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.

Book your car online with one of Tenerife's most respected car hire companies and receive a FREE copy of Real Tenerife Island Drives

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.

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.

The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies may have sparked fresh interest in the mavericks of sea, but pirates didn’t merely pillage and plunder the seas on the other side of the Atlantic; the Canary Islands were also favourite hunting grounds. Although the days when pirates used to terrorise the waters and coastal communities around Tenerife are long gone, there are still plenty of remnants left from the islands battles to protect itself from raids from corsairs and privateers. Click here to read about some of these scurvy seadog’s audacious exploits.

It's July and temperatures are starting to soar (as if 25+ degrees wasn't hot enough), so it's the green light for Tinerfeños to take to the beaches in their droves. For the next three months, space on the main beaches will be at a premiun as Tenerife's black and golden sands fill with Canarios and Spanish mainlanders. Who can blame them, there are some great beaches on Tenerife. This is Playa la Tejita, near the bohemian resort of El Médano.

Compare prices of flights from 100's of the UK's top airlines and flight operators and book directly with them...

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.

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

Discover a vibrant, fascinating and friendly island rich in history and culture.