Rent a Car in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife

Puerto de la Cruz sits on Tenerife's north coast — the green, Atlantic-facing side of the island where the landscape changes constantly and the villages have remained largely untouched by the big resort developments of the south. The town itself is one of the oldest tourist destinations in the Canaries, with a proper Spanish old quarter, the Lago Martínez lido designed by César Manrique and the famous Playa Jardín black-sand beach. But the most interesting things in the area are outside the town.

La Orotava, just 8 km inland, is one of the most beautiful colonial towns in the Canaries. Garachico, half an hour west, sits in a natural rock pool carved by a 17th-century volcanic eruption. The Anaga Rural Park to the east holds ancient laurel forest and dramatic cliff-coast viewpoints. And El Teide is a 45-minute drive up through pine forest — the closest main resort to the volcano on the whole island. None of this is reachable by the local bus on any useful schedule.