Tenerife events
An insider's guide to the best festivals and events in Tenerife, including Santa Cruz Carnaval, Fimucité Filmmusic Festival and new wines at Fiestas San Andrés, by Telegraph Travel's Tenerife expert.
Calendar of events and festivals 2017
Santa Cruz Carnaval
February 24-28
The biggest carnival in Europe takes to the streets for a week of madness and mayhem with parades of 20,000-strong costumed dancers, musicians, floats and Carnival Queens, and all night street parties with live bands, top DJs and hundreds of thousands of revellers in fancy dress. Highlights include the burial of a giant papier-mâché sardine mourned by thousands of men dressed as widows.
Location: the biggest affairs are in Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz with smaller events rolling out across the island throughout February and March
Admission: all street events are free
Contact: 00 34 922 60 96 00; carnavaldetenerife.com
I Love Music Festival
April 14-15
Enjoy two days of dance music from international DJs at this sun and splash extravaganza staged in Siam Park - now in its eighth year.
Location: Siam Park, Costa Adeje
Admission: from €56 (£48)
Contact: 00 34 647 13 32 13; ilovemusicfestival.com
Día de la Cruz
May 3
This is one of the biggest fireworks displays in Europe. Los Realejos in the north of the island is home to two pyrotechnic manufacturers who annually stage a heavenly display to the delight of onlookers. As well as the fireworks, every cross in the town is beautifully decorated in flowers. Wrap up warm as nights are chilly in the hills in early May.
Location: Los Realejos
Admission: free
Contact: losrealejos.travel/fiestas
Tenerife Walking Festival
May 23-27
Four days of guided walking take in some of the island's most spectacular routes, including the climb to the summit of Mount Teide, and a series of cultural and gastronomic events. Social gatherings in the evenings bring hikers together for some well-earned rest and relaxation.
Location: based in Puerto de la Cruz but routes are across the north and centre of the island
Admission: €25 (£21) registration fee, individual walks cost €25 - €35 (£21 - £30) incl transport
Contact: 00 34 657 28 98 68; tenerifewalkingfestival.com
MUECA
May (dates to be confirmed)
Music, mime, theatre, dance and circus acts take to the streets of Puerto de la Cruz in the north of the island for four days of surreal and compelling street art and entertainment.
Location: Puerto de la Cruz
Admission: Mainly free, some events are ticket only, €5-€25 (£4-£21)
Contact: festivalmueca.com
Tenerife Blue Trail
June 10
This hugely popular mountain trail event with races ranging from an 8km 'access all abilities’-run to the gruelling 97km-Ultra race, which includes 6000 metres of thigh crunching ascents and killer descents that take you right across the spine of the island through Teide National Park.
Location: The Ultra begins in Los Cristianos and ends in Puerto de la Cruz
Admission: €27-€90 (£23-£77)
Contact:tenerifebluetrail.com
Corpus Christi Flower Carpets
June 22
The vast plaza fronting the Town Hall is decorated in an 800 square-metre tapestry created from sand gathered from Teide National Park. During the day-long festival, the streets around the town are painstakingly decorated in ornate carpets of petals while onlookers file past in their thousands to watch the designs taking shape. In the evening the Corpus Christi procession walks across the carpets and destroys them.
Location: La Orotava
Admission: free
Contact: todotenerife.es
PWA World Cup
August 6-12
The skies and sands of El Médano are filled with even more rainbow coloured sails than usual as the cool surfers of the Professional Windsurfers Association take to the waves for a week of competitive somersaults, aerobatics and speed.
Location: El Médano
Admission: free
Contact: pwaworldtour.com
Romería San Roque
August 16
Patron Saint's Day meets Harvest Festival in a pilgrimage procession, romería's are held all over Tenerife, mainly in summer, with Garachico being one of the biggest and best. Locals dressed in traditional costume liberally dispense fresh barbecued meats, hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes and wine from open topped carts pulled through the tiny, narrow streets by oxen. The parade is accompanied by herds of goats and sheep and local folk musicians. It's a food, wine and animal extravaganza.
Location: Garachico
Admission: free
Contact: todotenerife.es
Fimucité Filmmusic Festival
September 29-October 6
Now in its 11th year, Fimucité is a homage to favourite film scores from cinematic history, performed by the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra. This year's theme is Sword & Sorcery.
Location: Tenerife Auditorium
Admission: from €15 (£12)
Contact: 00 34 902 31 73 27; auditoriodetenerife.com
San Andrés
November 29-30
The Eve of Saint Andrew's Day coincides with the new wines on Tenerife and to celebrate, Puerto de la Cruz stages a pop-up wine market around the harbour to which all the local bodegas (wineries) come to showcase their wines. Much sampling and buying ensues with roasted chestnuts, local cheeses and grilled sardines served from kiosks to accompany the wine. Meanwhile, local children drag strings of empty cans across cobbled streets to create as much racket as they can – it's a tradition thing.
Location: Puerto de la Cruz
Admission: free
Contact:citpuerto.com
