About Us
In 2003 we left the bright lights of Manchester and moved to Tenerife, an island which we hadn’t even set foot on until 12 months earlier. Being outrageous travel snobs, the idea of a holiday in the plastic, Brits-abroad theme park known as Tenerife was about as appealing to us as a wet Bank Holiday weekend in Coventry.
But like so many people who have never been to Tenerife, and amazingly so many millions who holiday here year on year, we knew absolutely nothing about the real island – the one that lay beyond the souvenir shops and hotels of the south coast.
Swimming against the tide of most British ex-pats, we chose to live in the tropical north of the island, alongside banana plantations at the foot of the La Orotava Valley on the edge of Puerto de la Cruz. Once settled, we set about exploring our adopted home and were amazed to uncover its uniqueness as a walking destination.
What we discovered is an island of incredibly varied landscapes which are criss-crossed by ancient paths dating back to the island’s first inhabitants.
Unlike the smaller Canary Island of La Gomera, Tenerife is not generally known as a walking destination and yet the presence of the planet’s third largest volcano set within a 17km wide crater of surreal landscape lifts its diversity of walking far beyond that of its neighbour.
There are rain forests which have survived the Ice Age and which edge deep ravines where communities still live in caves; tiny hamlets whose inhabitants tend precipitous terraces by hand, and beautiful coastal paths which weave through palm groves. And because it’s not yet known as a walking destination, you can walk through mountains and valleys for hours and never meet another soul.
From coast to coast and sea level to the summit of Mount Teide, we have walked Tenerife and have built this website to share our experiences with you.
We want you not only to read our accounts, but to discover the joys of walking on Tenerife for yourself, which is why we’re currently writing a series of step by step (literally!) guides to our favourite walks which we email to you so you can print them off as often as you like.
We’re certain it won’t be long before the secret’s out of the bag that Tenerife is one of Europe’s best walking destinations. So come and enjoy it while you’ve still got it to yourself, ahem – and us of course 
Happy trails!
Jack Montgomery & Andy Montgomery
Passionate about promoting the Tenerife that exists beyond the holiday brochures, Jack and Andy are full time photo-journalists, feature writers, corporate bloggers and photographers for magazines and websites and have authored two guide books to Tenerife:
Real Tenerife Island Drives is a combined trail finder and guide book. Written for anyone who intends to hire a car on Tenerife, it details a series of amazing drives around the island that take you away from the tourist resorts and into the real Tenerife.
The Real Tenerife: The Insiders’ Guide is a comprehensive native’s eye view of the fascinating island of Tenerife; its people, places, language, fiestas, food and culture.
Easy-to-follow directions for Tenerife’s stunning walking locations; ‘Island walks’ routes include interesting detours, refreshment stops, toilets, local information, flora, advice about walking in specific areas, photographs and public transport routes.
I agree, Puerto de La Cruz is a lovely old town and traditional fishing port, where locals and visitors mix side by side. With lovely old streets and shady squares to sit with a coffee or ice-cream and watch the world go by, where views open out onto the clear blue waters of the Atlantic Bay.
It’s a great place, Richard. I realise it’s not suited to everyone, but to us it’s a very, very special town.
Hello, twenty years ago I went one Christmas to Tenerife for a lads holiday. About I all remember was hiring a car and driving through the climate zones up Teide. I have never forgot that amazing trip, arriving in the alpine zone, a blizzard… and nearly slipping off the edge. But now I am wondering, do think it is a good place to take my young family in the Autumn. We are tent campers, who love natuur and walking.
Steven Batten, The Netherlands
You experienced some quite extreme weather up there
Most of the time it’s blue skies in Teide National park (although we are experiencing a huge Atlantic storm at the moment so if you were up there now it would probably be similar).
Up until November you should be absolutely fine. In fact Sept/October is one of the best times when the weather is hot but not too hot and before the season changes (November and end of Feb/beginning of March are the dodgiest times). There’s a campsite quite near Teide National Park at Las Lajas above Vilaflor. It’s free and quite basic (great if you enjoy camping wild). When we camped up there we were the only ones there during the night. You need to arrange it with the authorities before turning up.
Jack