Tenerife

There were plenty of taxis waiting outside, and they were cheaper. Somewhere else, especially after a late arrival? Possibly. Sometimes peace of mind is worth paying for.

Beautifully maintained, with great pools, plenty for the kids and everything we needed for a comfortable stay.

With no prepayment, no deposit and no further contact, I did wonder whether someone would actually turn up at the hotel as arranged.

Just before 11, a CICAR representative walked into reception with the paperwork.

One signature, a few instructions, and the Fiat was ours for the week.

We never really are. A few hours, a swim, something to eat and we're usually ready to move on.

It was incredibly hot, and shade meant renting an umbrella. The sea, though — clear, cool and full of waves.

A completely unplanned beach massage — and surprisingly, a really good one.

That meant those two days of the trip were fixed in advance rather than decided spontaneously.

The car park was packed, so we parked at the nearby shopping centre instead.

Walking from there to the entrance, this caught my eye.

Many of the rides use rafts for four, so we could ride together.

The kids absolutely loved it.

Yes — some queues were long enough that I'd at least look into it before going again.

Calm, easy to swim in and perfectly nice.

The sand was incredibly hot, but for us, it simply wasn't a wow beach.

We had arranged to meet friends there and ended up having such a good time that we stayed far longer than we normally would at a beach.

We parked at the marina before our sailing trip.

There was still plenty of space when we arrived in the morning, but it filled up surprisingly quickly.

Short-finned pilot whales appeared alongside us — exactly what we had hoped to see.

We sailed beneath Los Gigantes and stopped for a swim.

Whales, a swim beneath the cliffs and a simple sandwich they served us on board that somehow tasted just right.

To reach the actual peak of Teide, you need a separate permit — something that has to be arranged well in advance.

We didn't have one.

There was still plenty of space when we arrived in the morning.

It became much busier later, although spaces kept opening up as people left.

I'd read so much about how cold it could be up there that we came prepared with extra layers.

We didn't need them. Short sleeves were perfectly fine.

I think actual flowing lava might have helped.

The weather was on our side. The visibility wasn't.

Calima blurred the distant views even up here.

The cable car was an experience, but it was the landscape that stayed with me.

I could have driven through Teide National Park, stopped, looked around and done it all over again.

It didn't take long to find our way around.

Orcas, dolphins, sea lions and more — if you want to see several shows, it helps to plan the order around their schedules.

We left the orcas until later in the day and found it much quieter than we expected.

I know the park is involved in rescue and conservation work, and the animals appear incredibly well cared for.

Still, I have mixed feelings about trained-animal shows.

It was a lovely day and the park is beautifully kept.

It just wasn't one of my personal highlights of Tenerife.

We weren't quite sure where to return the car, but we needn't have worried. Everything was clearly signposted from the road and the return itself was simple.

The airport was bigger than I expected, but just as easy to navigate.

Tenerife is an easy island to enjoy — varied, relaxed and with something different never very far away.

And you can tell tourism is part of its DNA. Everything just works for visitors.