Tenerife By Bus

Bus Routes: 483[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est] to Los Cristianos. Return: 111[Santa Cruz] to Las Chafiras then taxi home. As you can see from the first photograph in the album I was not alone when I caught the 18:31, which actually arrived at 18:45, to Los Cristianos!  We arrived in ample time for the start of the procession at the 'Cultural Centre' where the 'Sardine' had been lying-in-state.

Bus Routes: 483[Los Cristianos,P Americas Est], 473[Los Gigantes]. Return: 477[P Americas Est, Los Cristianos] to Los Cristianos, 483[El Medano] to Los Abrigos. Due to my confusion as to the destination the day before I decided to set off a little earlier and take some photographs of the route, this time from the back seat of the bus which is even higher. Hopefully these will help to reduce the panic as you make the journey as there are some spectacular views along the way and more destinations for me to visit later. On arrival at a very pretty 'bus station' in Los Gigantes I had lunch in

The 'Fisherwoman' statue at the top of the hill  at the entrance  to Los Gigantes Bus Routes: 470[Granadilla], 111[P Americas Est], 473[Los Gigantes]. Return: 473[P Americas Est, Los Cristianos] to Costa Adeje bus station, 111[Santa Cruz] to Las Chafiras, taxi home. (If you walked up the hill an earlier 473 would have allowed a connection with the 483 to Los Abrigos) A Junior Carnival Queen float The carnival grand parade at Los Gigantes took place at 17:00 on Sunday 4th March preceded by concerts, competitions, Drag Queen Gala and children's days. I had been on the 473 to Adeje (January blogs) so this would give me the opportunity to complete the run and to see a 'village' carnival. Little did I know that the run takes about 1.5 hours (there is an express but being a Sunday!) wending its way through several villages and coastal resorts inducing the panic of where to get off.  We eventually arrived at Los Gigantes however the bus does no...

Bus Routes: 470[Granadilla], 474[Vilaflor, La Escelona]. Return: 482[Los Cristanos], 470[Granadilla] home. I thought that we would have a change of pace between the 'North' and 'South' Carnival seasons so I decided to take at trip to Vilaflor, the highest village in Spain at 1,400 metres (4593 feet 27⁄64 inches). I am told that is higher than any mountain in the UK!  It is difficult to imagine that you are only about 30 minutes away from the beach in Los Cristianos when you see the photos:

Bus Routes: 470[Granadilla] to San Isidro, 111[Aeropuerto Sur, P Americas Est] to Airport South, 343[Aerpurto Norte, Puerto Cruz] to Puerto de la Cruz. Return: 103[Santa Cruz sin parada], 111[Aeropuerto Sur, P Americas Est] to Las Chafiras, taxi home. Having used the direct route to get to Puerto de La Cruz last time I decided to try out a different route this time to see if I could do it cheaper. The Carnival parade did not start until 16:00 so there was plenty of time available. I caught the 470 to San Isidro getting off at the roundabout (rotunda) and waiting for the 111 at the same stop to take me back over to the airport. This second leg of the journey was 'no charge' as you cannot get directly to the airport from Los Abrigos and I wasn't moving 'forward'. At the airport I caught the 343 to Puerto de la Cruz saving me 4-5€ on the journey. The downside was that, for some reason, Titsa miss out the bus at 10:50 on a Saturday so I had to wait until 11:50. T...

Bus Route: 470[Granadilla] to San Isidro, 111[Santa Cruz] Return: 111[Aeropuerto Sur, P Americas Est] to Las Chafiras then taxi home. View my 'Burial of the Sardine' Photo Album Ash Wednesday, 22 February 2012, Santa Cruz Carnival 21:00 Burial of the Sardine which, in theory, should be when carnival ends however the festivities carry on until the end of the week. Indeed Los Cristianos and Los Gigantes do not hold their respective carnivals until March. General Franco's Spain banned these carnivals as they were based on pagan festivals (as was most of the Christian calendar) but the carnivals in Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz continued, they just changed the name. As I had a route for the parade this time I knew where I was going so I took a little time out to wander along the Aida de Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera and have a look at the fair which was much bigger than I had first thought. I also saw my first trams which I must try out on a future visit.

Bus Routes:  843[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est] to Los Cristianos, 343 [Puerto Cruz sin parada (no stops)]. Return:  343[Aeropuerto Norte, Aeropuerto Sur, Los Cristianos],  470[Granadilla]  or 483[El Medano] to Los Abrigos. Whilst the concerts and parties continue in Santa Cruz I thought that we would have a change of pace today and visit Carnival at Puerto de La Cruz for the 'old car' rally held on the Avenida Colõn at 13:00. I am told that not only is it a parade of vintage cars but that the owners and families also wear period dress. I haven't been to Puerto before so I checked the Titsa timetable to see if it was possible then over to the internet cafe and Google gave me the route timings. I caught the 483 at 08:51 as advised but it must have had a fast run arriving in Los Cristianos in time to catch the 343 'direct' at 09:10 instead of the 09:45 which stops at both airports. The down side was that this is the most expensive trip so far at over ...

Bus Route: 843[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est] to Las Chafiras, 111[Aeropuerto Sur, Santa Cruz]. Return: 111[Aeropuerto Sur, P Americas Est] to Las Chafiras, 470[Granadilla] to Los Abrigos.

Bus Route: 483[Las Cristianos, P Americas Est], 111[Santa Cruz] Return: 111[P Americas Est] then taxi or if you have the stamina the early 470[Granadilla] or 483[El Madino] View my 'Santa Cruz Carnival 2012 Parade' Photo Album Hello and off we go to Santa Cruz Carnival 2012, reputedly second only to Rio and I can well believe it! Thinking of a day out, forget it, this party goes on and on. Prior to the opening parade which started at 20:00 on Friday 17th February there has already been a month of competitions for Carnival Queens, marching bands, dancers and choirs culminating in a week of finals in held in the 'Exhibition Centre' and ticket only. I managed to watch a little of the final of the selection for the 'Queen' these are not just dresses they pull them along on a trolley, about all the poor girl can do is wave her arms and smile.

View my 'Submarine Safari' Photo Album The main album this week is 'Submarine Safari'. I took the 470 to Golf del Sur and walked down to the marina though you can also catch the 483 too (both from either direction). The company also run their own bus service from hotels in the resorts. The submarine itself is powered by electric motors which mean that is is ecologically sound both in noise and contaminants. It is a really interesting experience, both from the dive to 20 meters and for the view of the sea life in the area. Did you know that going out off the coastal shelf the sea is as deep as El Teide is high but we don't go that deep! The staff at Submarine Safari are very knowledgeable and helpful and are going to send me some more specs about the sub which I will tell you later. It was actually built in Finland and is very expensive to run so the price of a ticket is very reasonable.

Bus Route: 483[Los Cristianos], 416[Granadilla], 470[Los Cristianos] round trip. View my '416 to Granadilla' Photo Album Hello to all you snowbound folks back home, you will be pleased to know that they have it bad in Spain too but no rain here yet so no snow on the mountains. I had a trip into Las Americas to try and get a spare battery for my camera last Sunday without success I might add. They only sell clones out here and Nikon have built in a sensor which denies the use of third party batteries so be warned if you venture abroad! I wandered down to the sea front and ended up further along the beach, roughly where the view stopped when looking up the street past McDonalds the last time I was here. It has been very windy here for the last week, appears to be dying down now, so there have been 'Orange flag' warnings all along the coast. This did not stop them enjoying themselves with parachutes, probably helped so have included an update to the Costa Adej...

Bus Routes: 470 [Granadilla], 111/115 [Santa Cruz]. Return: 120 [Guimar], 111 [Las Americas], 470 [Granadilla]/483 [El Medano] Hello everyone, It is a public holiday here in the Canaries and possibly Spain, just think if Drake had lost at bowls or Henry had stuck with his first wife we would have had a lot more public holidays! This one is for the Madonna of Candelaria the patron saint of the Islands. I went up to Candelaria yesterday afternoon and managed to get back here just after midnight because they start the procession at a reasonable time. The service starts somewhere between 7 and 8pm depending on dusk I think. This is unique in that pilgrims travel from all over the islands to attend this procession which is conducted by candlelight as all of the street and shop lights are switched off in the old town during the procession.

 Bus Routes: 483[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est], 460[Icod] Return: 460[Costa Adeje], 483[El Medano] or 111[Santa Cruz] get off at Las Chafiras or any bus going to Los Cristianos then 470[Granadilla]. View my 'Santiago del Teide' Photo Album This weekend I had two trips up to Santiago Del Teide for the 'Almond Blossom Festival'. I had intended Saturday but my battery ran out and the temperature had dropped to 11*C in my shorts and polo shirt it became rather cool. I can’t say that I objected, the route itself is well worth the effort again catching the 483 to Costa Adeje station then the 460 to Icod which drops off at our destination which is 1000 metres above sea level. We have been along this route before to Garachico and, before too long I'll get back to Icod for a look around there. Masca is up the road from here, another of 'the' places to visit.  I've taken a few more photos from the bus along the route to give a flavour of the area...

Bus Routes: 483[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est], 473[  ] Return: 473[Costa Adeje], then a choice of 483[El Medano] to Las Abrigos or 111[Santa Cruz] to Las Chafiras or any bus to Los Cristianos then 470[Granadilla] to Los Abrigos. View my 'Adeje' Photo Album Hola – Buenos Tardes Amigos, I was puzzled about the business of Costa Adeje/Las Americas appearing on the timetables and there also being a destination of Adeje (pronounced Adeke)which is in a different place on the other side of the motorway. It turns out that 'Costa Adeje' came about because of the development of the first resort complex of Las Americas. As this was thought to be the major destination the Bus Station was built there and work on the MagMa centre commenced, of course Los Christians expanded the area east and development west to 'La Caleta' makes a virtual continual coastal resort. The whole of this coastline is within the boundary of the Kingdom or Menceyatos of Adeje ruled...

La Caleta, Costa Adeje Bus Route: 843[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est], 416[ ] or 418[ ] Return: 416[ ] or 481[ ], 843[El Medano] or, later, 111[Santa Cruz] to Las Chafiras then taxi. View my 'La Caleta and San Sebastian' Photo Album My ever useful 'Island Connections' newspaper' described a Fiesta at San Sebastian near La Caleta, Cost Adeje, another public holiday. An early 416 bus from Las Americas in the morning to La Calea to avoid the crowds. A look around and a coffee in one of the bar/restaurants along the sea front then a casual walk back to San Sebastian for the fiesta which takes pace on 20th Jan each year. I have shown some alternate bus stops if you do not fancy the walk but you cannot get off near the church as the whole of the village centre is devoid of traffic. The fiesta in honour of Adeje’s patron saint.

Bus Route: 470[Granadilla] or 483[El Medano] Return: 470[Los Cristianos] or 483[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est] Cueva del Santo Hno Pedro It was a sunny but windy day in Los Abrigos so I thought that I would have an afternoon at 'La Tajita' beach. I hopped onto the 470 which, generally, runs that way on the 'half hour' and got of at the required stop. Walking along the path I could sea that the sand was blowing and it didn't feel comfortable enough to stay. Rather than waste the journey I decided to go off and hunt for a cave I had found out about when trying to find more information about the origins of El Medano.  The article said that it was somewhere towards the end of the runway opposite Monana Roja and one of the 'secrets' of the area. Can't be that far I thought. Unfortunately the headwind made it feel twice as far as it was and, foolishly, I didn't have any water with me. Although January and windy it is still hot!

Bus Route: 843[Los Cristianos, P Americas Est]. Return: 843[El Medano]. Or, depending on timetable, any bus to Las Cristianos then 470[Granadilla] if you do not want to wait and, late at night, the 111[Santa Cruz] to Las Chafiras then taxi. Although I had been over to the 'Estaci õ n' at Costa Adeke (referred to on the front of the bus as 'P Americas Est, on local stops as 'Costa Adeje' and in the printed timetable as either 'Playa Americas' or 'Costa Adeje' - confused well so was I at first), I had not been out of the station as I was connecting to another route. A word of warning here - treat your 'Bonobus' card with respect. I had decided to make the journey as it was a dull day and I had two Bonobus cards containing considerable credit which did not work because I had crumpled the magnetic strips on the card. The Titsa Information office, incidentally the Tourist Information Office is down on the sea front, issued me with new card...

Now you know what 'Tapas' are! Food plays an important part of any event View my Las Galletas Photo Album  - This opens the whole  '407 to Las Galletas' album unless you use 'Google' browser. Play slideshow  - this plays the 'show' from the beginning of the '407 to Las Galletas' Album. Bus Route: 470[Los Cristianos] to Las Galletas' Return: 470[Granadilla] to Los Abarigos however a taxi (Fare12 €  at the time)  was required as the event finished after the last bus (about 20:00 hrs). As I mentioned in my last blog, 'Los Cristianos for Christmas', I was going to have a trip into Las Galletas (p.Gayetta) s I had seen that they were having a Christmas Festival too.  The 'English speaking' newspaper 'Island Connections'  (http://www.islandconnections.eu/)  which is published fortnightly keeps a diary of events around Tenerife and is a very useful source of information. It is available from newsagent...

The 'Bus street station' There is a 'Titsa' Info cabin  here Bus Route: 470[Los Cristianos] - the scenic way or 483[Costa Adeje] Return: 483[El Medano] or 470[Granadilla] - the scenic way. View my 'Los Cristianos for Christmas' Photo Album Hola, familiares y amigos, Well this is the last one before Christmas as possibly the year so I thought that I would complete the route 470 run west to it terminus in Los Cristianos. I noticed that they were having a day of festivities on Sunday 18 th and as Patrick's mum and his friend Lee have come out for Christmas I thought that I would take them along for the day.  I decided that we would catch the slower 470 so that they could view some of the coastline and villages along the route rather than the 483 which goes around Golf del Sur then up along the 'Autopista' (motorway) to Los Cristianos.  We ambled down from the bus station past the 'Cultural Centre' where I not...

Bus Route: 470[Los Cristianos] Return: 470[Granadilla] View my Photo Album of the journey Ola Amigos, Well here we are 6 weeks into my stay and the sea is as fascinating as ever as I type this there is a blue haze on the horizon and the sun is glinting off the waves and absolutely nothing in sight. I should be a novelist typing in front of my open window – perfect for inspiration. The temperatures have cooled slightly and there is often a chilly breeze of an evening on this part of the island. I am told that this is not experienced further up the coast at Los Christianos and Play America which is probably why they built them there. The Christmas lights were switched on at the beginning of December and I have updated the 'Los Abrigos' album. As I mentioned we had two public holidays last week the Tuesday and the Thursday. On the Tuesday I went along to the beach this side of El Medano with some friends. I didn't take the camera as this is a family/top...