A week in northern Tenerife

A week based in Icod covers far more than people expect, with one condition: three things must be booked weeks ahead and the rest is decided each morning by looking out of the window. This itinerary is built that way.

Day 1 — land and do nothing

Shop at the supermarket in Icod, drive up to the house and have dinner outside. If you arrive in daylight, walk the old town: Plaza de la Pila, Calle San Sebastián and the dragon tree from the viewpoint, free. A day of acclimatising is not a wasted day; it is what stops the rest of the week turning into a race.

Day 2 — the Cueva del Viento and the old town

Morning slot at the cave: two and a half hours between lava field and lava tube, with the visitor centre minutes from the house. Afterwards, the Parque del Drago and lunch in the old town. In the afternoon, San Marcos beach.

Day 3 — Garachico and the west coast

The town a volcano buried in 1706, which now swims in the pools that same lava left behind. A listed historic quarter, a 16th-century castle and the El Caletón pools. It takes half a day, so the afternoon can end at Charco del Viento if the sea allows.

Day 4 — Teide

From Icod you climb via Chío on the TF-38, usually the easier option, or drop to the TF-5 and go up through La Orotava on the TF-21. If there is low cloud on the coast, so much the better: you will drive through the sea of clouds. Go up with a full tank — there are no petrol stations inside the park — and with proper warm clothes, even if it is 25 degrees below.

Day 5 — Teno, with the rule almost nobody knows

Punta de Teno bans private cars every single day. You get there on the 369 bus from Buenavista station for one euro. It is worth the faff: a lighthouse, the Los Gigantes cliffs beyond and arguably the island's best sunset. On the way, the Masca viewpoint.

Day 6 — Anaga, a full day

It is the opposite end of the island and you feel it: leave early. Start at Cruz del Carmen, take one of the trails that leave from there, and drop down to Taganana and the north coast. If you want the enchanted forest of El Pijaral, you need a permit booked a fortnight ahead.

Day 7 — whatever you feel like

Leave the last day open. Options depending on how you are holding up: the Rambla de Castro walk if there is energy left, the Chinyero lava field if you want one more volcano, a winery of the Ycoden-Daute-Isora denomination if you want something slow, or not moving from the terrace. This is Tenerife: the day you do nothing counts too.