Puerto De La Cruz Car Hire

Things to Do Near Puerto de la Cruz by Car

For UK travellers based in the historic resort of Puerto de la Cruz, a hire car can help unlock the green landscapes of northern Tenerife. While the island’s south is known for purpose-built holiday resorts and arid beaches, the north has ancient laurel forests, volcanic coastlines, colonial towns and steep mountain passes.

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Before you turn the ignition key, it is worth noting that Puerto de la Cruz itself is highly walkable. The streets are historic, narrow and often pedestrianised, which means parking in the town centre can be difficult to find. For the following attractions, we recommend leaving your hire car in its parking space.

Loro Parque

Tenerife’s well-known animal adventure park is on the western outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz. While the park does have its own paid on-site car park, driving there from the town centre is unnecessary.

Instead, you can take the Loro Parque Express. This bright yellow, tractor-pulled land-train runs every 20 minutes from the Plaza de los Reyes Católicos in the heart of Puerto de la Cruz. The service is free of charge, takes you directly to the park gates and saves you the hassle of navigating local traffic and paying for parking.

Playa Jardín

This black-sand beach was designed by the Canarian artist and architect César Manrique. It features landscaped gardens, stone walls and waterfalls running alongside the volcanic sands. Because Playa Jardín sits on the western edge of the town, it is easily reachable on foot from most central hotels. Street parking near the beach is highly competitive and mostly restricted to tight residential streets, so walking is the easier option.

Lago Martiánez

On the eastern side of the town’s waterfront, Lago Martiánez is a multi-pool lido complex, also designed by César Manrique. It is built from volcanic stone, white concrete and emerald-blue seawater.

The complex is walkable from the town centre. If you are returning to Puerto de la Cruz from a day trip and want to stop here directly, be aware that street parking is virtually non-existent. However, you can use the underground car park at the nearby Centro Comercial Martiánez, which charges a rate of approximately €1.50 per hour.

For other in-town dining, shopping or seaside strolling, a car is optional and often more trouble than it is worth.

Icod de los Vinos & Garachico — North-West Loop

If you want an easy, rewarding afternoon drive, head west out of Puerto de la Cruz on the TF-5. This coastal highway gives you views of the Atlantic Ocean on your right and steep, banana-plantation-covered hillsides on your left.

Puerto de la Cruz ➔ TF-5 West ➔ Icod de los Vinos ➔ Garachico ➔ Return

Icod de los Vinos

Your first stop, roughly 24 km west of Puerto de la Cruz, is the historic town of Icod de los Vinos. The town’s main claim to fame is the Drago Milenario (the Thousand-Year-Old Dragon Tree), an iconic symbol of Tenerife with thick, interlocking branches that resemble a mythical beast.

  • Money-Saving Tip: You do not need to purchase a ticket to enter the botanical park just to see the tree. You can enjoy an excellent, unobstructed view of the Drago Milenario for free from the adjacent Plaza de Andrés de Lorenzo Cáceres, right next to the historic Church of San Marcos.
  • Parking: Avoid trying to find street parking on Icod’s steep, narrow cobbled hills. Drive directly into the Parking del Drago underground car park. It costs around €1.80 per hour, but the first hour is completely free—giving you time to view the tree, take photos and buy some local Malvasia wine before moving on.

Garachico

From Icod, drive down the winding descent of the TF-5 for another 15 minutes (around 10 km) to reach the coastal village of Garachico. Once Tenerife’s main commercial port, Garachico was destroyed in 1706 when the Arenas Negras volcano erupted, sending rivers of black lava flowing through the town and into the harbour.

The town rebuilt itself on top of the cooled lava. Today, the main attraction is El Caletón, a series of natural swimming pools formed where the molten rock met the cold ocean.

  • Safety Warning: Entry to these pools is free, but they are closed by local authorities if the Atlantic swells are high or the seas are rough.
  • Parking & Driving: Garachico’s historic core is a grid of exceptionally tight, one-way cobbled streets. Do not attempt to drive into the centre. Instead, look for parking spaces along the wide maritime avenue (Avenida de Colón) or use the large, free public gravel parking lot located right by the football pitch on the eastern entrance to the town.

Anaga Rural Park

For dramatic mountain vistas, ancient cloud forests and wild coastlines, a drive into the Anaga Rural Park is non-negotiable. This is an area where a hire car is essential, as public transport options here are sparse and highly restrictive.

To reach Anaga, take the TF-5 east past the university city of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, and then join the TF-12 ridge road which climbs steeply into the mountains. If you want to drive all the way to the remote northern beach of Playa de Benijo, the total distance from Puerto de la Cruz is about 58 km, taking roughly 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes one-way.

Driving Conditions & Tips

  • The Roads: The route through Anaga is a feat of road engineering, but it consists of narrow, cliff-cut roads, continuous hairpin turns and blind bends shaded by a dense canopy of ancient laurisilva (laurel) forest.
  • Motion Sickness: If you have back-seat passengers, be warned: the relentless left-to-right swaying on the mountain bends is a prime trigger for travel sickness. Drive slowly and keep the windows cracked for fresh air.
  • The Green Buses: You will share these narrow roads with the large green TITSA public buses. If you meet a bus on a tight hairpin, do not panic. The bus driver will expect you to hold your position or, occasionally, shift into reverse to back up to a wider section of the road (a designated apartadero).
  • Parking Strategy: The main trailheads and viewpoints, such as Cruz del Carmen and the tiny parking areas overlooking the black sands of Playa de Benijo, are incredibly popular. The limited parking spaces usually fill up completely by mid-morning (around 10:00 AM). Plan to arrive early to secure a spot.
  • Fuel Warning: There are absolutely no petrol stations inside the boundaries of the Anaga Rural Park. Ensure you have at least a half-tank of fuel before you leave the TF-5 motorway at La Laguna.

Santa Cruz, the Cruise Port & the ZBE

If you fancy a day of high-street shopping, striking modern architecture and a taste of authentic Canarian city life, Tenerife’s capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, is an easy drive. Located approximately 38 to 40 km east of Puerto de la Cruz, it takes just 30 to 40 minutes along the fast-moving TF-5 motorway.

  • Commuting Tip: Avoid driving towards Santa Cruz between 07:30 and 09:00 on weekday mornings, as the TF-5 suffers from heavy commuter traffic heading into the capital.

Once there, you can explore the wave-like Auditorio de Tenerife (designed by Santiago Calatrava), watch the cruise liners dock at the port, or shop along the pedestrianised Calle Castillo.

The Santa Cruz Low-Emission Zone (ZBE)

Like many major Spanish cities, Santa Cruz has introduced a Zona de Baja Emisión (ZBE) or Low-Emission Zone in its central historic quarters to curb air pollution.

  • How it works: Vehicles entering the ZBE must display an official environmental badge on their windscreen, issued by the Spanish traffic authority (DGT).
  • Hire Cars: Fortunately, most modern hire cars in Tenerife are compliant, late-model vehicles that carry either a DGT "C" label (green) or an "ECO" label (blue and green).
  • The Fine: Do not ignore the signs. Unauthorised entry into the ZBE by a non-compliant vehicle, or entering a restricted pedestrian-first zone within the ZBE without a hotel permit, carries a strict €200 fine. Keep your eyes on the clear circular road signs with a red border containing an illustration of a car with exhaust smoke.
  • Good News: There is currently no ZBE in Puerto de la Cruz, so you can drive freely around your holiday base without worry.

Teide & La Orotava

No list of day trips from Puerto de la Cruz is complete without mentioning Tenerife's two grandest landmarks. Because of their depth and variety, we have dedicated full driving guides to both destinations:

  • Mount Teide: For the high-altitude drive through pine forests and alpine lava deserts to Spain's highest peak, read our comprehensive Puerto de la Cruz to Teide Drive Guide.
  • La Orotava: Just a 15-minute climb inland from Puerto de la Cruz lies this aristocratic town of wooden balconies and botanical gardens. Plan your visit with our dedicated La Orotava Car Hire Guide.

Distances and Driving Times from Puerto de la Cruz

The table below provides a quick reference for planning your day trips, using the most direct and reliable routes starting from Puerto de la Cruz.

Destination Distance (One-Way) Est. Driving Time Primary Route Driving Difficulty
**La Orotava**6 km (3.7 miles)12–15 minsTF-312 / TF-324**Easy** (Steep urban hills)
**Icod de los Vinos**24 km (15 miles)25–30 minsTF-5**Easy** (Well-paved coastal highway)
**Garachico**34 km (21 miles)40 minsTF-5**Moderate** (Some tight coastal curves)
**Santa Cruz de Tenerife**38 km (24 miles)35 minsTF-5**Easy** (Multi-lane motorway driving)
**Anaga (Cruz del Carmen)**38 km (24 miles)50 minsTF-5 to TF-12**Hard** (Continuous hairpins & narrow lanes)
**Anaga (Playa de Benijo)**58 km (36 miles)1 hr 25 minsTF-5, TF-12, TF-134**Hard** (Extreme hairpins & steep drops)
**Teide (El Portillo Visitor Centre)**31 km (19 miles)45 minsTF-21**Moderate** (Long mountain climb)

Explore Tenerife at Your Own Pace

While Puerto de la Cruz has good public transport connections to the main cities, relying on bus timetables means missing out on the remote corners of Tenerife. A hire car gives you the freedom to watch the sunset over the cliffs of Garachico, hike through the misty trails of Anaga before the crowds arrive, and stop at roadside fruit stalls along the north coast.

When booking your vehicle, ensure your rental package includes unlimited mileage so you can explore every winding mountain road without watching the odometer.

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