23 September 2026 · 3 min
A week in northern Tenerife
Seven days from Icod, with what must be booked weeks ahead and what you decide in the morning depending on the weather. A real itinerary, not a wish list.
Magazine
Garachico
Nine minutes from the house: listed old quarter, lava pools, twenty-nine restaurants and five-yearly festivals.
- 6pieces
- 2Charco del Viento: getting there and when to swimThe north's most photographed rock pool, minutes from Icod. Access changed in 2025, there are no facilities, and the swell decides whether you swim.
- 3A month of festivities, and one that happens only every five yearsGarachico's festive calendar: Santa Ana on 26 July, the San Roque pilgrimage on 16 August and the Lustral Feast, held only once every five years.
- 4The two festivals that move every yearNeither has a fixed date: both depend on Easter. How they are worked out and what happens in Icod and Garachico.
- 5Beaches and rock pools near IcodBlack sand, natural pools and volcanic rock pools in northern Tenerife. Which are safe, which are not, and when to swim in each.
- 6Garachico, the town a volcano buriedMinutes from Icod: Tenerife's richest port until 1706, natural pools carved by the lava, and a listed historic quarter.
The north's evening town.