Tenerife, Canary Islands

I live here with my girlfriend close to Santa Cruz now for around 1 year. We lived before in Alicante and Gran Canaria. Lots to discover if you like Hiking or Surfing. Nomad scene is here with a couple of Meetups and Activities if you look for it. It's relative cheap compare to West Europe. Food is difficult to find Restaurants what you can eat well.

Pros:
Weather always perfect even in winter

It's an Island, so there are many beaches

2 Airports with many flights all over Europe

Fresh Fruits and Vegetable as many things grow here.

Cons:
If you are a foodie its difficult to find any good food what is not Spanish or Italian

Even the Bus System is really good they need to improve with walkways or bike roads, but this is a problem in all over Spain.

Order online is a gamble sometimes is fast but as the Canary Islands are outside the European customs union you have to declare goods what the value us over 15o EUR

Too touristic - Restaurants, experiences, shops.. all designed for tourists which makes the place not as enjoyable in my experience.

Spent two weeks all over the island in July 2022. Wasn't super interested in Santa Cruz after one night there. Spent a week at a private finca near Guia de Isora and really enjoyed what I saw of that area. Seemed like there was lots to do in nearby Playa San Juan. Stayed another week in Puerto de la Cruz which didn't have a whole lot going on despite seeming to be a popular destination for tourists. Still a beautiful place to explore on foot for a few days.

Weather seems to be pretty much flawless year round. My hotel room in Puerto de la Cruz (Coral Teide Mar) was pretty nice and super affordable ($34/night). Food around town was just ok.

The biggest highlight of the trip was taking an interpretive hike with a guide around the base of Teide. Got to see some stunning views above the cloud line and learned a lot about the geology and natural history of the islands. I would highly recommend exploring the volcanoes with someone who can explain why it's all so cool.

If I could do it again, I think I'd spend all my time in the south/west areas of the island.

Pro tip: there are cannabis clubs scattered all around the island, but most don't do any advertising because they don't want to attract tourists (technically you're only allowed to get in if you're a resident). There is one in Puerto de la Cruz called The Bud Company that you can find on Instagram and Weedmaps. You can email or DM and ask to join the club, and as long you're chill they'll instruct you on how to proceed. Good luck finding the place! 😂☠️ Look for `Edificio Belitope` on Google Maps and pay close attention to the photo of the door on Weedmaps. You're welcome.

I lived in Puerto De La Cruz between October and December.

Pros;
- Quiet, safe neighbourhood
- Well stocked supermarkets
- High speed broadband in my Airbnb
- Very hot and sunny days in October / November
- Cheap Taxis
- Lots of hikes
- Legal, cheap cannabis
- Access to southern Tenerife for partying

Cons;
- English is not that great, but can get by.
- High humidity and rainfall
- Not great social scene
- A lot of sub-par restaurants (I recommend 'Vulk' and anything south american)
- Boring nightlife
- Super expensive car rental (1k month)
Perfect place to live with a spouse, smoke weed and work out your airbnb, whilst hiking around and swimming on the weekend,

I was staying in the western part of the island for about 3 months in winter months of 2021. My impression is that it is a clean and sunny place, that could be much better than it is. Unfortunately it was too cold to swim in the ocean. Some people did, but it's definitely not comfortable, water is just cold and the overall temperature is in the 20 degrees Celsius range, so it was not hot by any measure. The place is filled with British retirees and Eastern European tourists. There are just a few stores, one 24/7 off license and one Lidl store. The availability of goods is limited. As for dining, it's ok, but nothing to write home about. Housing is meh. Despite being small and sparsely populated it managed to be loud. As for the scenery, apart from palm trees and a few patches of grass maintained within the town, it is barren land. Essentially a piece of rock sticking out of the ocean. I've heard it's greener in the North.

Maybe there are interesting people to meet in more popular areas like La Playa las Americas, but where I was at it felt empty, boring, and mediocre. A very underwhelming experience - I will definitely not be wasting my time coming back here.

I lived here in Tenerife from October until December. My thoughts are below

Pros:

- Lovely weather at this time of year, really pleasant in the low 20s
- The island has lots to see and some of the national parks are just spectacular. There's so much beauty on the island
- It's relatively cheap, so a nice modern Airbnb in the centre of Santa Cruz for instance will set you back 1300-1500 EUR
- WiFi is very good in the Airbnbs so no problem there, was able to take video calls easily and it never cut out

Cons:

- I struggled to find a good meal in Puerto de la Cruz whilst I was there for a month. I wasn't the only one it seems, as I had another couple approach me to ask about the food in the restaurant I was eating at and they said all the places they had tried were terrible.
- Online dating is much harder than other places I've been to (I spent all my time in North Tenerife FYI), and I think the level of English amongst the locals might have something to do with it. I didn't have a single date in the months I was here, compared to having lots of dating experiences in many different countries.
- Really no decent places to work from outside of your apartment. Cafes in the centre will have dodgy WiFi (if any at all) and the coffee in general isn't that great in my opinion.

I spent an amazing 2.5 months in Tenerife during COVID times from April to June of 2021. One of the best decisions of my life. The island has so much to offer; dramatic nature hikes, good food, excellent weather, fun parties/raves (yes, even during covid times), water sports, beaches, etc. The general vibe is very chill and it's easy to talk with both locals and tourists. Everyone is simply having a good time. There´s a reason this island is so popular among tourists.


At the same time, the island's popularity is also its achilles heel. Once countries opened uptheir borders again and tourists started flooding in around June, the quality of living went down dramatically. Hard to find parking, beaches overcrowding, drunk people on the streets (Las Americas), prices increasingly steeply etc. I honestly wouldn´t want to spend a full-on non-corona summer here, even though it is possible to avoid them, for instance by sticking to the north side of the island.


My recommendation would be to visit Tenerife as a digital nomad, in off-season times only. For me personally, 2.5 months was enough to see and do most of the things there, and I don't feel the need to come back per se. Most Digital Nomads I met were also staying somewhere between 1-4 months before moving off again. And that´s completely fine of course :)

I went to Tenerife thinking I was going to stay for a month, I ended up being there for 2.5 months. Absolutely amazing place, good work/life balance, great nature. Cost of living is not so high.

Important recommendation: avoid the north. It's much better to stay in the South-area, especially Las Americas. The weather is much nicer and most importantly, there is much more to do.

I've spent a few months in Tenerife in 2020. I think it's the best of the Canary Islands for remote workers. The South has better weather and more touristy vibe, the North is colder but with more long-term people. Nomads seem to be living around El Medano, Puerto de la Cruz or Las Americas.

Pros:
- Lots of nomads. Seems to be a good solution for those who have to remain in EU timezones or just starting out they nomad journey and don't want to take too much risk.
- Awesome weather.
- Nature. Surfing, kitesurfing, diving, hiking, mountain biking and all kinds of outdoor activities are great on the island.
- Decent public transport, nice roads, generally good infrastructure.

Cons:
- Zero hipster cafes that are good for work.
- Very few co-working spaces.
- No ride-hailing apps. You have to make a phone call to book a taxi like it's 2005. Best to get a car or motorbike.
- Online shopping can be a hassle due to the distance from the mainland.
- Difficult to find high quality accommodation, even if you have the money to burn.
- Lots of drunk retired British expats and businesses catering for them.

Overall, I think Tenerife is great and has great potential at becoming an "European" nomad hotspot -- if it isn't one already.

WOW, cool platform. Even for freelancers like me. I am currently staying on a beautiful finca (Finca San Juan) in the north of Tenerife. The climate is amazing. It is not too hot and sometimes partly cloudy and still it is green and very calm and quiet. The Finca is in San Juan de la Rambla (Hotel Finca San Juan) and provides super fast 600 MBit fiber with strong WIFI broadcast on the whole premise. It consists of some complexes to rent for long-term with a huge discount and a lot of included Services. It has many chillout areas to withdraw and even isolate a bit. Also it has a big pool and showers, restaurant, bar and a projector to give seminars. The island is full of other facilities to live and work, but I like this the most and I will stay here until end of February. Hit me a message to Dave Travolta in one of the social networks. I am usually up for brainstorming session or social drink.

We spent January in Santa Cruz and had a fantastic stay. The people we met were nice, the weather was fantastic, prices for things were reasonable, good selection of locally grown produce, good internet connectivity, there were lots of outdoor activities to do, and not too touristy or crowded (at least Santa Cruz in January). Other parts of the Island felt more resort-like and it wasn't so easy to get to places outside of Santa Cruz without a car.

If you live in the south of the islands, the temperature is never under 20 degrees during winter time, so eternal spring ¡¡

Tenerife is really a great place for nomads! we've stayed here for a bit over 3 months and loved everything about it! in my opinion the north is more authentic and has way more to offer to nature lovers than the south. We stayed at an amazing coliving in la Orotava (nine coliving) and I would definitively recommend this place! The nomad community is pretty active as well and several events are organized monthly which is nice!