Tenerife in Winter with Kids: Where to Stay, Weather & What to Do

Every winter, when Europe goes grey, the same island fills up first. For fourteen years I worked on the hotel side of the travel business, and Tenerife in winter was one of the most in-demand islands I sold. Families who want sun in December, January or February all aim at the same few resorts, at the same time. So this guide to Tenerife in winter with kids has two layers: what we learned travelling the island with a toddler, and what I learned watching the hotels fill up from behind the desk.

Our own trip was in May 2015, with Damian aged two. I’d spent the first days at a work offsite in Buenavista del Norte, and then my husband and Damian flew in. We stayed five nights in an aparthotel in Callao Salvaje, which cost €145 in total, rented a Hertz car at the airport, and drove the island from the cliffs of Los Gigantes up to Teide.

Quick answers

• Is Tenerife warm in winter? In the south, yes. Daytime highs are around 23°C from December to February. The north is cooler and cloudier, at about 16–17°C in La Laguna, and Teide is close to freezing.
• Where to stay with kids: the south-west (Costa Adeje, Fañabé, Callao Salvaje) for sun and calm beaches. The north (Puerto de la Cruz) suits Loro Parque and a greener island, but expect more cloud.
• Book early: family rooms in heated-pool hotels are the first to sell out around Christmas, New Year and the February half-term.
• Toddlers: under-3s can’t ride the Teide cable car, but they go free at Loro Parque and Siam Park.

Why Tenerife is so in demand in winter

Tenerife is one of the few places within a four-hour flight of most of Europe where a beach day in January is normal, not lucky. That’s exactly why it’s hard to book. From the hotel side, the pattern was the same every year: the family hotels in the sunny south-west filled first, especially the ones with heated pools and family rooms, and prices climbed around Christmas and school holidays.

Tenerife weather in winter: north, south and Teide

The single most important thing to understand: Tenerife has several climates, and in winter they are very different. North-east trade winds push cloud onto the northern slopes, while the south sits in their shelter and stays drier and sunnier.

December–February	Daytime high	Night low	Sunshine
South (Tenerife South airport, near Costa Adeje)	about 23–24°C	15–16.5°C	about 215–220 hours a month
North (La Laguna, 632 m)	about 16–17°C	10–11.5°C	about 140–170 hours a month
Teide (Izaña, 2,371 m)	about 7.5–9°C	about 1–2°C	Snow most winters
Sea temperature	About 19–20°C

AEMET long-term averages. Sea temperature is approximate.

What this means with kids: in the south you’ll have warm, bright beach days, but the sea is fresh, which is why heated hotel pools matter so much in winter. Even in May we found the ocean colder than we expected. And pack warm layers for Teide. We weren’t prepared for how much colder it was up there, and that was in May, not January.

Where to stay in Tenerife with kids in winter: north or south?

For a winter sun holiday with kids, stay in the south-west. That means Costa Adeje, Fañabé, La Caleta or Callao Salvaje. It’s where the sun is, the beaches are calmer, and Tenerife South airport is about 20 km away, roughly a 20-minute transfer, which matters with tired children.

Choose the north (Puerto de la Cruz) if your family cares more about Loro Parque, the green island, La Orotava and the old towns than about the beach, and doesn’t mind cooler, cloudier days. Many families do both: a base in the south, plus a day trip north.

Where we stayed: Atlantic Holiday, Callao Salvaje

We stayed at what was then the Atlantic Holiday Center aparthotel and is now the Atlantic Holiday Hotel, at the quiet north-western edge of Costa Adeje. We had a room with a kitchen, plus a reception like a hotel. With a toddler, the kitchen was the point. We had views of the mountains and the sea, and five nights cost us €145 in total. That was 2015, and you won’t see that price in a winter week today.

Good to know: it’s away from the centre of Costa Adeje, so you’ll want a car, and guest reviews note there’s no air conditioning (fans only). In winter that’s less of an issue.

Family hotels with heated pools: what I’d look at

In winter the sea is around 19–20°C, so for small kids a heated pool is worth paying for. These are the hotels whose official pages state a heated pool and real children’s facilities:

• Hotel Best Jacaranda (4★, Costa Adeje): one pool heated all year, a splash pool with slides and a pirate ship, a Mini Club for 4–12 and family rooms for four. It’s about 500 m from Fañabé beach. The best value on this list.
• H10 Costa Adeje Palace (La Caleta): beachfront, family rooms, a pool heated in winter and the Daisy Club for kids.
• Iberostar Selection Anthelia (5★, Fañabé): heated outdoor pools, three of them for children, with slides and a pirate ship. Star Camp clubs run from babies to 17, interconnecting rooms are available, and the beach is right in front.
• Bahía del Duque (5★, Playa del Duque): a heated children’s pool, a Mini Club for 3–12, and family rooms and villas.
• Royal Hideaway Corales Suites (5★ GL, La Caleta): two- and three-bedroom suites with kitchens and three heated outdoor pools. Don’t confuse it with Corales Beach next door, which is adults-only.
• In the north: Hotel Las Águilas in Puerto de la Cruz (4★) has a pool heated in winter, a kids’ club for 4–12 and two-bedroom suites. It’s on the hillside, 4 km from the beach, so you’ll need a car.

A hotel-side tip: “heated pool” on a booking site can mean one small pool, heated in winter only. If it matters, look for the word “heated” on the hotel’s own website, and check which pool it refers to. Also watch for adults-only names. Several of Tenerife’s best-known hotels are adults-only, including Hacienda del Conde, where my offsite was, so check the age policy before you fall in love with the photos.

Things to do in Tenerife in winter with kids

1. Teide National Park (and the cable car age rules)

Spain’s highest mountain, and in winter there’s often snow on a volcano you can see from a sunny beach. That’s the moment kids remember. Watch the rules, though:

• Cable car: €42 adults and €21 children (3–13), return. Under-3s and pregnant women are not allowed because of the altitude. In winter it runs from 9:00 to 17:00 and can stop for wind or ice, so check the morning you go.
• Summit path (Telesforo Bravo): since January 2026 this needs a paid permit from Tenerife ON (€15 between 9:00 and 17:00; free for under-16s). Under-3s are not allowed.
• After snowfall, the access roads (TF-21, TF-24) can close. Check the national park’s incidents page before you drive up.

With Damian at two, the cable car wasn’t an option for us. We drove into the park and looked at the lava landscape from the road, but we didn’t make the climb. The cold and the wind decided that for us. With a toddler, plan Teide as a scenic drive with a picnic, not a summit day.

2. Los Gigantes cliffs and Playa de la Arena

Los Gigantes was our first stop: sheer cliffs, 500–800 m high, dropping straight into the sea. Next door, Playa de la Arena in Puerto de Santiago is a small black-sand beach, and my husband loved it more than any other beach on the island. Boat trips leave from Los Gigantes to see the cliffs from below.

3. Whale and dolphin watching

Short-finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins live off south-west Tenerife all year, so this works in winter too. Boats leave from Los Cristianos, Puerto Colón and Los Gigantes. Choose a licensed operator: every authorised whale-watching boat must fly the official Barco Azul (blue boat) flag.

4. Siam Park

One of the big Costa Adeje water parks, and it’s open all year (winter hours 10:00–17:00). Tickets are around €44 for adults and €32 for children aged 3–11, and under-3s go free. Check the official site, because prices go up in summer.

5. Loro Parque (Puerto de la Cruz)

The north’s big family day out, good for a cloudy day. Tickets are around €44 for adults and €32 for children aged 3–11, and under-3s go free. There’s a combined Twin Ticket with Siam Park (about €78 for adults and €57 for children). It’s open daily 9:30–17:30.

6. Masca

A village clinging to a ravine at the end of one of the island’s most dramatic roads. We drove it, and found parking hard at the top. We didn’t do the trek. That’s still the right call with small children: the Barranco de Masca hike has a minimum age of 8 and needs a paid booking, and reports in 2026 say it is currently closed. The road (TF-436) has its own rules: large vehicles are banned, and during fire-risk alerts hire cars can be stopped between 9:00 and 16:00, with TITSA bus 355 running instead.

7. Garachico and Buenavista del Norte

On the north-west coast. Garachico is a pretty town rebuilt after a 1706 eruption, with natural rock pools by the sea. Buenavista is the quiet corner beyond it, where I spent the first days of the trip. In winter the north-west is greener and cooler than the south, so it’s good for a wander rather than a beach day.

8. The Drago Milenario in Icod de los Vinos

The island’s famous ancient dragon tree, an easy stop on the way to Garachico. Entry to the Parque del Drago is €5 for adults and €2.50 for children aged 6–11, and under-6s go free.

9. Vilaflor and the Pino Gordo viewpoint

Vilaflor, at around 1,400 m, is one of the highest villages in Spain, on the southern road up to Teide. The Pino Gordo, a giant Canary pine, makes an easy leg-stretch with kids on the way up or down. Bring a jacket, because it’s noticeably cooler than the coast.

10. Las Teresitas beach (Santa Cruz)

We left this one for our last day. It’s a long, golden beach north of Santa Cruz, built with sand shipped from the Sahara, and a 1 km breakwater keeps the water calm. That makes it one of the gentlest beaches on the island for small children.

What’s on in Tenerife in winter

• Christmas and New Year: the peak of the peak. Family rooms in the south book out first.
• Three Kings parade, 5 January: the Cabalgata de Reyes in Santa Cruz is the big night for Spanish children, and the kings throw sweets. It’s free.
• Carnival 2027 in Santa Cruz: the city council’s approved calendar puts the street carnival from 19 to 28 February 2027. The big parade, the Coso Apoteosis, is on Tuesday 23 February, and the daytime carnival (Carnaval de Día), the easiest with kids, is on 21 and 27 February. The theme is Rome. It’s one of the biggest carnivals in the world, so book hotels early.

Tenerife with a toddler: what we’d tell you

• An apartment beats a hotel room. With a two-year-old, having a kitchen made meals and early nights much easier.
• Rent a car at the airport. That’s how we saw the island, one sight a day.
• Build the day around one sight. Los Gigantes, Masca and Teide are all short stops, but the roads are long and winding.
• Pack for two climates: beach clothes for the south, and a warm layer for Teide and the north.
• Know the age rules: under-3s are not allowed on the Teide cable car or the summit path, and under-8s are not allowed on the Masca hike.

How to get to Tenerife

Tenerife has two airports: Tenerife South (TFS), about 20 km from Costa Adeje and the one most holiday flights use, and Tenerife North (TFN) near La Laguna. With kids staying in the south, fly into TFS.

Comparing the Canaries? See Lanzarote with kids (volcanoes, caves, calmer and smaller) and Fuerteventura with kids (the best beaches). For more islands, see our top 10 European islands with kids.

Ready to book? Check family hotels in Costa Adeje for your winter dates →

Tenerife in winter with kids: FAQ

Is Tenerife warm enough for a beach holiday in winter?

In the south, yes. Daytime highs near Costa Adeje average about 23°C from December to February, but the sea is fresh at around 19–20°C, so a heated hotel pool helps with small kids.

Is it better to stay in the north or the south of Tenerife with kids in winter?

The south-west (Costa Adeje, Fañabé, La Caleta, Callao Salvaje) is sunnier, warmer and closer to Tenerife South airport. The north is greener and cooler, and better as a day trip for Loro Parque and La Orotava.

Can toddlers go up Teide on the cable car?

No. Children under 3 are not allowed on the Teide cable car or the summit path because of the altitude. Children from 3 to 13 pay the child fare.

When is the Tenerife Carnival in 2027?

The street carnival in Santa Cruz de Tenerife runs from 19 to 28 February 2027, with the main Coso Apoteosis parade on Tuesday 23 February and the daytime carnival on 21 and 27 February.

Do you need a car in Tenerife with kids?

For exploring, yes. We rented one at the airport, and the island’s sights are spread out along winding roads. If you stay in Costa Adeje and mostly use the beach and the hotel pool, you can manage without one.

When should you book a family hotel in Tenerife for winter?

As early as you can. Family rooms in the heated-pool hotels of the south are the first to sell out around Christmas, New Year and the February school holidays.

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