Casa Zaguan

Sitting around waiting for darkness to fall? Certainly not (well, unless you want to…). Vilaflor, which lays claim to the title of Tenerife’s highest village, is also a handy location for outings into Teide National Park for hikes, bike rides and birdwatching in the mountains. The biggest draw (literally) is huge Mount Teide itself, half an hour’s drive away. Intrepid types can apply for a permit to hike up to the top of the 3,718-metre volcano, but it’s certainly more easygoing if you elect to ride up there in the cable car. Scaling Spain’s highest peak isn’t the only option for peeps on foot – the park’s packed with caves and rock formations to poke about in, and footpaths to get to them (one of which starts from the village). Descend back down to sea level with a trip to the coast – the beaches, watersports and waterparks of Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje are about half an hour away by car, and the latter’s also the place to board boat trips in search of the whales and dolphins that call these waters home.