Tenerife the island: a short resume

Tenerife is the biggest and highest island of the archipelago with the imposing mount Teide that rises over 3,700 meters within the impressive crater of Las Cañadas. Declared a National Park, it is equipped with a refuge inn and cable car to fly over the fascinating lava rock landscapes, reminiscent of the beginning of time.

"Fascinating " is the word for this island and not only because of Teide or Las Cañadas.

On the northern side of the island, the green Valley of "La Orotava" appears with Teide in the background. People say that, when the naturalist Alexander Humboltd found it he couldn‘‘t resist the impulse to put himself on his knees, astonished.

Near La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz offers its visitors, sport and leisure facilities and restaurants with regional and international cuisine to make complete excellent vacations, that allow you to combine the benefit of good temperatures with a better knowledge of history, the customs and folklore of the place.

Coming out of the Valley of La Orotava, where the socalled "low island" begins, is located "Villa de Icod" that, in addition to the most characteristic wines of Tenerife, is home of the millenarian dragon tree. The dragon tree is the emblematic tree of the Canary Islands. Further along the west coast e have the quite and charming towns of Los Silos,and Buenavista, areas which have resisted overdevelopment and boast a great golf course and new hotel facilities. Just outside of Buenavista we have the Teno national park and the quiet quietly up and coming village of El Palmar, situated in the national park. In these areas we are likey to see good price growth for property, as they are unspoilt protected areas, and property is scarce

In the capital of the island, Santa Cruz, modern, of wide boulevards and avenues, also offers leafy parks and gardens and colonial narrow streets and buildings in its old part. A City well equipped for work, rest, sports, cultural entertainment and having fun, has managed to turn its Carnival into a spectacle known world wide. Carnival attracts visitors that seem delighted with the variety of colours, clean fun and good taste in which all the population of the city participates.

Just a few kilometres from Santa Cruz, practically together, you will find the city of "La Laguna"the first capital of the island founded at the end of 15th century by the conqueror Fernández de Lugo. It’s a monumental city and this is where the Romería de San Benito takes place every year, a kind of a pilgrimage with a strong farmer "flavour".

The South of Tenerife is completely different. With a  hotter and drier climate it is a tourist hub with the main centres being Las Americas and Los Cristianos. These two areas have had a somewhat poor reputation, roudy, cheap bars, overdevelopment, and ugly buildings, but things are now changing with the upgrading of facilities, including more four star and five star hotels, and a better environment. Our view is that if there continue to be such improvements and the prolifieration and density of development stops, the area will see more interest from foreign buyers and property in these areas will probably be a good investment.

Further around the coast there are the attractive areas  of Los Gigantes, Santiago de Teide, and the moutain villages incluing Masca. These are quieter areas and seem to attract a more discerning property buyers, and any property for sale here is likely to hold and gain value. Our recent survey shows price growth in these areas despite falls elsewhere in the south.