If you rent a car on Tenerife without this specially designed guide, you run the risk of missing the very best parts of the island. Real Tenerife Island Drives is about showing visitors to Tenerife that there's much more to this island than just the sun soaked beaches of the coastal developments. There's history, beauty, culture and tradition set in a landscape that varies from lava strewn crater, through pine coated forest and vine covered terraces to coastal banana plantations, rocky shores and fine sand, palm tree lined beaches.

Throw into the mix a culture where fiestas are as important as work and you'll find fireworks, traditional costumes, bullock-led carts, goat filled streets and an atmosphere of fun and celebration somewhere on the island just about every week of the year.

Having 'Island Drives' is like having your own personal tour guide in the car with you. Why? Because 'Island Drives' has been written by people who actually live in Tenerife and have spent three years as travel writers exploring the island.

There are many towns and villages on Tenerife that remain shy of the standard tourist trail and unseen by most visitors. Even those that are firm favourites with tour companies have unseen corners just a stone's throw away from unsuspecting groups of visitors.Take a look at some of Tenerife's lesser known beauty spots waiting to be discovered when you explore Tenerife.

Discovering Tenerife's hidden delights and getting to know its people and customs, they've used their accumulated knowledge to design a series of road journeys that take you off the standard tourist trail and into the heart of Tenerife to experience its dramatic scenery, historic towns and prettiest hamlets.

On Tenerife, the ratio of altitude (sea level to 3718 metres) to surface area (86km long, 56km wide) provides a multitude of micro-climates, and the volcanic make-up of the land offers unrivalled drama in its scenery.

With 'Island Drives' you can move through spectacular landscapes from snow to sunbathing in a half day journey.

May is marked by the Fiesta of the Cross, especially in Los Realejos and Puerto de la Cruz. Flypa has become a major part of the weekend's celebrations when the daytime skies are filled with the multicolored chutes of paragliders, the nights rock to fireworks and top Latino bands like Orishas and, if sunbathing on beautiful Socorro beach, you can never be sure who, or what might drop in.

With over 100 car hire companies operating on Tenerife, most of which you may never have heard of, choosing a company to best suit your needs can be a hit and miss affair.
To help, we've compiled an independent on-line guide to car rental companies on Tenerife.