Summers by definition (our definition atleast) mean a beach holiday. Bikinis, tankinis, summer hats, sunscreens, flip-flops, pina-coladas and more become the key essentials. My recent trip to Tenerife, Spain was all about these and here I am sharing a tiny part of my Travel Diary with you guys. To tell you a little about it, Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands. Being a volcanic island, it is not exactly green but a beautiful blend of high peaks, clear waters, barren roads and lot of adventure. On the one hand there are famous beaches such as Playa de La Vistas, Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas that will make you feel like a small part of a big tourist crowd and on the other hand there are those like Playa de La Teresitas that don´t just beautifully beam with their golden sand but also give you enough sense of peace and alone time. Saying that, this island will give you enough space to meditate and party your head down when you like.

Tenerife is not that big and is well connected by a highway. We had hired a cute little Audi for 9 days (its actually cheap) and encircled the island in just a few hours. Since, our experience was good, I can actually suggest hiring from Gold Car. Its a beautiful experience to drive on a smooth highway running through small mountains and right next to the sea.

Starting with my favourite beach of all, Del Duque is for people who constantly seek all things chic. Being located in the buzzing Costa Adeje, this beach was in fact a short walk away from our hotel, H10 Costa Adeje. The sand is a beautiful mix of white and grey and the water is all blue (I know that is a little obvious). However, this beach is a a little rocky and not the best place for swimmers. But girls have something more to look forward to. Check out below the images of this shopping center, `Centro Commercial El Mirador´ lining the beach. It is super stylish with tiny cosy cafes and shops selling everything luxurious.

That also reminds me that you can´t hit a chic beach without a fit body. Well, I myself  love Gymondo for being the new age way to fitness. Whenever, I find time during the day, I switch on my laptop and start training with this online fitness studio. I specially love their beach body workouts. At the moment the videos are only in German but exercises ask for no language. 😉 Subscribe for the trial period and see how you like it and do share the feedback.

And when you be done with water, sand and sun, then take a drive down to a pretty little town, La Oratova in North Tenerife. Here you can spend a day walking through old lanes featuring the typical ancient Spanish wooden doors and balconies. When tired, rest by at some cafe and drink local wine for prices so cheap that you will be surprised. I am sharing below lots of pictures from this small pretty town simply because small towns and countryside fascinates me like nothing else.

 

 

Every other door got my attention with its exquisite carvings.

 

 

And the lanes in which you can just get lost and not care about the world…

 

 

There is something very royal about Spanish wooden architecture.

Tenerife is also a proud owner of Parque Nacional Del Teide (Del Teide National Park). It is one of the the most visited heritage sites of the world. To excite you a little bit, this place is extremely similar to Mars in terms of geographical conditions and serves as a testing site for robots. This place is a must see for it makes you feel like in a different world that of rocks and lava. And just BTW films like ‘Planet of the Apes’ and ‘Star Wars’ were also shot here. The way to Teida is an experience in itself that you should not miss and you can easily drive to the highest permissible point from where you can take a rope-way and get further up to the peak.

TIP- Book your tickets beforehand for the rope-way. Also, if you want to trek up till the crater then you have to make prior reservation on their official website. Lastly, do carry a warm jacket with yourself as the temperature keeps falling as you go higher.

Way  to the Teida is extremely beautiful and one that you will always remember.

Mount Del Teida

On our way back, we stopped by at this beautiful and quiet beach, El Medano. It´s a black sand beach but great if you don’t want to see lot of people and get some alone time. However, know that there is a section of the beach that is exclusively for naturists.

Another of my favourite things from this place was whale and dolphin watching. Seeing them in the most natural surroundings is way more chic and fun than seeing them dance in a zoo. I am sharing this picture below to give a fair impression of how close you can see them from. I could hear the whales breath. Yea, that close!

And now getting to my favourite part- `fashion´, here are my beach essentials for 2014. You can click on any photo to view enlarged gallery (and also read captions).

xoxo