Things to do in and around Icod de los Vinos

The Drago Milenario and the Parque del Drago

From the apartments to the Parque del Drago: 2 km, about 5 minutes by car (approximate, without traffic). (Source: OSRM)

The Drago Milenario is a dragon tree (Dracaena draco) that was declared a National Monument in 1917. It stands inside the Parque del Drago, a three-hectare park planted with species native to Tenerife. (Source: Turismo de Tenerife)

The tree is about 18 metres tall and about 20 metres round at the base. Its age is estimated at around 700 years, give or take 100 to 150; the older claims of thousands of years have not been confirmed by any study. (Source: Wikipedia)

A path through the park runs down the Caforiño ravine to a cave that recreates how the Guanches lived. The park also has viewpoints over Mount Teide, the Atlantic and the historic centre. (Source: Turismo de Tenerife (EN))

Tickets and opening hours

The prices published by Tenerife’s tourist board, checked on 16 October 2026, are €5 for adults and €2 for adults resident in the Canary Islands; children under 6 go in free. (Source: Turismo de Tenerife)

The official listing gives two different sets of opening hours, so it is worth checking before you go. According to the same listing, the park is not adapted for wheelchairs and drones are not allowed. (Sources: Turismo de Tenerife · Turismo de Tenerife (EN))

Icod’s historic centre and the church of San Marcos

A three-minute drive from the apartments.

The historic centre of Icod de los Vinos is listed as a Site of Cultural Interest, and its oldest buildings date from the late 15th century. Its stops include Plaza de la Pila, with its fountain, and Plaza Andrés de Lorenzo Cáceres, next to the Parque del Drago. (Source: Turismo de Tenerife (EN))

The church of San Marcos began around 1500 as a chapel and became a parish church in 1515. Since 2006 it has been listed as a Site of Cultural Interest in the monument category. It combines Mudéjar coffered ceilings with a Mannerist south doorway, holds a large silver filigree cross and has a small museum of liturgical objects, paintings and statues. (Source: Wikipedia)

The old town also has the San Francisco convent and the Casa Museo Emeterio Gutiérrez Albelo, along with traditional buildings with wooden balconies and volcanic-stone doorways. (Source: Turismo de Tenerife (EN))

San Marcos bay

A three-minute drive from the apartments.

By bus, TITSA route 362 runs from the Icod bus station to San Marcos beach in about 10 minutes. (Source: TITSA)

Swimming depends on the sea: on the north coast there are spells of rough sea and spells of calm. When the sea is calm, El Caletón in Garachico is also worth the trip.

The Cueva del Viento

From the apartments to the Cueva del Viento Visitors’ Centre: 5 km, about 10 minutes by car (approximate, without traffic). (Source: OSRM)

The Cueva del Viento is a lava tube formed about 27,000 years ago by lava from the first eruptive phase of Pico Viejo. Eighteen kilometres of it have been mapped, and its official website presents it as the largest lava tube in Europe. (Source: Cueva del Viento)

How to book

It can only be visited on a guided tour, booked and paid for online in advance. The tour lasts two and a half hours, in groups of up to 15 people, and starts at the Visitors’ Centre (c/ Los Piquetes 51, Icod de los Vinos). Places are limited, so do not turn up without a booking. (Source: Cueva del Viento)

The tour is of medium difficulty, with climbs, descents, very uneven ground and steps. Closed trainers or walking boots are compulsory, and children under 5 cannot take part. (Source: Cueva del Viento)

The official prices, checked on 16 October 2026, are €25 for adults, €15 for Canary Islands residents with ID and €8.50 for children aged 5 to 12. Payment is by card only. (Source: Cueva del Viento)

Garachico and the El Caletón natural pools

From the apartments to Garachico: 7 km, about 10 minutes by car (approximate, without traffic). (Source: OSRM)

On 5 May 1706 the eruption of the Trevejo volcano, also known as Arenas Negras, buried much of Garachico and its port, which had been Tenerife’s most important harbour in the 17th and 18th centuries. Nobody was killed. (Source: Wikipedia)

The El Caletón natural pools formed when that lava reached the sea. They sit beside San Miguel Castle, built in 1575 to defend the coast. Tenerife’s tourist board says El Caletón is set up for swimming when the sea is calm, and notes that it is not a sandy beach. (Source: Turismo de Tenerife (EN))

When there is a swell, stay out of the water: the official listing only recommends swimming when the sea is calm. (Source: Turismo de Tenerife (EN))

Since 1994, Garachico’s historic centre has been listed as a Site of Cultural Interest in the historic ensemble category. (Source: Wikipedia)

By bus, TITSA route 363 (Puerto de la Cruz – Icod de los Vinos – Garachico – Buenavista del Norte) runs through Garachico. (Source: TITSA)

La Orotava

From the apartments to Plaza de la Constitución in La Orotava: 25 km, about 25 minutes by car (approximate, without traffic). (Source: OSRM)

La Orotava’s historic centre was declared a historic-artistic ensemble in 1976. It includes the Casa de los Balcones, the church of La Concepción (a National Monument built in the second half of the 18th century) and the Victoria Gardens. The municipality includes the summit of Mount Teide. (Source: Wikipedia)

During Corpus Christi the streets are covered with flower carpets, and the town hall square with a tapestry made of volcanic sand from Mount Teide. (Source: Turismo de Tenerife)

Puerto de la Cruz

From the apartments to Lago Martiánez in Puerto de la Cruz: 26 km, about 30 minutes by car (approximate, without traffic). (Source: OSRM)

After the 1706 eruption, the merchants who had used Garachico’s port moved their trade to the quay at Puerto de la Cruz. (Source: Wikipedia)

Lago Martiánez is a seawater lido with pools and a lake, designed by the artist César Manrique. The pools opened in 1971 and the lake on 30 April 1977. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Jardín de Aclimatación de La Orotava, known as the Botanical Garden, is in Puerto de la Cruz. It was founded by order of King Carlos III on 17 August 1788, covers 20,000 m² and has been listed as a historic garden since 1994. (Source: Wikipedia)

TITSA routes 363 and 325 run from Puerto de la Cruz through Icod de los Vinos. (Source: TITSA)

Masca and the Teno massif

From the apartments to the hamlet of Masca: 28 km, about 30 minutes by car (approximate, without traffic). (Source: OSRM)

Masca is a hamlet in the municipality of Buenavista del Norte, inside the Teno Rural Park. The TF-436 road connects it with Buenavista del Norte and Santiago del Teide. (Source: Wikipedia)

The trail’s official website describes that road as narrow, winding and steep in places, hard to pass another car on, and warns that there is very little parking in the hamlet. The OSRM estimate does not allow for how slow it is. (Source: Camino Barranco de Masca)

The Masca gorge trail

The trail is descent-only, with a named ticket for a set date and time, and walkers leave by boat from Masca Bay; the boat ticket is bought separately. The standard ticket starts at €40.66 (checked on 16 October 2026), Tenerife residents go free and children under 8 are not allowed on the trail. (Source: Camino Barranco de Masca)

Private vehicles are not allowed to the trailhead: park at the cemetery car park in Santiago del Teide and take TITSA route 355 from there, a ride of about 20 minutes. (Source: Camino Barranco de Masca)

Masca beach is completely closed to the public. The trail and the landing stage can close in bad weather, and the boats can stop running at short notice depending on the sea. (Source: Camino Barranco de Masca)

The Los Gigantes cliffs

From the apartments to Los Gigantes harbour: 36 km, about 40 minutes by car (approximate, without traffic). (Source: OSRM)

The Los Gigantes cliffs rise between 300 and more than 600 metres above the sea. They are part of the Teno Rural Park and are shared between Buenavista del Norte and Santiago del Teide; the Guanches called them the ‘Wall of Hell’. (Source: Wikipedia)

The boats that pick up walkers at Masca Bay take them to Los Gigantes harbour. To get back from there to Santiago del Teide, where walkers park for the trail, the trail’s official website points to TITSA routes 462 or 325. (Source: Camino Barranco de Masca)

From Icod, TITSA route 325 (Puerto de la Cruz – Icod de los Vinos – Santiago del Teide – Los Gigantes) runs to Los Gigantes. (Source: TITSA)

To see them from the sea, AD Boat Rental, part of the same group as AD Boutique Villas, rents boats in Los Gigantes, and its guide explains how to reach Masca Bay by sea.

Mount Teide: the cable car and the summit permit

From the apartments to the El Portillo Visitors’ Centre: 50 km, about 55 minutes by car (approximate, without traffic). (Source: OSRM)

From the apartments to the Teide cable car: 60 km, about 65 minutes by car (approximate, without traffic). (Source: OSRM)

Teide National Park was created in 1954 and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007. At 3,715 metres, Mount Teide is the highest peak in Spain. (Source: Wikipedia)

The route OSRM calculates to El Portillo climbs via La Orotava and the TF-21.

The cable car

The cable car climbs from the base station at 2,356 m to La Rambleta at 3,555 m in about 8 minutes. The operator only takes online bookings, and places are limited. (Source: Volcano Teide)

Because of the altitude, the cable car does not take pregnant women, children under 3 or people with cardiovascular problems. (Source: Volcano Teide)

The summit and the trails that need booking

The cable car ticket does not include the summit. The Telesforo Bravo trail, the final stretch to the peak, has to be booked, and since 19 January 2026 there is a fee during its 09:00–17:00 slots: €15 for visitors from outside the Canary Islands, €6 for residents of the other islands, and free for Tenerife residents and under-14s. (Source: RTVC)

Teide trail permits are no longer handled at reservasparquesnacionales.es: according to RTVC and Diario de Avisos, they are now managed on the Tenerife ON platform. On 14 October 2026 the Cabildo, Tenerife’s island council, announced that trails PNT 09 (Pico Viejo – Narices del Teide), PNT 23 and PNT 28 will also require advance booking, with fines of up to €600 for entering without authorisation; the report does not say when this takes effect. (Sources: RTVC · Diario de Avisos)

By bus, TITSA route 348 makes a single daily trip to Las Cañadas del Teide, leaving Puerto de la Cruz bus station at 09:30 and returning from the Parador at 16:00. (Source: TITSA)

Driving times from the apartments

Road distances and approximate times, calculated with OSRM (OpenStreetMap) on 16 October 2026, without traffic and rounded to five minutes; each distance links to its calculation. On mountain roads such as the TF-436 to Masca or the TF-21 to the Teide it tends to underestimate. The three minutes to Icod’s old town and San Marcos bay are AD Boutique Villas’ own figure.

Frequently asked questions

Do you have to book the Cueva del Viento?

Yes. The Cueva del Viento, in Icod de los Vinos, can only be visited on a guided tour booked and paid for online in advance: it lasts two and a half hours, in groups of up to 15, and children under 5 cannot take part.

How much does the Parque del Drago cost?

According to Tenerife’s tourist board, as of 16 October 2026, €5 for adults and €2 for adults resident in the Canary Islands; children under 6 go in free. The official listing gives two different sets of opening hours, so check before you go.

Can you swim at San Marcos beach?

It depends on the sea: on the north coast there are spells of rough sea and spells of calm, and when it is calm you can. Nearby, El Caletón in Garachico is set up for swimming when the sea is calm.

How long is the drive to Mount Teide from Icod de los Vinos?

From the AD Boutique Villas apartments in Icod de los Vinos, OSRM calculates about 55 minutes (50 km) to the El Portillo Visitors’ Centre and about 65 minutes (60 km) to the cable car, without traffic. On mountain roads such as the TF-21 that estimate tends to be too low.

Can you drive to the start of the Masca trail?

Not to the trailhead. You park at the cemetery car park in Santiago del Teide and take TITSA route 355, about 20 minutes; the trail is descent-only, with a named ticket, and you return by boat from Masca Bay to Los Gigantes harbour.