The southern side of Tenerife is nearly always warmer and so might be the best spot to visit during the coldest month of the year.
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Gran Canaria is the hottest island in February, remaining warm long into the evening. You'll be grateful for that extra degree if you like moonlit strolls by the seafront.
Tenerife is the hottest island in the Canary Islands archipelago in January and our recommended destination for the month. The warmest resorts in January are Los Cristianos, Playa de Las Americas, Costa Adeje and Puerto de Santiago.
Temperatures will average 23°C, with the warmest weather usually found on the south side of the Island. There is much less cloud around compared to March, with around 8 hours of sunshine a day.
However, south Tenerife is great for a sunny holiday with a fun atmosphere – even in the winter months! Like Lanzarote and the other Canary Islands, the summer and winter temperatures in Tenerife only have about 8 degrees celsius/ 14 Fahrenheit difference, making it a fantastic winter sun destination.
Warm sunny days are the default even in February at Tenerife, with temperatures reaching 21.4°C. There are quite large regional variations - low lying and southern locations will see the best conditions, but areas at altitude such as Mount Teide will struggle to get into the double digits.
Winter is a popular season to visit, particularly in February, when the capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, goes wild for Carnaval, with Latino beats, parades, sexy dance moves and skimpy, sparkly costumes. The carnival here is second only to Rio, so expect to see crowds in bigger resorts.
While the rain can be fairly unpredictable, the south of the island will usually be drier and see the most sunshine, and may be the best area to visit at this time of year.
The sunniest part of the north coast is Santa Ursula, La Victoria, La Matanza, El Sauzal and Tacoronte that lead the way to Santa Cruz, also located on the northeast corner of Tenerife: all of them with about 2900 hours of sunshine.
Areas to AvoidBecause of its volcanic background, most beaches in Tenerife are volcanic with black sand which can be hot under the feet. If you're after a traditional sandy beach head to Los Cristianos and leave the southern resorts alone. Playa la Arena is also notorious for pickpockets.
Tenerife's Weather in FebruaryTenerife South is much warmer than the North. An estimated 24mm of rainfall falls within 3.8 days of this month, with 18 of those days partially cloudy and an estimated 5.6 days sunny. Tenerife gets 7 hours of sunshine per day at this time of year and sea temperatures go down to 20°C.
Which is the sunniest island in winter in the Canary Islands? The south of Tenerife and the south of Gran Canaria, especially Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogan, are the sunniest places in the Canary Islands in the months of December, January and February.
The Canary Islands. Although the Canary Islands belong to Spain, they are geographically closer to Africa. For that reason, the archipelago consistently provides the best winter climate in Spain with the hottest temperatures overall.
The resorts on Tenerife's south coast, like Los Cristianos, Playa de las Americas or Costa Adeje get more sunshine, less rain and can be (on average) several degrees warmer than the towns in the north, like Puerto de la Cruz.
August is the hottest month in Costa Adeje with an average temperature of 24°C (75°F) and the coldest is January at 18°C (64°F) with the most daily sunshine hours at 10 in August. The wettest month is December with an average of 42.5mm of rain.
In February, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria enjoy average temperatures of 18°C, with highs of 21°C and lows of 14°C at night. Tenerife is slightly cooler at this time of the year, with an average temperature of 16°C. If you want to swim in the sea, the water is still a reasonably cool 18°C.
One of the top reasons for visiting the island is the year round warm weather. In January the weather in Tenerife is pretty good with an average temperature of 17°C and rarely falling below 14°C so it's decent t-shirt and beach weather.
Puerto de la Cruz – poshest part of TenerifePuerta de la Cruz is the beautifully lush, green, and posh part of Tenerife. It is also the second biggest town and located on the north of the island, about an hour drive from Costa Adeje and the South Airport (North Airport is more convenient, if you can – 20 min by car).