunk under tourism.
Tenerife remains deeply popular with Scots; deservedly so.
Easyjet (www.easyjet.com) flies to Tenerife from Edinburgh and Glasgow
