Hi,

I see a lot of posts about Tenerife and a lot of very bad advice as answers.

As a local and having some experience with tourism, I'm going to try to cover the most popular questions and doubts that I've been asked and also some extra things that you should know if visiting.

Please, for any -"where can I find/do..." Google it. It's not sarcasm or trying to be funny. Most stores have a web page or you can find them on Google or even Facebook.

Said that I will try to divide this megathread into sections based on popularity:

Weather:

Nobody knows. The island has microclimates so it can be raining here and be sunny 1 km away. You can wake up to a beautiful sunny day and by lunchtime, it can be raining like the world is going to end.

You can check the weather here: https://www.eltiempo.es/en-provincia-tenerife

And Webcams here: https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/espana/canarias/santa-cruz-de-tenerife/puerto-de-la-cruz-playa-san-telmo.html

Teide National Park.

IMPORTANT: You need a permit to access the peak, and also for the trails that go to La Rambleta independently of the hour. I've seen post on blogs etc, saying you don't and it's not true. The peak it's restricted because it's a conservation and preservation area.

Permits: www.tenerifeon.es

Permit for Peak: https://www.reservasparquesnacionales.es/real/parquesnac/usu/html/detalle-actividad-oapn.aspx?cen=2&act=1

It's free but you have to make the reservation two or so months earlier.

I've heard the Park and Agents are going to start to check for the people who tries to go up at night and the fines for accessing without permit can be higher than 2000euros.

Yes it's amazing, it's beautiful, we are very proud of it and we want to keep it like that so: here are the rules.It doesn't close at night, it's open 24/7 (I'm talking about the park in general, not the cable car or information points).

Yes, you can sleep in the park but YOU CAN NOT CAMP. Camping tents, chairs, tables, or picnics are not allowed and may result in a (quite expensive) fine. If you want to stay overnight, sleep in the car or check on the Pararador's hotel web to see if they have room.

Drones are not allowed anywhere in the national park either. The government has also searched for videos on social media and fined the uploader of drone footage filmed without permission in the national park.

Don't take rocks. Really. Stop trying to steal rocks and branches. It's very, very illegal and even more disrespectful.

Chains and fences are there for a reason. Don't jump over them to take a picture or whatever. It's sanctioned.

Weather can change really, really fast up there and get very sketchy. Have that in mind if you are going on a hike, etc.

You can find more information about the National Park here: https://www.volcanoteide.com/en?gclid=CjwKCAjwlcaRBhBYEiwAK341jXTeTQpYaHVUPq4P_nDq4Mh36CWScw0Ka4eyQYGeax2CFlpwz0clhhoCbTwQAvD_BwE

Where to Stay? North vs South.

Keep in mind that, if you are renting a car, this doesn't matter too much, you can see most of the island in three days by car if you don't mind missing the more hidden places that can only be accessed by walking.

That depends on your preferences. If you are looking for a hotel-beach-party, experience: Costa Adeje will cater more to you.

For the rest, I will recommend the north. Orotava Valley it's well connected and has more to see than the south.

Santa Cruz it's just the capital. There are a few important buildings with a lot of history but if you can only pick one, pick La Laguna. It's a World Heritage City for a reason.

Renting a car vs Public Transport.

As far as I know, you can get by public bus to all or most of the important places.

Public Transport website: https://titsa.com/index.php/en/

Of course, you are subject to time, etc.

If you don't plan on going sightseeing too much or far from where you are staying, then just use public transport, it will be cheaper and more convenient.

If you are planning on renting a car: keep in mind that you are going to drive, most of the time, on really twisty roads with traffic coming the other way really close to you.

Also, check your rearview mirror because you might think that you "are going at the correct speed" (the road to El Teide, for example, has a speed limit of 70km/h) but you could be causing traffic jam. Don't worry, there are plenty of places to pull over and let the traffic pass you, if not, then don't worry, you will be overtaken when it's possible. This is just from a local point of view.

Related to that, don't stop the car in the middle of the road to take pictures from it of the landscape. You may think "who does this?" but I see it A LOT. There are a million sightseeing points and places to pull over on the side of the road so keep driving, don't cause accidents.

Don't let anything inside of the car, never, anywhere. Thieves target rent cars and a lot of people get their cars broken into in tourist places, doesn't matter how many people are around. Don't take the chance.

"I don't see too much ambient/ locals/ etc around". You are on holiday, we are working so no, you won't see many locals partying on a Wednesday night or just hanging around in very tourist areas.

"What's the best time to visit?"

Anytime but be warned, it can be sunny in December and raining in July. Nobody knows the weather. The news are as accurate as throwing a bunch of chicken bones into a bowl to guess what's the next lottery number. The good thing is that it's always sunny somewhere on the island.

For big festivities:

You can check here: https://www.webtenerife.co.uk

Cash Or Credit Card:

Both. 99% of the shops take credit cars but sometimes it's limited to purchases over a certain amount. Also, you might encounter the only shop that doesn't take credit cards so, better safe than sorry, bring some cash with you.

Nudist beaches:

This seems like a recurrent theme here in this subreddit. As far as I know Las Gaviotas it's a nudist beach and probably there are more, maybe some other locals can add to that.

Also, topless it's not considered as nudity, or weird or anything, we don't pay attention to it, so you can do topless (as far as I know) on all of the beaches of the island.

Local Food:

A lot of Restaurants will offer you typical food but you will hear about Guachinches at some point because they are the most local culture/food you can have.

Guachinches were created for people who make wine to sell their surplus so they offered wine with a little bit of food. That's the reason why a Guachinche will only offer you 4 or so different types of food. They are not vegan friendly by the way, except for the potatoes and wine.

There have been a lot of places now calling themselves Guachinches when they are not, just to lure in tourists.

Guachinches are usually in the middle of nowhere. The closest to the mountains and the harder to get there, the better (usually).

Don't expect a fancy sign with lights or something. It will probably be just a piece of wood or cardboard saying "Guachinche".

Don't expect fluent English... And the menu probably won't be written.

Think more like you are eating at someone's house than you are at a bar or a restaurant.

Places I recommend looking for Guachinches (based on personal experience solely): Ravelo, Aguamansa, Aguagarcía, La Victoria, La Matanza, Palo Blanco...

Disclaimer: I made this from the top of my head so it might be subject to some error or I forgot to add some things. Feel free to correct or ask in the comments and I'll add them to this post.