Practical information · Guide to north Tenerife
Do you need a car in Tenerife?
In the north and in the midlands, yes. What the bus covers, what it does not, and what road access to a country house in Icod is really like.
- 2 minread
- 22 September 2026checked
- 2sources
Short answer: to stay in the northern midlands, yes. The listing itself says so, and we repeat it here because we would rather you read it before booking than after.
What public transport covers
TITSA, the public bus company, covers the northern coastal corridor well: lines link Icod with Puerto de la Cruz, La Orotava, La Laguna, Santa Cruz, Garachico and Buenavista, and one crosses south via Santiago del Teide. What it does not cover is the midlands, which is where this house is and where most of what is interesting inland sits.
What the access to the house is like
Driving in the north, in four notes
- The TF-5 is the northern motorway and genuinely backs up at rush hour between Santa Cruz, La Laguna and Puerto de la Cruz. Allow extra time if you are heading to the airport.
- Midland roads are narrow with tight bends. It is not hard, it is slow. If someone comes up behind you in a hurry, let them past.
- Fuel in the Canaries is considerably cheaper than on the mainland. Live prices for every station are on the Ministry's official geoportal.
- There are no petrol stations inside Teide National Park. Go up with a full tank.
If you really do not want to drive
It is possible, but let us be realistic: you would depend on taxis to reach and leave the house, and outings would have to be built around the coastal bus lines. For Punta de Teno, for instance, cars are banned anyway and you go in on the 369 from Buenavista. For Teide there are lines 348, 341 and 342, but with very limited timetables. Our honest advice: hire a car.
Finca Julia is a few minutes from all of this.
Check availability on Airbnb — Opens the official Airbnb listing in a new tabSources
Updated on: · Reviewed on:
This guide is written from a house in Icod.
Finca Julia is a Canarian house for four in the hills above the town. Availability and price are on the official listing.
Plans
Plans that pass through here
Experiences and itineraries that share places with this page.
- DayA whole day without getting in the carWhat you can do in Icod on foot and by bus: the old town, the dragon tree, the beach and the TITSA lines through the town's station.
- PlanA morning with children in IcodEight hundred butterflies under glass, a dragon tree you can do in twenty minutes and a beach with showers and black sand. Three stops within six minutes.
Keep reading
The whole guide
© Falk2 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2 min read
Getting to Icod de los Vinos: airports, flights and car
© Quartl · CC BY-SA 3.0 3 min read
A week in northern Tenerife
© H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0 2 min read
Punta de Teno and Masca: how access works now
Finca Julia · Icod de los Vinos
And at the end of the day,
the terrace.
An old Canarian house on the hillside, with the Atlantic in front. Availability and price are on the official Airbnb listing.