From Los Cristianos to the Teide Volcano: Half Day Private Bus Tour Excursion
Are you in Los Cristianos and you don’t have your own car and you want to visit the Teide Volcano? Car or no car if you are in Tenerife, of course you want to see the volcano! Otherwise, what would be the point?!?
The Emerald Sea in Madagascar, Vatican City in Italy, Petra Lost city in Jordan, Colombo-Nuwara Eliya Train Trip in Sri Lanka! This is the meaning that the Teide Volcano has for Tenerife. This is why visiting the Teide Volcano should definitely be your priority once you’re on the island!
This was my second time to Tenerife, and I was travelling with my father. Since our main aim was being based in Los Cristianos and enjoying the beach community at its fullest, I didn’t rent a car this time.
I travelled from the Tenerife South Airport to Los Cristianos by public bus. And once we were there we did some excursions without any pressure. Among them was the half day bus tour excursion to the Teide Volcano.
In this post I’m going to tell you how to travel from Los Cristianos to The Teide Volcano by taking a private bus excursion. I could have probably taken a public bus to reach the Volcano, but since I was travelling with my dad, I thought this solution was better. And I was not wrong.
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Where to Buy the Half Day Private Bus Tour Excursion from Los Cristianos to the Teide Mount.
This is not anything that you need to worry about. When you walk around the tourist area of Los Cristianos it is easy to see plenty of tickets stalls everywhere. Just take your pick! There are really a lot of excursion trips on Tenerife by private companies. They will ask for your phone number and the name of your hotel in order to arrange the pickups.
N.B. in case your hotel is outside of the tourist area of Los Cristianos, you may be asked to get yourself to the meeting point.
How much is the Half Day Private Bus Tour Excursion from Los Cristianos to the Teide Mount?
Slideshow below ↓
Before we go on, I just want to tell you first that this day excursion from Los Cristianos to the Teide Volcano with an official guide may or may not include the cable car tickets to reach the higher part of the mount. I mean it’s optional. It’s up to you to decide if taking the cable car to go up to 3550m is what you want to do, or if you want to stay down at the base to wander around. Since my father is asthmatic it’s not allowed for him to go up. So we decided to stay at the lower part, and there really is a lot to see there.
I paid € 26.00 per person for my Half day Private Bus Tour Excursion from Los Cristianos to the Teide National park. And I repeat, we didn’t take the cable car.
The cable car costs € 37.00 (More ticket info here)per person at the official ticket counter, but it can be purchased from your guide on the bus, which I suggest you do instead of buying it at the cable car station. They apply a small commission, but you avoid queues. Above all, given the calculated time you don’t risk missing the ascend.
Be informed that sometimes for some unknown reasons, it won’t be possible to buy a ticket for the cable car once the excursion has started. So, if you are sure about wanting to go up, then don’t hesitate to buy it when you book the excursion.
Half Day Private Bus Tour Excursion from Los Cristianos to the Teide Mount: Itinerary
We took this tour with a company called Tripnivaria but you can find many more options online.
The Teide Volcano excursion takes about six hours, and the tour starts once all the participants are on board. They will check the names one by one. Know that along the way, no other stops than what I listed in my itinerary are made.
10.00 am pick up. According to clients’ hotels, schedules of pick-ups are arranged. If you are outside of the tourist area then you are asked to get yourself to a meeting point, which in our case was the entrance of “Sol Arona” Hotel in Los Cristianos. It is a kind of bus stop where private busses depart to some of the most beautiful destinations in Tenerife. There are some covered benches where you can sit and wait. The exact pickup time is handwritten on your ticket. Once the bus leaves, the guides will explain some interesting facts about the trip. They talk in 5 European languages: English, Italian, Spanish, French, and German.
11.00 am Stop at a local handcraft shop. I liked this shop a lot not only because they sell local handcrafts from Tenerife, but especially because I hadn’t seen these products in the tourist area where I commonly saw Indians selling souvenir items like beach towels and magnets.
12.00 am Stop by the famous Roques de Garcia where you can walk or even hike the rocks. This spot is worth a visit, it deserves a day.
At this point of your half day Teide Excursion you have two options: You can stay here for awhile, or after quickly visiting the Roques de Garcia (in this case they will give you 20 minutes) you can proceed to the cable car lower station from where you can take the Teide Cable Car to La Rambleta station, located at 3550m, where you will be 168 meters from the crater of the volcano.
For those remaining at the Roques de Garcia two hours are given to explore the surroundings. There is also a refreshment point here where you can buy small snacks and use the toilet (€ 1.00).
Know that the cable car and climbing to the top is only optional, and it should not be the main reason of your visit. Teide National Park is so much more than simply reaching the peak. The volcano offers a wide range of interesting views everywhere. So, don’t worry if you choose to stay at Roques De Garcia. This beautiful hiking destination feels like another planet and it would be a crime not to spend a good amount of time here.
12.20 am Departure from Roques De Garcia to Teide. The bus will take the “Teide Group” to the cable car station.
Remember that once you reach 3550m on the cable car, if you want to hike up to the crater you need special permission which should be obtained online ahead of time from the Reservas de Parques Nacionales website. The permit to climb to the peak of Teide is FREE, meaning there is no cost to be paid, but the registration with date and time is mandatory. The permit cannot be issued on site for any reason.
2.20 pm Returning from the lower cable car station to the Roques De Garcia.
2.30 pm pick up at Roques De Garcia. Finally, the bus starts to descend leaving behind the Teide National Park to return to Los Cristianos. You will be left at your pick up point around 4pm.
For more Teide Mount excursions, I recommend booking your ticket in advance here.
Is it a wheelchair accessible trip?
Yessss! A maximum of 2 wheelchairs per bus are allowed and I highly recommend you ask these details upon buying your tickets.
My Opinion About the Half Day Private Bus Tour Excursion to Teide Mount.
One thing I love about the Island of Tenerife is how perfectly tours and trips are organized for any kind of travellers. Tenerife is the only one place in this world that I feel I can suggest to anyone: from children to seniors, everyone can move around the island without a lot of thought since excursions and tours take care of everyone’s needs.
I was travelling with my dad this time and we were able to do this half day bus tour to Teide without overthinking too much. There were also some disabled people in our bus who were taken care of and guided through. As far as possible, obviously.
The routes are extremely scenic: you will pass through green pine forests, fabulous lava fields, and vast sand areas which almost look like a desert.
I truly find it the simplest way to visit the Teide Volcano if you don’t want to rent a car in Tenerife.
Click here if you want to see some pictures on my father’s facebook profile.
