Tenerife Off- Season

Though the short-lived British summer may be over, and the autumnal rains have already begun attacking the mainland, inviting us to question whether they ever went away, the sun is still blessing many a headland in the beautiful islands further east of Dover.

Whilst many families and students are back to the daily grind of the office, the school run, and living for the weekend, for those of us still holding on to a few more weeks of annual leave, there is a lot to be said for taking a little autumn breather. Indeed, more so than Christmas (so expensive!) and the summer (so busy!), waiting until September for a break can prove particularly satisfying on the pocket and on the psyche.

Mediterranean haunts which usually gleam from travel brochures in Britain, then groan heavy with sunburnt tourists and hungover teenagers fresh from GCSEs all summer long, are completely transformed come the end of August. As the schools fill back up and the sun fades away on Albion’s shores, the ancient islands dotted around Greece, Italy and Spain regain a little of their former magic, breathe easy without the strain of quite so many visitors, and usually drop the price to boot.

Destinations such as Tenerife – often sniffed at for its reputation as being purely designed for 18 – 30s or last-minute beach hotel deals – are underrepresented when it comes to beauty and cultural appeal. The island is one of the seven Canary Islands which is in fact in the Atlantic ocean, nearer the coast of Africa. This more equatorial location makes it hotter and seems to have lent it more of the dramatic scenery seen at their Balaeric counterparts further north along the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

Tenerife remains one of the biggest tourist destinations in the Europe let alone the Canaries, packing in over five million visitors a year. Check budget airlines like Monarch; their cheap flights to Tenerife cater for their populace who frequent the island again and again. However, its popularity does not deserve to be judged on such figures alone. It is also home to one of the world’s grandest carnivals, the Carnival de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which is on its way to becoming a World Heritage Site.

In fact, the island is not short of such locations: El Teide, its highest point, is the third largest volcano in the world, also on the list of Heritage Sites, providing glorious views across the Atlantic Ocean. Coupled with the ancient La Laguna University, a history which covers ancient Rome as well as Catholic pilgrimages, and exquisite traditional cuisine, it is clear that Tenerife is worth far more than an air-brushed holiday brochure.