Halloween seems to have really taken off in Tenerife in recent years - any additional excuse for a party is always welcome, I guess - as it was probably only a decade ago that the tradition wasn't really celebrated on the island.
My pick would be the Halloween Party in the Plaza Bouganvilla in Los Gigantes, tomorrow night, Saturday, 31st October 2015 from 6:30pm, with entertainment again by two local musical groups, “Tío Franklin” y “Old Dogs New Tricks”.
The party has been organised by Santiago del Teide town hall, in collaboration with the organizing committee for Carnaval de Los Gigantes 2016, i.e. as a further fundraiser for the latter.
This Saturday night, 24th October, it's Oktoberfest 2015 in Los Gigantes. From 18:30 in the Plaza Bougainvillea there will be musical performances and the sale of sausages and beer, as a fundraiser for the Carnival 2016 Los Gigantes.
This is a typical German beer festival, based on the famous festival that takes place every year in the Bavarian city of Munich.
In addition, attendees will enjoy the musical accompaniment of local groups Uncle Franklin and Old Dogs New Tricks to help celebrate the festival.
Although mobile phone roaming charges throughout the EU have been brought down considerably over the last couple of years, it can still be expensive if you connect every day. Facebook and Instagram have replaced postcards, and with many of us needing to stay connected to work even on holiday, reliable WiFi has become essential.
Hotel WiFi is notoriously unreliable, and in some cases, more expensive than your roaming charges. So, how do you connect?
Eagle-eyed readers might point out the 25 to 31 October is National Honey week in Britain and not Tenerife, so it’s not relevant to celebrate it on the island. That’s true, but honey is quite a big thing on Tenerife so why not celebrate the food of the gods here?
Clocks are set to go back bringing darker nights and the spirit of Halloween to our doors. What better time to cosy up around the pumpkin and tell ghost stories? Tenerife tends to keep its ghostly tales under wraps so it takes some keen detective work to uncover the darker side of the island…
This weekend, on Saturday, 17th October, 2015, the annual Rally Isla Tenerife (Isle of Tenerife Rally) takes place. Starting and finishing in Santa Cruz, you can download maps showing all the phases of the rally here (PDF), should you wish to go along and watch, or want to know where roads will be closed or restricted.
If you're looking for something more traditional to do this weekend, on Sunday, 18th October, 2015, there's the Romería de Adeje, the culmination of the town's annual fiestas with an explosion of color, gastronomy and folklore.
Regular readers of this blog will know that the film “Clash of the Titans” was filmed in Tenerife a while back. For me the guys and girls who undertake this extreme sport are the real Titans of Tenerife, so if you are out and about the island on October 24th and see any of the runners making their weary way, please give them a cheer of encouragement. I’m told every cheer is heard and counts.
If you’re near Puerto de la Cruz on the eve of 17 October we’d really recommend going to the Noche en Blanco which takes place throughout the town from 6pm till 2 the following morning.
... if you feel the need to escape and find a spot where the hotels and apartments magically disappear you don’t always have to hire a car or jump on a bus to head to Tenerife’s people-free hinterland. There are serene areas of natural beauty right in the heart of (or at least off to one side) many of Tenerife’s resorts, even those considered the biggest and brashest.
This weekend's traditional treat comes in the form of La Librea de Valle Guerra, in the municipality of San Cristobal de La Laguna and takes place on Saturday, 10th October at 11pm in the evening with around 250 people, the majority born and brought up in the Valle de Guerra, taking part.
La Librea de Valle Guerra faithfully reflects events of the Battle of Lepanto, which took place on 7th October 1571 - 444 years ago this year - when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of European Catholic maritime states arranged by Pope Pius V, decisively defeated the fleet of the Ottoman Empire on the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth, off western Greece.
The Battle of Lepanto has a presence in the La Librea de Valle Guerra as a tribute to canarian soldiers, led by Admiral Francisco Díaz Pimienta, who took part in the conflagration. Pimienta was pilot of one of the ships that fought in Lepanto, belonging to the fleet of Felipe II (Philip II of Spain). Born on the island of La Palma, Pimienta, together with a Canarian militia, became some of the most prominent fighters of the archipelago. It was Díaz who brought a fiesta to the Canary Islands to conmemorate this heroic battle, namely to Barlovento.
La Librea de Valle Guerra evolved from this first memorial feast in honor of the Virgen del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary) in the hands of a Tenerife noblewoman, Inés de Castilla, who with her husband, Captain Garcia Fernandez de Valcárcel, inaugurated a chapel in town of Valle de Guerra, dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus and the Virgin of the Rosary in 1615.
Many shops, banks and offices will be closed on Monday, 12 October for the celebration of Día de la Hispanidad, or Spain Day. The national public holiday commemorates the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus on 12 October 1492, something that has particular significance for Spain because it transformed the still developing modern nation into a world Imperial empire which lasted until 1898.
Who likes a bargain then? The DiversaldoBargain Fair2015in LaOrotava is returning on Sunday, October 11th, witha similarformatto last year, which wasa great success,so this time thestallswill be extended to spreadover the Puente Escultor Estévez, part of Calle Calvario, Avenida de Canarias and the Plaza de la Constitución. From 10am to 8pm.
Choosing the right accommodation for your holiday can be as essential as choosing the right resort and can make or break a holiday. Some people book into an all-inclusive hotel and don’t walk out the door again until it’s time to return to the airport. Others rarely see the inside of their accommodation, returning only to shower, change and sleep. Whatever holiday you choose to have and whatever your budget, there’s a style of accommodation on Tenerife to suit you.
On the facebook page for a shopping centre in the south of Tenerife they’ve just printed a photo of a model wearing a long suede coat with the caption ‘it’s getting colder outside’.
It’s getting colder outside – in a week where we’ve hardly been able to sleep because it’s been so hot, where the thermometer outside the pharmacia in La Paz above Puerto de la Cruz flashed 34C the other afternoon.
With its trickling streams and fountains, mutant foliage and views over the Atlantic to Mount Teide Parque de los Lavaderos is a place which wraps you in a smile inducing blanket of calm… well it does with us.
Although the alert hot weather was lifted on Sunday evening, the week will start muggy and very hot as the calima drifts away (the eastern Canary Islands remain on alert until 8pm tonight). Things should freshen up everywhere from Tuesday when shade temperatures should drop to the low/mid 20sC for the second part of the week when there could be cloudy spells and a chance of showers everywhere. In many ways not much different from the pattern of previous weeks.
Considering Tenerife is dominated by the third largest volcano in the world which just happens to also be the highest mountain on Spanish territory, where to see volcanoes on Tenerife might seem a bit obvious.
From 9am to 3pm on both Saturday, 3rd and Sunday 4th October 2015, visit the 20th annual crafts fair - this edition is dedicated to articles in wood - at the Mercadillo del Agricultor el Vino y la Artesanía (Farmers', Wine and Crafts Market) in La Matanza. (See map)
This weekend sees the fiestas of the Immaculate Conception in the little hamlet of Masca. It's one of the most popular fiestas in the local area and held in the evocativesettingof one ofthe most beautiful andinternationally known Tenerifevillages.
On Saturday, 3rd October 2015, starting at 6pm, there's the folk festival, featuring various local folk groups. The religious mass and procession follow at 9pm, then from 11pm onwards is music and dancing to the Orquesta Malibú Band.
Although the principal day of the fiestas is on Sunday, 4th October, with mass and processions starting from around 3:15pm and entertainments from 5:30pm.
Adeje’s voluntary Fire Brigade association is holding an Oktoberfest which they hope will be a fun day as well as raising funds to buy a new fire engine. It’s a brilliant cause for these literally heroic volunteers. The Oktoberfest is being held from midday on Saturday, 3 October, at the fire station just below the motorway in Fañabe.
, which was first published on 5 February 2004. You may not realise this, but we don't get paid for this work, which takes many hours staying up to date with events and translating information. If you find this site interesting or useful, please consider making a donation so work can continue.
Secret Tenerife is a "Pay As You Feel" website. You can have access to all of my work for free, or you can choose to make a small donation to help me keep writing. The choice is entirely yours.
