Things to Do in Santa Cruz de Tenerife With Kids – Our Day Trip Itinerary
If you find yourself on Tenerife looking for things to do on a day trip, we recommend you visit Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Islands capital is wonderful to explore with kids or without. Read out itinerary for Santa Cruz de Tenerife to help you structure your day trip.
Things We talk About in This Post
- 1 Is Santa Cruz de Tenerife Kids Friendly?
- 2 Things to do in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on a Day Trip with Kids
- 3 Cooperativa Mercado Nuestra Señora De África
- 4 Our Itinerary Continues…
- 5 Garcia Sanabria City Park
- 6 Auditorio de Tenerife
- 7 Other Places to Eat and Drink in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
- 8 Getting to Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Is Santa Cruz de Tenerife Kids Friendly?
If you ever been in Spain, you will know, that the whole country is kids friendly. It is difficult to pass through a street without a friendly old lady petting your little one on the cheek. Or a bar tender sneaking something sweet in your kids lap.
That is to say, Tenerife and it’s capital – Santa Cruz de Tenerife – is no exception. Smiles, shakes and peaking in a stroller are a normal thing, especially among the elder generation.
In terms of the facilities, Tenerife is finely equipped. High chairs are in most of the restaurants, changing stations as well. There are not so many cobble stone streets in Sant Cruz de Tenerife, so we didn’t have any difficulties to navigate it with a stroller.
There are occasional playgrounds throughout the city and there are green areas for kids to play uninterrupted. In this itinerary for Santa Cruz de Tenerife we’ll share with you our favourite finds.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is best explored on foot. If you are tired of walking, there is a good bus connection to most of the places in the city. Check out this link for the timetable. We advise you park your car in the park house for the day.
Be sure to check our recommendations for hiking Gran Canaria with kids– you can reach the areas we are talking about on a day trip from Tenerife.
Things to do in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on a Day Trip with Kids
We have arrived to Santa Cruz de Tenerife by Fred Olsen Express ferry from Agaete, Gran Canaria.
The ferry terminal is located in the close proximity to the city centre and can you guess what was the first thing we did after getting off the ferry?
Yes, we had a coffee! Our first coffee spot was Cafetería Palmelita Castillo – a lovely pastry shop with retro facade and floors. It is located on the main shopping street with no car, so Olivia could stretch her feet.
We have visited Santa Cruz de Tenerife in February, just before the famous Tenerife Carnival party was about to start. So the city was festive and in anticipation. As a matter of fact, Tenerife hosts second largest carnival party in the World, after Rio of course.
From our coffee break spot we walked towards the Cooperativa Mercado Nuestra Señora De África.
On our way we made sure to do some sightseeing – the street of Antonio Dominguez Alfonso is worth passing by – it has historical colourful buildings and spreads the colonial vibes.
Tenerife Espacio de las Artes is worth having a look at, alone for it’s modern architecture designed by Herzog & de Meuron. The Art Center hosts a permanent collection of works by Óscar Domínguez as well the the Tenerife photography centre. Biblioteca Municipal de Santa Cruz de Tenerife is located within the TEA premises and is work having a sneak peak at though large glass windows.
We didn’t go inside the art centre, living it for the times when kids are older.
If you like graffiti, Santa Cruz de Tenerife has some great works all over the city, for example under the Serrador Bridge.
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Cooperativa Mercado Nuestra Señora De África
You can not leave Santa Cruise de Tenerife without visiting Cooperativa Mercado Nuestra Señora De África!
This is a lovely busy covered market, which literally translates as ‘Our Lady of Africa Market’. The market has been on that place since 1943, created as a replacement for the old market. You can read the whole history of the market under this link.
The market has been neglected for many years, but today it is as lively and busy as it used to be back in the days. We love visiting markets, because this is where the real local life takes place.
It is also the best place to learn about local Tenerife produce. You will see many stall selling regional fruits and vegetables as well as meats and cheese.
At the market we have spotted local school kids having a market tour and being explained about different products and how they are made.
Cooperativa Mercado Nuestra Señora De África is great for purchasing souvenirs to bring home – we got a large bag of bay leaf.
There is a cafe inside the market, which gets full VERY fast. The area around the market at Calle Jose Hernandez Alfonso street has many eateries and is great for a short tapas snack. The space is quite narrow and limited, but it didn’t stop us from snacking at the corner bar Gastrobar El Gusto por el Vino.
Our Itinerary Continues…
We continued our walk through the Santa Cruz de Tenerife and at some point Olivia and Maxi fell asleep. So we stopped for a drink at El Príncipe Kiosk in the middle of the Plaza Principe de Asturias – a lovely green park in the middle of the city.
From there we walked the Calle Ruiz de Padron which has some beautiful buildings.
Our lunch stop was at La Hierbita – a great restaurant serving delicious traditional Tenerife food. We chose the daily menu and were very happy with the outcome.
Garcia Sanabria City Park
Exploring local parks is another favourite activity of ours. So after lunch we made our way to our next spot on the Santa Cruz de Tenerife itinerary – García Sanabria City Park.
On the way there we passed by a lovely residential area at Plaza Santa Cruz del Norte, where Olivia has a playground break.
García Sanabria City Park is a nice urban park which combines botanical garden and art – there are many sculptures within the park worth checking out.
Inside the García Sanabria City Park you will find a large area with cactus’s only – spiky but pretty.
Our favourite, however, was a pond with tiny frogs in it. The were making so much noise, that we couldn’t hear each other talking.
During the same time of the year, in February, there is an almond blossom festival, which takes place on Gran Canaria. Have a look at this post of ours to learn more.
Auditorio de Tenerife
Our last stop on our day trip through Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the Auditorio de Tenerife. To reach it we took a bus from the Garcia Sanabria City Park.
The building, which is an Oper, is one of the most famous architectural highlights in Spain and created by Santiago Calatrava – a famous Spanish -Swiss architect.
Auditorio de Tenerife is the symbol of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife is delight to look at.
The lower floor of the building is open for public and it has a cafe. The prices are quite high, but the view and the atmosphere is incredible!
Right next door to the Auditorio de Tenerife, next to the Castillo de San Juan Bautista there is a small beach, where locals enjoy a swim within the city premises.
The Parque Maritime Cesar Manrique is also nearby. It is a large recreational area with swimming pools, games room, jacuzzi and so on. It is actually a great place to spend an afternoon, if the weather allows.
Curious to see more? We have saved our Stories from Canary Islands in our Instagram Highlights. Just click here.
Other Places to Eat and Drink in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Walking around the city we have noticed, that there were some lovely cafes, bars and restaurant. The ones we would have loved to visit if we had more time. So, here is the list of places we decided to add to the Santa Cruz de Tenerife itinerary. We have saved for our future travels. Hopefully it will help you to find something for your taste.
- Restaurante Bodeguita Canaria– a traditional Canaria restaurant
- PI Bar – a cafe and a bar
- Café & Té – a coffee bar
- Café Caramba – a restaurant serving good lunch
- Santo Pecado gastrobar
- Sana Healthy Food – an eatery serving healthy food
- Cerveza Agüita – a local brewery
- Kocora Cafe – a cozy restaurant
- Taberna Ramón – a lovely traditional place
Getting to Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Tenerife – Gran Canaria Ferry Service
As we have mentioned previously, we have been visiting Santa Cruz de Tenerife on a day trip from Gran Canaria.
To get there we took the Fred Olsen Ferry Express, which run 6 times daily between Agaete, Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife. the ride takes a bit more than an hour and people report that dolphins are common guest in that area.
The ride is very comfortable and the ferries are kids friendly – there are special playing area for kids of all ages. You can also bring along the stroller.
We have enjoyed the ORO Class and it was great and convenient for families:
- All your food and drinks are taken care of and included int the ticket price
- You get free Wi-Fi
- You are seated in the separate zone with way less people than in the economy one, meaning more space for kids.
Other Options for Moving around Tenerife
If you are having holidays on Tenerife, then the easiest way to reach Santa Cruz de Tenerife is on a bus or a rental car.
Check the bus schedule over here.
We hope that you found this itinerary for Santa Cruz de Tenerife with kids helpful. We wish you great holidays on the Canary Islands!
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