Sport & Leisure Tenerife
The superb all year climate makes Tenerife a favourite year-round venue for amateur and professional sporting types.
There’s a whole range of sports, from diving to sailing, fishing to windsurfing, available on the island.
Deep-sea fishing – barracuda, tuna, shark, and sailfish are just some of the specimens that fishermen can find when practising deep-sea fishing. The major part of the resorts organises fully equipped fishing trips and the principal charter marina at Tenerife is located at Los Cristianos or Puerto Colón, as well as in Playa de las Américas.
Diving – this is an irresistible activity if one attends to the diving possibilities that Tenerife’s clear waters offer. Of course it can’t be compared to the scenery divers find in exotic diving destinations, but be aware of some encounters with rays, groupers, barracudas, turtles, tropical fishes and occasionally some sharks. On Tenerife you can dive and swim with some dolphins or even feed the rays.
Sailing – if you have sailing in your blood look for the sports marinas (puerto deportivo), local sailing clubs and federations. You can rent yachts or catamarans for day excursions or longer trips.
Water-skiing – there are many locations offering water-skiing, jet-ski and also some parascending facilities. On Tenerife, the place to go for this is Playa de las Américas.
Windsurfing – this is, almost for sure, one of the most popular sports practised off almost on any reasonable beach. Doesn’t matter where you are, you always seem to have enough breeze to head out with your board and sail.
Cycling – if you are trying to get away from the crowds and head for the hills, try the mountain bikes, available for rent in almost all resorts in Tenerife.
Hiking – away from the coast there are plenty surprising countryside landscapes to explore. If you are one of those who doesn’t simply want to lounge around the beaches or hang out in bars, look for the 21 marked trails through the Parque Nacional de las Cañadas del Teide, or other areas as the Anaga mountain area in the north-east and around the Valle de la Orotava.
Golf – the demanding Golf courses have hosted international ‘Open’s. There are not many options available, but the ones you have are rated at a good quality level. In Tenerife you will find three golf courses. The Real Club de Golf de Tenerife is just south of La Laguna and the other two clubs are located on the south coast near El Médano.
Carting – in Tenerife you have two places where you can go carting, the carting Canarias and the carting Club Las Américas. Tracks are different in speed, size and facilities and all have carts that range from child-sized to adult-sized.
Tennis – this sport is played to a very high standard at club level. Most of the larger hotels have tennis courts that are hired out to the public. The Hotel de Las Palmeras is a place where tuition and floodlit courts are available.
Canarian Wrestling (Lucha Canaria) – this is a spectator sport practised throughout the islands and is a popular tourist attraction. The basic objective of this sport is to throw the opponent to the ground, in teams usually composed by 12 wrestlers.
Besides offering very attractive sports, Tenerife also counts with a very large sports infrastructure and, as a tourist you also can choose from an extensive array of sports activities.
