Santa Cruz has about 212,000 residents and shares the status of Canary Islands capital with Las Palmas. It isn't a beach destination with seafront hotels: it's a working city, with museums, parks, a food market and tapas bars. And nearly everything worth seeing fits into a day.
It's also drier and sunnier than its "rainy north" reputation suggests: 30 days of rain a year, against 64 in La Laguna, 10 km away.
Our picks
1
See the city without planning
Hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus for €20, with a stop a few minutes from the cruise terminal.
GetYourGuide
City Sightseeing: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus
3.9 (180 reviews)
from €20Check availability
2
The garden that surprises people most
Palmetum entry for €6, the official price: a palm garden built on top of an old rubbish tip.
GetYourGuide
Santa Cruz de Tenerife Palmetum Entry Ticket
4.6 (285 reviews)
from €6Check availability
3
Seawater pools
Parque Marítimo César Manrique, €7.50 with a sunbed; in winter it runs with just one pool.
4
If you're staying here and want to see Teide
A 7–8 h tour taking in Teide, Icod and Garachico, leaving from Santa Cruz, rated 4.9.
GetYourGuide7 - 8 hours
From Santa Cruz: Teide Volcano, Icod & Garachico Tour
4.9 (275 reviews)
from €75Check availability
5
A morning at Las Teresitas
An 80-minute stand-up paddleboarding lesson on the city's beach.
GetYourGuide80 minutes
Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Las Teresitas Stand-Up Paddle Course
4.4 (47 reviews)
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Santa Cruz in a day or on a cruise stop
The port is right in the city, on Avenida Francisco La Roche, and there's a tourist information kiosk at the entrance to the cruise terminal (922 892 903). Plaza de España, the first stop on the sightseeing bus, is a few minutes' walk away.
- Plaza de España and the Castillo de San Cristóbal. The square has the interpretation centre for the old castle (Monday to Saturday, 10:00–18:00).
- Mercado de Nuestra Señora de África. Mornings only: Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 14:00 and Sunday from 07:00 to 14:00. Sunday is the liveliest day.
- La Rambla and Parque García Sanabria. On the Rambla there are open-air sculptures by Henry Moore, Joan Miró and Martín Chirino.
- MUNA and TEA, side by side: the nature and archaeology museum and the arts centre, which is free.
- The Auditorio, the Palmetum and the Parque Marítimo to finish: Calatrava's building, the palm garden and the seawater pools.
If you have less than six hours ashore, choose: either the city by sightseeing bus, or a morning at the market and an afternoon at Las Teresitas. Trying to do both leaves you short.
Things to see in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín
Santiago Calatrava's building is the city's emblem. You can see the outside for free at any time; for guided tours of the inside, check the Auditorio's website.
MUNA, TEA and the Castillo
MUNA (the Museum of Nature and Archaeology) opens Monday to Saturday from 09:00 to 19:00 and Sundays from 10:00 to 17:00. It costs €5 and is free on Fridays and Saturdays from 16:00; under-8s go free. Next door, TEA – Tenerife Espacio de las Artes opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 20:00 with free entry. On a Friday or Saturday from 16:00, you can see both for nothing.
Tiqets sells MUNA with a themed audio guide for €21; plain entry costs €5 at the ticket office. The island council's museums and their hours are on our Tenerife museums page.
Palmetum
A palm garden built on top of an old rubbish tip, next to the Parque Marítimo. Open daily from 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:00): €6 for non-resident adults and €2.80 for children; under-3s go free.
| Platform | Product | Rating | Price | Where to book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GetYourGuide | Santa Cruz de Tenerife Palmetum Entry Ticket | 4.6 (285) | €6 | See on GetYourGuide |
| Tiqets | Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Entry Ticket | 4.6 (74) | €6 | See on Tiqets |
Adult prices checked on 2 October 2026. They can change with the date; each platform confirms the final price.
You pay the same wherever you buy. On Tiqets the supplier listed is an agency, not the garden itself, so for any changes you'll be dealing with a middleman.
Parque Marítimo César Manrique
A 22,000 m² complex of seawater pools named after César Manrique, at Avenida de la Constitución 5. They aren't natural pools: it's a purpose-built site with paid entry. It's open: on winter hours (September to June), from 10:00 to 18:00, with the pools open until 17:45; in summer, until 19:00. Right now only one pool is running; the children's pool and the waterfall pool are closed for maintenance. Check the notices at parquemaritimosantacruz.es before going with young children.
Prices for non-residents: €7.50 for adults with a sunbed, €4 for under-12s and €5 for over-65s; parasol, €3. The combined ticket with the Palmetum costs €10.50 (€5.50 for under-12s) and saves €3 per adult.
Hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus
It's the only hop-on hop-off bus in Tenerife: there isn't one in Costa Adeje, Las Américas or Puerto de la Cruz. It's run by City Sightseeing with about twelve stops, including Plaza de España, the Palmetum and Parque Marítimo, the Auditorio, the Intercambiador bus station, Parque García Sanabria, the Mercado de África, MUNA and the Casa del Carnaval. It runs daily from 09:30 to 18:15, a full loop takes about 80 minutes and the audio guide comes in 11 languages.
| Platform | Product | Rating | Price | Where to book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GetYourGuide | City Sightseeing: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus | 3.9 (180) | €20 | See on GetYourGuide |
| Tiqets | Santa Cruz de Tenerife: 24 or 48-hr Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour | 4.3 (9) | €20 | See on Tiqets |
| Headout | City Sightseeing: Santa Cruz de Tenerife Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour | 5.0 (2) | €20 | See on Headout |
| Official site | City Sightseeing Santa Cruz, 24-hour ticket | — | €20 | Official website ↗ |
Adult prices checked on 2 October 2026. They can change with the date; each platform confirms the final price.
The price is the same everywhere: €20 for adults, €10 for ages 7 to 16 and free up to age 6. The 48-hour ticket includes entry to MUNA. Reviews on GetYourGuide are lukewarm (3.9 out of 5), so treat it as transport with an audio guide, not as a great sight in itself. More options on our sightseeing bus page.
Las Teresitas and Santa Cruz's other beaches
Las Teresitas, in San Andrés, is the city beach: 1,300 m of light sand brought over from the Sahara in 1973 and protected by a breakwater, with calm water, toilets, showers, sunbeds, a paddleboarding school and more than 100 parking spaces. It has an amphibious chair for adapted bathing. It isn't on the latest Blue Flag list.
To get there, bus 910 leaves from the Intercambiador and also stops on Avenida Marítima, near the port: 20 minutes and €1.25 in cash (€0.75 with Ten+). By car it's about 10 km from the centre.
- Las Gaviotas: very fine black sand beyond San Andrés, a moderate sea, litter bins only, no dogs and nudism accepted. Get there by car (fewer than 50 spaces) or on the 945 to the junction.
- Benijo, in Anaga: black sand, strong waves and no facilities. The council closed it because of the risk of rockfalls, along with a section of the path from Almáciga, and there's no record of it reopening: check its status on Tenerife ON before you go. The 946 runs as far as Almáciga and the last bus back on weekdays leaves at 20:35.
All the beaches compared in Tenerife beaches. And for the laurel forest above, see Anaga.
La Laguna, the city next door
Ten km and 9 minutes away by car is San Cristóbal de La Laguna, a World Heritage Site since 1999 for its 15th-century street plan, laid out without city walls. Get there on the tram (line 1, €1.35 a ticket) or on bus 015 (15 minutes, €1.45). Tiqets sells entry to the cathedral with an audio guide for €7, and the Museo de la Ciencia y el Cosmos (the science museum) has a tram stop at the door.
Take a jacket: it's more than 600 m above sea level and in January the average high is 16 °C. We go into more detail on our other towns page.
The Santa Cruz Carnival
It's been a Festival of International Tourist Interest since 1981. In January the competitions and galas are held indoors; the street carnival is a block of about ten days set from Ash Wednesday, which is why its dates change every year, falling between February and early March:
- Carnival Queen election gala: the Wednesday before, a week ahead of Ash Wednesday.
- Cabalgata Anunciadora, the opening parade: the Friday of that same week.
- Coso Apoteosis, the grand parade: Shrove Tuesday, a local holiday in Santa Cruz only.
- Burial of the Sardine (Entierro de la Sardina): Ash Wednesday.
- Piñata weekend, with the daytime carnival (Carnaval de Día), to round it off.
More of the island's dates and festivals on our when to go to Tenerife page.
Getting there and getting around
- From Tenerife North: 12 km. Bus 20 roughly every 25 minutes, a 20-minute journey, €2.65; taxi, about €20 by day.
- From Tenerife South: 62 km. Bus 10, direct, 55 minutes, €9.35; at night, the 711. Taxi, about €88 by day.
- From Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos: the 110 is direct (55 minutes); the 111 costs the same, €9.45, but stops at every junction and takes an hour and a half.
- From Puerto de la Cruz: the 102, in an hour, €5.25.
If you're driving, the Intercambiador (the main bus station) has park-and-ride parking at €3 a day; the buses leave from there and the sightseeing bus stops there too. Bus timetables at titsa.com and tram times at metrotenerife.com.
Ferries to Gran Canaria leave from Santa Cruz port. For La Gomera you go from Los Cristianos, and Fred. Olsen offers a free bus from Santa Cruz to Los Cristianos if you book it with your ticket. We explain it on our La Gomera page.
More things to do in Santa Cruz
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Frequently asked questions
What is there to see in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in a day?
Plaza de España and the Castillo de San Cristóbal, the Mercado de África in the morning, the Rambla, MUNA and TEA, and to finish, the Auditorio, the Palmetum and the Parque Marítimo. If you'd rather have a beach, bus 910 gets you to Las Teresitas in 20 minutes.
What can you do in Santa Cruz on a cruise stop?
From the terminal it's a few minutes' walk to Plaza de España, where the sightseeing bus stops (€20, a loop of about 80 minutes). If time is short, choose between the city and a morning at Las Teresitas.
Is the Parque Marítimo in Santa Cruz open?
Yes, from 10:00 to 18:00 on winter hours and until 19:00 in summer. Right now only one pool is running, because the children's pool and the waterfall pool are under maintenance: check the notices on its website before you go. Entry costs €7.50 with a sunbed for non-residents.
How do I get to Las Teresitas from Santa Cruz?
On bus 910 from the Intercambiador or Avenida Marítima, in 20 minutes for €1.25 in cash. By car it's about 10 km.
When is the Santa Cruz Carnival?
The street carnival lasts about ten days and is set by Ash Wednesday: the Coso Apoteosis is on Shrove Tuesday, so it falls between February and early March. The next carnival has been pushed back two weeks from that rule; check the official programme before booking.
Is there a hop-on hop-off bus in the south of Tenerife?
No. The island's only hop-on hop-off bus is the one in Santa Cruz; in the south there's a little road-going tourist train in Costa Adeje.
