As far as Tenerife road bike routes go, by far the most famous ride is cycling up Mount Teide. The mountain dominates the island and if you're coming to Tenerife to cycle, it's unthinkable you'd leave without tackling it. 

There are five major routes up; our post will help you choose which to do - Cycling Mount Teide: which is the best Teide cycling route? Any one of these up and down routes of Teide could easily be a whole ride in itself: even the fittest amateurs will take at least 2.5 hours to climb to the top.

But if you've got all day and want a truly special ride, check out our two Teide loops below. On a good day, we reckon either of these could be contenders for being one of the best cycling Tenerife routes, if not the best road bike rides in the world.

Yes, you've got to tick off the Teide climb by bike. But there are some other awesome Tenerife bike routes too. To really experience the island, ride the road north to Masca where craggy Andes-style mountains are dotted with rustic Spanish villages before they plunge into the turquoise sea. The scenery is epic - but so are the gradients. This is one tough ride.

From Masca it's not far to the unforgettable Teno lighthouse. The road clings to the cliff and offers draw-dropping Atlantic views before bringing you to the spectacular lighthouse at the end of the peninsula. 

We also love our Anaga loop. It's on one of the island's most beautiful roads where you'll find quiet, smooth ribbons of tarmac that wind up into green forests and down narrow lanes to the sea. It's easier than the Masca loop too...

However, you do need to bear in mind that Masca and Anaga are in the north of the island. This can make accessing these rides a bit tricky unless you have your own transport or book a tour. Something to think about when you decide where to stay: our guide towhere to stay in Tenerife for cyclists might help! Also check out our map below, which shows the routes overlaid on each other, so you can see their location on the island.

Guide to our favourite Tenerife routes

Each of the four buttons below are links to in-depth guides to what we think are the best cycling routes on Tenerife. Click through and find out what to expect - you'll find our firsthand account of the ride, GPX files, photos and lots more.

If you hate climbing, cycling holidays in Tenerife are not for you!

Most of the roads either go up or down, there's very little in the way of flat cycle routes on Tenerife. What there is is not that exciting. 

But while most of the roads go up or down, at least the main roads (like those up Teide) are generally at decent gradients (just avoid some of the extremely steep side roads). This makes the island more accessible and are among the only roads that are good for cycling in Tenerife for beginners. Cycling in Tenerife is more about endurance than extreme fitness: you don't need to be a Contador or Quintana, you "just" need to be able to keep going for kilometre after kilometre!

If you're looking for a rest day ride that avoids some of the major climbs you should be able to put together an easy-moderate route with a bit of planning. Here are some ideas for bike routes in Tenerife that take in a little less climbing:

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If you're deciding where's best to stay in Tenerife for cyclists, start with our in-depth article on the pros and cons of each resort: Best places to stay in Tenerife (for cyclists). It also includes hotel suggestions for cyclists.

We spent five nights at Landmar, Playa La Arena (formerly Be Live, Playa La Arena). It's a large hotel with lots of facilities and it's a good option if you're travelling with children and/or looking for an all-inclusive package. 

We enjoyed our stay here. Our 2 and 4 year old kids loved the facilities and we liked the location.

Want more information on where to stay in Tenerife?

Read our in-depth post on Tenerife's different resorts and hotels.

Looking for road bike rental in Tenerife? Below you'll find all the road bike hire shops we've been able to uncover on Tenerife. Missed one? Please let us know! We haven't used these ourselves but would love to hear your experiences. Please drop us a line!

Biking Tenerife is possible from any part of the island but you'll soon see that most of the cycle hire in Tenerife is clustered where most of the tourists are: in the southwest. If you're staying somewhere else, don't despair, some of the bike rental shops will deliver bikes across the island. We've made a note of where they offer this.

Most of the cycling Tenerife bike hire and rental shops also offer Tenerife cycling tours and excursions, from half days to multi day cycle training camps which are great ways to get to know the island from a local's perspective, and discover the best riding on the island.

This information is offered as an indicative guide only: we periodically update it but prices, services and bike brands may change. Please let us know if you find anything that is incorrect.

Undecided on whether to hire a bike or bring your own? Read this now.

Average temperatures in Tenerife remain a solid 17-24 throughout the year, making it a good choice for anyone looking to cycle Tenerife in the sun. Rainfall is also low - you're most likely to get rain in December and even then it's only on average for 6 days of the month.

Throughout the year it's worth remembering that the north side of the island is often cooler and wetter than the south. There's a reason the scenery in the north is greener than the arid rocky south! Also know that the upper part of the island is often shrouded in a thin layer of clouds that forms around Mount Teide at 1,000-1,500htm.

As for the difficult question of exactly how much cooler and wetter the north is than the south, we asked local cyclist Carolyn Gaskell to comment. She lives in the north-east of the island and had this to say:

"Yes, it’s definitely wetter and colder in the north compared to the south. But it’s also much more beautiful! The north side (Los Silos - Puerto De la Cruz get the sunsets and is in the shade of the Teide and therefore cool in the mornings - generally). It’s much busier traffic wise that side, because the motorway stops at Puerto, so all the cars are on the main road. The side roads through the villages are nice, but steep! The Anaga mountains, is my favourite area, they are very often covered in a light mist cloud, and it also rains properly up there too. February-March are usually the worst months for rain. August is commonly the worst month for winds, November to January, usually have the calmest weather, but it’s not an exact science... and the last few years have been quite unpredictable!"

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Personalised Print

We used and liked the following two guidebooks during our Tenerife trip:

If you like physical maps for route planning, it's worth buying the Globe series map of Tenerife. At 1:75,000 it shows all the roads relevant to cyclists. It is annotated with symbols for things like gas stations and tourist destinations which you may either like or not.

Tenerife has two airports, one in the south in the municipality of Granadilla de Abona (this is the larger of the two) and the other in the north in San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Decide where you want to base yourself before booking your flights! You can see the location of the two airports in this article by Sky Scanner.

Before you set out on your bike, don't miss our article, top tips for cycling Tenerife. It's full of practical ideas to help make your cycling in Tenerife as good an experience as possible.

What's next?

Did you enjoy our guide to Tenerife? Let us know in the comments below!

Wondering about other Canary Islands cycling? We have guides to cycling the Canary Islands including Lanzarote cycling and our guide to cycling in Gran Canaria.

Or perhaps, other destinations in Spain? Our article on the best places for cycling in Spain is a must-read. 

Alternatively, if Spain isn't for you, check out our destinations page. There you can search by the month you want to travel or cycling destination you want to visit, with new articles and in-depth cycling guides added all the time!

Or check out our other articles on Tenerife, below. 

Banner photo credit: Henner Damke/Shutterstock.com