In Tenerife, the season that matters is not summer. While Europe heads into autumn, the island keeps its mild days and its calendar fills with reasons to travel: new wine, music, carnival, flowers in the streets. This is not a diary of specific days but a guide to deciding when to go. Exact dates change every year: always confirm them on each event’s official website.

One practical detail first: the Canary Islands are one hour behind mainland Spain all year round, on the same time as the UK.

The essentials

  • Late November: San Andrés, the new wine and the tablas in the north.
  • January and February: the Canary Islands International Music Festival, with the Auditorio de Tenerife as its main venue on the island.
  • February or March: the Santa Cruz Carnival, a Festival of International Tourist Interest.
  • Winter: Teide, on some days, under snow.
  • May or June: the Corpus carpets in La Orotava.

Autumn: the new wine

After the harvest, the north of the island is at its best for anyone wanting to understand its wine. It is the season of the guachinches, which open for a few weeks to sell their harvest, and it peaks at the end of November with San Andrés. Tradition has the cellars opened and the new wine tasted, with roast chestnuts alongside.

In several towns in the north, such as Icod de los Vinos and La Guancha, the eve also brings the tablas de San Andrés: locals sliding down very steep streets on wooden boards, a custom that goes back to bringing timber down to the coast. It is noisy, local and not at all touristy. Check each town hall’s programme, because events move from day to day depending on the year.

To prepare, read Tenerife’s wines.

January and February: music

The Canary Islands International Music Festival is held every winter across several islands, and its great stage in Tenerife is the Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín, Santiago Calatrava’s building in Santa Cruz, with a symphony hall of 1,616 seats. Its 42nd edition ran from 8 January to 7 February 2026; the next is expected to follow the same winter calendar. Hearing an orchestra in January and walking out in shirtsleeves is one of the island’s quietest pleasures.

February or March: Carnival

The Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival has been a Festival of International Tourist Interest since 1980, and falls in February or March depending on the year. It is the island’s great party and there is nothing quiet about it: the capital fills up for days. Knowing the dates works both ways, to join in or to stay clear. If you are after calm, choose the north or the middle slopes during those weeks and save Santa Cruz for another time.

Winter: Teide under snow

On some winter days the summit of Teide wakes up white, and seeing it from the coast, with the sea in front, is a sight few destinations offer. It cannot be planned: it depends on each storm, and when it snows the access roads to the national park may close. Remember, too, that climbing to the peak requires a specific permit from the National Park (the Telesforo Bravo trail, no. 10), and that the cable car does not give access to the summit. Information as of October 2026: check the park’s official channel before you go.

May or June: Corpus in La Orotava

For Corpus Christi, whose date follows the liturgical calendar, the streets of La Orotava are covered with ephemeral carpets of flowers and coloured earths, made by hand by local residents. It is one of the island’s most beautiful traditions, part of a festival season that continues with a pilgrimage (romería) and the baile de magos. Go early, before the procession passes, and walk slowly: it is an art made to last a single day.

Our view

If we could choose only one moment, it would be late November: the green north, the new wine in the cellars and the island still quiet before Christmas. And if the trip is in winter, make it coincide with a concert at the auditorium: the contrast between the music and the climate explains, better than anything, why so many people come back to Tenerife every year.

Dates are indicative; information as of October 2026. Confirm the calendar on each event’s and town hall’s official website before booking your trip.