Puerto de la Cruz

Puerto de la Cruz (sometimes abbreviated to Puerto Cruz on road signs or Puerto in everyday language) is a city of the island of Tenerife. It is more family-friendly than the other tourist areas of Tenerife. It is also the longest established most complete of all resorts on Tenerife. The old part of the town keeps beautiful spots, one of the few places where the locals still work, eat and drink. Much of the area around the old fishing port is full of narrow cobbled streets packed with colonial architecture.

Understand
Puerto de la Cruz was established as a fishing village and eventually became the port for the nearby inland city of La Orotava. During the 17th century it developed into the most important port of Tenerife's north coast, used for exporting sugar cane and wine from the Orotava Valley. Over time the city developed a separate identity from that of La Orotava, and finally gained full municipal autonomy in 1808.

In the late 19th century, British elites began to visit, staying in many of the older Spanish manors which had been converted into luxurious hotels. In 1955 mass tourism arrived in El Puerto, or Puerto Cruz, as it is sometimes called, and since then has been the largest basis of the city's economy. It has a wide span of magnificent hotels to suit all tastes and budgets. In addition to its old world charms it offers some of the best visitor attractions in the islands.



By plane
Many people will arrive on a package deal. Some by taxi from the southern airport South–Reina Sofia, around €100, and some by bus via Santa Cruz bus station (easy to do if you do not have too much luggage). Some airlines now fly in by the nearer northern airport Los Rodeos, but on the whole only from mainland Spain.

The Titsa express bus 343 is an efficient but unfortunately infrequent way to reach Puerto de la Cruz from either of the two airports. It only runs 4 times a day. From Aeropuerto Sur a one-way ticket costs €14.60 cash or €9.60 with a ten+ prepaid card; from Aeropuerto Norte €12.40 cash or €8.90 with a ten+ prepaid card. Tickets in cash can be purchased directly from the bus driver, exact change not required.

The last 343 bus from Aeropuerto Sur departs M-F 21:30 and Sa-So 19:20.

By bus


If you travel to/from Santa Cruz, the direct Línea 103 goes by motorway and takes about 45 minutes. Línea 102 has a few more stops and takes about 1 hour.

Going south, you can take Línea 325 to Los Gigantes, a direct bus to Costa Adeje (only a few times a day), or interchange at Santa Cruz bus station.

By car
Puerto de la Cruz is well-connected to the east and west through the TF-5 motorway. The Teide mountain area can easily be reached by just following the TF-21 uphill. Don't listen to your GPS when it proposes leaving that road while you are still within the settled areaː It may be a shorter way to climb up one of the narrow Caminos but it isn't necessarily faster, and depending on how good your navigation system is you might easily end up in a dead end. Driving over the mountain to Los Gigantes will take you over an hour the first time, even if you're brave. If you are nervous, just don't do it as the road winds scarily over high mountains. If you're driving to the Costa Adeje area, it's much quicker to go via Santa Cruz on the motorway, which takes about an hour.

On foot
Once you get away from the main shopping centre it's uphill all the way, and a fairly steep climb in places.

By bus
Inside the city there are no extra buses. Instead, you can use connections to nearby towns or villages to reach certain corners of the city. From the main bus station, see the current connections on the Titsa website.

By car
Navigating the old city centre can be tricky, as there are many narrow one-way roads. A GPS navigation system can help here, but don't trust it blindly as the map data may be outdated.

Finding a parking spot can be even more of a challenge if you don't know where to look for it. Your safest bet is the huge near the harbour (free of charge). To get there, enter the Paseo Luis Lavaggi at its far western end. This road already has some. To get closer to the harbour you can go all the way through, turn left at the traffic light and then follow the road up the hill and along the coast. Note that it is not possible to enter directly from the east through Calle San Felipe. Also note that in some printed maps this is marked as (futuro) Parque Maritimo. Don't get confused by that, as it has been the future maritime park for decades and will probably remain a parking lot for quite some time.

By trackless train
The Loro Parque Express is a free shuttle service that brings you from the city center to the entrance of Loro Parque and back. The little yellow "train" leaves at Plaza de Los Reyes Católicos every 20 minutes hour from 9:30 to 16:30. The first one back leaves the park at 10:15, and then every 20 minutes until 17:30. The trip takes about 15 minutes.

See
The old port area is bustling and has surprisingly good and interesting shops tucked away among many pleasant bars and bistros. While there are lots of tourists in this area, they are mostly Spanish, and the area is pleasantly free of German and British junk food outlets. Real fisherman still go out from here. As there is so little water space in the harbour, boats are lifted in and out of the water by electric cranes; it's very pleasant to sit with a coffee and watch them. You will still see fisherman gutting squid and scaling fish on the harbour steps. The end of the sea wall by the harbour is a good spot to sunbathe and plunge into the sea, if scarily close to the boats powering in and out of the harbour.

Between here and the Lago Martianez is a fairly tack strip of neon-lighted shops selling two-year-old technology at today's market rates, etc, but overall it's a pleasant walk with some nice churches, houses and gardens in amongst them all.

Beaches
About half a kilometre to the west of the harbour is the, the town's lovely natural beach. The sand is fairly coarse and black, and getting into the sea isn't always easy because of the coarser shingle at the water's edge. The surf is substantial, but not scary and there are lifeguards, along with good facilities in terms of sunbeds, changing, showers, toilets, cafes etc. To the east, there is another beach, the – just follow the main promenade east past the Lago Martiánez.

For those seeking a little more seclusion, the black-sand beach of is a short distance to the east of town, with a beach bar for refreshments. Nearby (paid) are available by the Restaurante Bollullo.

Buy
Steer clear of cameras, binoculars, etc from Asian dealers which are not a bargain like they may first seem. You can almost certainly buy them cheaper back home and take them back if they are faulty. Many shops shut for a few hours from midday.



Eat
There are lots of good, affordable restaurants offering typical Canarian and Spanish food in Puerto de la Cruz, especially in the old part of the town. Expect to pay between €15-20 for a meal consisting of grilled fish, Canarian potatoes, mineral water and maybe even a starter such as a bowl of gazpacho soup. Of course most international kitchens are represented too. Food hygiene standards are good, so it's generally safe to eat just about anything.





Grocery stores
For those who self-cater, there are several good-sized supermarkets in town.



Drink
Whatever you like is here though you'll normally have to go down south for 'happy hours' and the disco scene.

Sleep
Better to book before arrival as a tour or on the internet. Some agencies do long lets. Remember that it can be a long way up a steep hill back to your hotel/apartment if you are at La Paz, the back of town or 'German Town' as some call it because of the number of Germans who have bought apartments there. However taxi service in town is very cheap.

Stay safe
Puerto de la Cruz is often hazy, especially in the afternoon. The temperature drops with the haze, but the UV penetration doesn't; it's very easy to get badly sunburnt here on a hazy day if you don't realise this.

Some people who have hired cars here have been told to leave nothing in them overnight and to even leave them unlocked as that way they do not get their windows broken by people looking to steal from them.

Go next

 * — historic city founded after Spanish conquest of the island with well preserved architecture from that era
 * — known for its vineyards
 * — home to the legendary drago tree
 * — former Italian merchant town risen from the ashes of a volcanic eruption