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 five 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.

Tenerife’s countryside boasts an incredible variety of different terrains and scenery. With fascinating routes through dense forests, plunging ravines, ‘other worldly’ volcanic landscapes and unspoiled coastlines, Tenerife is a walker’s paradise; ideal for people who enjoy making the effort to really delve below the surface of the places they visit. Discover the best of Tenerife’s great outdoors with our mini guide to the places to go walking and hiking on Tenerife. NEW - South Tenerife Routes

The authors of Real Tenerife Island Drives are pleased to announce the publication of ‘Going Native in Tenerife ’.
200 pages crammed with in-depth reviews of towns and villages across Tenerife as well as the island’s history, culture, traditions, food and drink, language, climate, extensive calendar of fiestas and not least, suggested itineraries for quick visits, holidays, temporary residence and a whole lifetime of enjoying the best of what Tenerife has to offer.
Available from Amazon and through all good bookshops.

The truth is that we could have chosen any number of photographs for this month. Carnaval on Tenerife is such a colourful and visual affair that it’s a photographers dream. Flamboyant dancing troupes, to stunning queens (at Carnaval you can interpret that any way you like) to the pure bizarre and way past the knuckle risqué – there are some photographs we just couldn't show (well maybe, if you persuade us). However, this one simply captures the spirit of Carnaval on Tenerife – pure unadulterated fun.

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.

Packed with information, anecdotes and stunning photographs, Island Drives is your key to a great holiday in Tenerife.

All that's left now is to order your copy of Island Drives, book your Flights to Tenerife and prepare to discover a vibrant, fascinating and friendly island rich in history and culture.

When it comes to reliable information about Tenerife, the team here at Island Drives are constantly travelling the island to parts that visitors and even most residents never see, trekking along goat trails in the mountains, treading the streets of every town and village, revelling at fiestas until dawn (all in the name of research) and spending endless hours translating reams of sleep inducing Spanish text.

In the About Tenerife pages we share some of our extensive personal knowledge of the island of Tenerife, much of which is entirely overlooked by information sources, tour groups and even the most reputable travel guides...

Carnaval, Climbing Mount Teide, El Médano, Fiesta San Andrés, Fiesta San Roque, Hearts of Tejina, Kite Festival, Los Gigantes, Midsummer Madness, Pirates in Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz, Puerto's July Fiestas, Restaurants in Puerto de la Cruz, Santa Cruz, Siam Park, Walking on Tenerife

**CHECK OUT OUR NEW LOOK 'ABOUT TENERIFE' PAGE - JULY 2009**

You might have noticed by now that Carnaval is the main event this month on Tenerife and when that’s on forget everything else. Expect a month of Murgas concerts, batucada drum beats and Latino bands sexing up the night with hot salsa sounds. Although in Los Cristianos you can enjoy the Arona International Music Festival at the cultural centre from the 12^th to the 20^th.