Me and the wife are planning on some autumn sun and biking. Tenerife seems like the ideal place at the end of October.

However, as I’ve never been, which bits of the island are nice, ideally by the coast and with some road riding from the door?

Whichever bits binners doesn’t go to. 😀

I really enjoyed going up and saying at the elksa retreat in the mountains.

Failing that the north of the island is less tragic than the south.

Go see Darren at lavatrax he will show you the interior

The north west gets wet.

There’s loads of fancy houses in away from the main tourist bits that are lovely. I think they call it Agri-tourism.

If you must go coastal, I’d say the area around Costa Adeje is nicest.

I wouldn’t go to Americas if you were paying me…

https://www.spain-holiday.com/Tenerife/articles/guide-to-the-best-nudist-beaches-on-tenerife

was there for 2 weeks over easter.
spent time in Vilaflor which is about the highest small town you can stay in, was great for walking and you can ride up to Tiede. also spent some time on the east coast just below Santa Cruz and then in Santa Cruz itself.

i would avoid the south around Costa Adeje/Los Christianos.
Oratrava, Las Laguenetas and Anaga are stunning. we did a walk around Taganana and Arfur in the north and it was a beautiful area. there is zero flat though, its either up or down and the roads are very narrow and twisty. we zig-zagged up through forest for over an hour before coming out on the ridge that runs down the middle of the island with views to east and west.

the other half wanted warmth and sunshine so we stayed south and east but in hindsight we would go north and west for the lush scenery. San Cristobal is worth a visit too.
i’m guessing the best road riding is in the south as there are more roads there and some flat bits.
do book a guided tour up the volcano, we paid a fair whack for a 1:1 guide but that was the only way to avoid the queues and get a permit to go to the top.
we walked up to the rim of the caldera north of Villaflor through pine forests and did not see a another soul.
would definitely return to the island as it has a lot to offer.

Personally I like the Los Gigantes area

https://goo.gl/maps/1yGo4Vy2SdB2

no idea if the link shows the panorama but its from the road in the north that runs along the ridge with views to both sides of the island.

El Medano if you like windsurfing, kitesurfing..

I’ve stayed in Los Christianos adjacent to Montana de Guaza. The hotel was ok and set up for package holidays but the walking from the door was ok. We walked up Guaza and took the bus to Vilaflor for a walk up to the peak.
Had a ride with Darren and he pointed us at a local bar for local people in Los Christianos with excellent Tapas.
Barraquito coffee is the shizzle, unless you don’t have a sweet tooth.

End of October is half-term so prices may be higher.

north of the island is less tragic

trailrat as much of a fan as I am

Failing that the north of the island is less tragic than the south.

Go see Darren at lavatrax he will show you the interiorDo you not need to stay on the south coast to get picked up by Lavatrax? Looking to go sometime later this year hopefully, I want to do a bit of MTB (not all week), mrs. wants to lay by beach/pool, bit of scenic walking would be good too! Recommendations appreciated!

Have you considered not Tenerife and Madeira instead, it ticks all the boxes.

nope! will have a look, ta

not at all zilog.

we hired a citroen C1 for about 55pence a day as our accomodation was in the mountains.

we then ditched that in siam mall when we met with lavatrax.

We stayed on the edge of Los Cristianos a couple of years ago and it was fine.
I’m not sure I’d wanna be right in the centre of Playa de las Americas, but there’s plenty of decent hotels in the area.

I hired a bike for the day from Bikepoint in Las Americas, which was about a 10 min walk away. I did a nice ride up TF-28 and then onto TF-51 to Vilaflor.

There seemed to be lots of good riding in the area. Take your climbing legs – I found it very hard going (but then, I do live in the flatlands of the Cambs/Lincs border…..)

The north is nicer but wetter. In the south Golf del Sur isn’t too bad (far less built up and chavy than Los Cristianos), and it is well situated for cycling up Teide. But Lanzarote might be a better bet than Tenerife if you are going to the Canaries.

If it’s October how about south of France? French Rivera should still be nice at that time of year.

We stayed a couple of miles down the coast from Costa Adeje earlier this year and it was lovely. You could set off for walks in the morning down the coast, and be strolling down beautiful empty beeches. I wouldn’t have fancied Los Christianos. Unless you like it a bit Blackpool. Hired a bike from Free Motion who were brilliant!

But having been to them all I’d say fuerteventura is by far the nicest island. Far quieter, and less built up, and the riding is great. We’re off back to costa caletta in November, where I’ll be popping in to see Geoff at Caletta cycles. He’s now got a fleet of fat bikes, and is doing big beach tours. Can’t wait 😀

We stayed near El Medano for a month a couple of years ago and loved it. Away from the more touristy areas where you could get a nice coffee and 7 fresh churros for 2euros. Did 5 days with Darren at Lavatrax and really enjoyed. We did consider going back this year but didn’t! But will go back soon

La Gomera, the island next door. Accessible via v short plane ride or ferry

Thanks for all the info.

Tenerife isn’t set in stone, we just want some warm sunshine for a week with some nice road riding. Actually planning on flying out on the 27/28 Oct, which is the end of half term as far as I can see.

Talk to Potdog. He lives there.

If you want guaranteed sunshine in October I’d be avoiding the northern side of the island, it’s getting just into cloudy season for that part of the island. In the south you could look at El Medano, it’s a very chilled out seaside town with great beaches, but can be windy (it’s the main wind surf spot for the island), but definitely worth a look. I’d avoid Costa del Silencio and to some degree Las Galletas, too many problems with low level crime there at the moment. You then get to Golf del Sur which is OK but no great beaches and not much else unless you play golf, plus it’s bang on the landing path for the airport. You’ve got Palmmar, small area of self catering, very quiet with some nice restaurants, but again, not much of a beach. After that you’re into the main over populated areas of Los Cristisnos and Las Americas, the further south you get into Costa Adeje you get the more upmarket (expensive) it becomes, but it’s still very built up, just 5* stuff instead. After that you’re into lesser known resorts of Playa Paraiso and Callao Salvaje, again beach is limited. Playa San Juan and Los Gigantes are the last ones on this side. Still heavily built up, but the clientele tends to be at the older end of the spectrum. San Juan has a decent beach, I’ve not tried Los Gigantes beach but it’s supposed to be ok too.
If you’re after road riding you’ll find some great routes with the monster 50km climb from Cristisnos up to the base of Teide being very popular. Traffic can be heavy near the populated coastal areas but soon thins out.

Hope that helps.

La Gomera, the island next door.

or El Hierro. There’s a campsite near the top, but breakfast is 1500m down the hill. You’ll get fit…