Tenerife

I pulled the trigger on booking a two week package holiday in Tenerife yesterday, flying out on Sunday. This is the first package holiday I've booked since the 80s, it is a good deal, half-board in a 4* hotel in Puerto de la Cruz in the north, current temps about 20-22C.

There is a motorbike hire dealer in PDLC so we are taking our biking gear except for helmets as they are provided and I am looking forward to hiring a bike for at least 7 days and exploring the island. Last time I was on Tenerife was in 1988 when I was out there with my diving club doing a lot of diving in the south, I think we stayed in Los Gigantes.

Anybody got any experience of riding around the island with suggestions of roads and places to visit, lunch stops etc

We are looking to go PPDLC at the end of March, was last there in Jan 2018, but we had a car to explore, MT Teide was closed due to snow & ice on the top paths, be interested how you get on.
We were in Lanzarote early December, got some excellent lunches for €2-3 in some of the smaller towns and it was cheaper to drink beer rather than coffee!

Al.

Just came back from 4 days riding in Tenerife on Honda CB500X's, the road from Los Silo's to Los Gigantes is something else, bloody cold up in the mountains though...
l

Checkout Freddie Dobbs on Youtube, he lives out there at the moment and tours around on his Triumph with the lovely Monica.
Easy watching and quite interesting, he has visited a couple of the bike rental places out there too.

How much does the bike cost, car rental prices across the Canaries is very high at the moment.

Al.

DevonAl said:

How much does the bike cost, car rental prices across the Canaries is very high at the moment.

Al.

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Hi Al, I guess it depends on the size of bike you rent. I have been in touch with White Star rental in PDLC https://www.whitestarsteneriffa.de/en/home/ and they have quoted me 560Euros a week for a Versys 650. They have an NC500 which I might go for and it is listed in a lower group so presumably cheaper. The Versys does not show on the website yet as it is a new addition.

Lord Snooty said:

Hi Al, I guess it depends on the size of bike you rent. I have been in touch with White Star rental in PDLC https://www.whitestarsteneriffa.de/en/home/ and they have quoted me 560Euros a week for a Versys 650. They have an NC500 which I might go for and it is listed in a lower group so presumably cheaper. The Versys does not show on the website yet as it is a new addition.

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Thank you, I’ll have a look at their website. Probably won’t book anything until a lot nearer the time with all changes in rules going on.

Al.

So how is the Tenerife trip going? Well I hope!

Second day of the hols, yesterday was warm but a bit drizzly so we just did some sightseeing with my mate who is over here in his apartment. Today is much better, a sunny 22C, so we went up to White Star which as it happens is just a few minutes walk from the hotel, and i have booked a Versys 650 from tomorrow morning for 7 days. it comes with full luggage and he gave me a 40euro discount on the price. I left my 660 satnav mount with him and he will mount and wire it in to the battery ready for when we collect the bike tomorrow morning. First trip is to the NE of the island to explore the mountains, then down to Santa Cruz and back across the island to the hotel. The holiday really starts tomorrow.

Cheers your lordship!
Am contemplating the same starting Sunday although have identified a rental place with slightly better prices and some interesting bikes. But possibly staying Santa Cruz for a little urban life��

I lived there for 2 years last century so restaurant recommendations probably wont be valid. riding up and over the mountain and riding across the old lava flows is a must and although it will be colder make sure to stop and listen to the silence up there. its like nowhere else . Los gigantes is lovely and theres a coastal rode that will take you back north.

Lordship.....take the TF21 from the north PDLC, over the mountain, super road. Also explore the top NW corner TF436 around Masca ...makes the Stelvio look like a straight road

Lord Snooty said:

I pulled the trigger on booking a two week package holiday in Tenerife yesterday, flying out on Sunday…..

Anybody got any experience of riding around the island with suggestions of roads and places to visit, lunch stops etc

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https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/551972-Tenerife-Grand-Canaria-and-Lanzarote

simondippenhall said:

Cheers your lordship!
Am contemplating the same starting Sunday although have identified a rental place with slightly better prices and some interesting bikes. But possibly staying Santa Cruz for a little urban life��

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Cheers Si, PDLC is a lovely, charming town and i hope Santa Cruz is to your liking.

DC said:

Lordship.....take the TF21 from the north PDLC, over the mountain, super road. Also explore the top NW corner TF436 around Masca ...makes the Stelvio look like a straight road

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We did some of the TF21 today, we joined it from the TF24 coming down from the NE and went down into PDLC. Great roads both but by heck it got cold up at 2400 meters! Brrrr! Will take extra layers tomorrow.

Calima affecting large parts of Tenerife again this week. My parents are in Los Cristianos

Had another ride out today. Headed up to the NE to do a load of twisty roads green lined on the map going into the mountains. My Zumo 660 seenms to have given up he ghost, it was playing up before I came out, I managed to recalibrate the touch screen, it picks up the satellites but just shows a white screen with the bike icon, it can't see any roads, whether this is isolated to Tenerife time will tell when I return to the UK. The bike hire shop have loaned me a smart phone holder so I connected my earphones into that and am using Google maps. First of all went to Bajamar and then came back on the TF12 adn TF 13 before turning left onto the TF123 to Chanorga which is as far NE you can go in Tenerfife as the road ends there. The road to Chamorga was to say the least challenging, turn after turn after turn, a narrow road with no view through the corners and more than a few 1st gear hairpins. Thankfully, the road was quiet and we encountered just 2 or 3 cars coming towards us.

On the route back we turned left back onto the TF12 which took us through some spectacular mountain scenery down to San Andres, a fabulous ride.

A good day, we were back by 4pm, not huge mileage but I am taking it steady so as to enjoy the scenery, and on these roads it is difficult to do massive miles. The Calima wind was present again and proved a little troublesome.

Stopped for petrol on the way back, it was 1.18 Euros a litre, about a £1.

Thanks for the report. What level of biking gear are you wearing and what sort of effective temperatures are you experiencing? Trying to decide what gear to pack for next week….was planning bike jeans (and my Klim jacket with a down vest underneath) but sounds like long johns might be needed too?

simondippenhall said:

Thanks for the report. What level of biking gear are you wearing and what sort of effective temperatures are you experiencing? Trying to decide what gear to pack for next week….was planning bike jeans (and my Klim jacket with a down vest underneath) but sounds like long johns might be needed too?

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Hi Si, the temperatures down at sea level are in the low 20s, very comfortable, not too hot but warm enough. We went out into the Mt Teide national park again today and you soon start to feel the temperature drop when you get above about 800 metres, I would guess that when we were at over 2000 metres it was less than double figures,

We both have very light duck down jackets which fit under our biking jackets which we put on at our first stop at a viewing point at less than 1000 metres up, I also swapped my gloves for a warmer pair.

We have taken our Hein Gerick Summer textile trousers but we are both wearing cycling shorts underneath which fit almost to the knee to give the thighs an extra layer, a pair of long johns would do the trick also. I took my BMW desert rally jacket with just a Goretex liner, no thermal liner, which is perfectly adequate when riding at sea level with just a t-shirt underneath. Alena took her Weise blouson jacket with a thermal liner, but she is always colder than I am. I have two pairs of gloves, some leather Summer gloves, again perfect for riding the lower roads, and a Halverssons pair of mid-season gloves for higher up. We have a neck tube each and both wore our walking boots to travel in and they double up for riding the bike.

Your Klim jacket with a down undervest should do the trick and you could always double up on t-shirts. Thick biking jeans will again be sufficient. Basically, come prepared for warm weather riding but pack some thermal layers for when you decide to go up the mountains, your rental bike should have a topbox to put them in.

We road the TF21 from PDLC through the Teide valley, what a stunning and hugely enjoyable road, totally enjoyed it. The geology of the valley is so varied and fascinating and the history of the volcano, creation of the island and the different rocks and metals it spewed out is really well explained in a museum at the visitor centre at El Portillo on the TF21. The traffic is really light so if you do get caught behind the odd tourist driving a hire car like Miss Daisy on the mountain roads you soon get a chance to overtake. I am finding the Versys 650 to be a great little bike and perfect for what we are doing, much lighter than the GSA and now I've got the feel for it I'm really starting to chuck it around, felt my foot rub the tarmac on a few occasions!

The next plan is to go west from PDLC and then south on the coastal as has been recommended, although there is still more of the Teide park we want to discover.

Thanks for the update- very helpful! Just booked my flight to TFS for Sunday, planning 9 nights and thinking I will book first couple of nights somewhere near the bike hire place in the resort huddle of Los Cristianos (not a place I particularly liked on 2 previous pedal cycling tours of Tenerife)....and then strap my little bag on the back of the bike and visit various other places I have enjoyed in the past like Masca, Garachico, Orotava, Santa Cruz and el Medano. Have just downloaded maps onto my iphone. The road beckons ! Will be following your exploits with interest.