Tenerife with a baby: what actually works in the first and second year
Updated October 1, 2026 · 7 min read
With a baby, what matters isn’t what the island has to offer, but how long something takes. The short answer: south instead of north, short distances, and outings of an hour instead of day tours. The Finca Las Margaritas fits that exactly: an hour on a banana plantation for €10 per person, guided or on your own, 4.7 stars from 1,565 reviews. Even shorter is the Camel Experience at 45 minutes for €9. If it should still be on the water, the Respectful, No-Chase Whale & Dolphin Encounter for €28 is the right choice: ninety minutes, according to the operator on a large, stable catamaran. The big Teide round trips last seven to nine hours – at this age, they’re not compulsory.
See availability and prices for the Finca Las Margaritas
Tenerife suits a first holiday year with a child for a single reason: there is no season you can miss. The coasts in the south average two to three degrees warmer than those in the north over the year, rain falls on the Costa Adeje on around 36 days a year, and between May and September there’s practically none. A baby doesn’t need a sight to see, but shade, steady temperatures and short distances – and that’s available here even in January.
The rest of this article is about where that arithmetic doesn’t work out.
Five short outings, compared
| Offer | Duration | from | Rating | best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finca Las Margaritas Banana Plantation Experience | 1 hour | €10 per person | 4.7 (1,565) | parents who want to do something and be done after an hour |
| Camel Experience on a Canarian Farm | 45 minutes | €9 per person | 4.7 (764) | parents who want to be done after 45 minutes, with animals to watch |
| Respectful, No-Chase Whale & Dolphin Encounter | 1h 30m | €28 per person | 4.6 (15,139) | parents who want a short ride on a large boat |
| Jungle Park Zoo near Arona | Day ticket | €36 per person | 4.5 (1,153) | families in the south who want animals without a long drive |
| Siam Park in Costa Adeje | Day ticket | €44 per person | 4.5 (18,556) | families with older siblings along |
South or north – with a baby, it’s not a matter of taste
The north-east trade wind pushes moist air against the northern slopes, where it builds up. Between roughly 600 and 1,500 metres, a closed sea of cloud sits on many days, spectacular from above and grey from below. Puerto de la Cruz and the towns in the north are greener, cooler and considerably more often overcast.
Even so, plenty speaks for the south with an infant, and it isn’t the sunshine: distances are shorter, the promenades are level, the hotels have lifts, and the beaches sit right by the resort rather than behind a hairpin road. Anyone staying in the north drives across the island for a warm afternoon – with a baby, that means two fifty-minute car journeys a day.
The beaches: flat, sheltered, and what the sand does
Playa de las Vistas between Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas is the beach you look for with a small child: around 850 metres long, 80 metres wide on average, sloping very gently, with offshore breakwaters that turn the Atlantic into a calm pool. The pale sand was brought in, not naturally formed. For families, that’s the practical advantage of the south.
The bays of the Costa Adeje around Playa del Duque and Playa de Fañabé work in a similar way, with a continuous promenade behind them.
Two things the brochures don’t mention: black volcanic sand gets very hot in the midday sun. At the natural beaches in the north and west, that’s a real issue once a child is learning to walk. And El Médano is the windiest place on the island – the conditions that draw kitesurfers mean fine sand in eyes, ears and nappy with a baby along. It’s a lovely place for a morning, but not a beach day with an infant.
One hour that works with a baby
Most bookable excursions on this island are too long for these years. A few aren’t. The Finca Las Margaritas is a visit to a banana plantation: an hour, €10 per person, guided or on your own, with bananas and gofio to sample. 4.7 stars from 1,565 reviews. There’s shade, you walk slowly, and nobody sits on a bus.
The Camel Experience on a Canarian farm is even shorter at 45 minutes and costs €9 – 4.7 stars from 764 reviews. Whether the camel ride is included in the ticket varies by option according to the operator on the booking page; with an infant, watching is the whole point anyway.
See availability and prices for the Camel Experience
For a full day in the south without crossing the island, there’s the Jungle Park Zoo near Arona for €36 – 4.5 stars from 1,153 reviews and considerably closer to the hotels than Loro Parque in the north.
Teide with a baby: what to consider
The national park sits at a good 2,000 metres, the cable car’s upper station at 3,555 metres. Up there it is around fifteen degrees colder than on the coast, often windy, and the air is thin. The ride itself takes a few minutes; queuing and the time spent at the top take considerably longer.
Whether an infant should go up there is not a question a travel website can answer – that belongs with the paediatrician, before booking. What can be said: a baby cannot tell you how it’s coping with the altitude, and there is no way to retreat up there except the next cabin back down.
The national park itself also works without the cable car. The guided day tours, however, last seven to nine hours, usually with hotel pick-up – that’s the real obstacle. Anyone driving themselves can reach the Roques de García from Costa Adeje in a good hour, can turn back after half an hour and will still have seen something. The Teide tours are listed from €20.
Boat trips with an infant
The short answer: most families skip this in the first year. The longer one is in the article boat trip – minimum age – what matters are life jackets in baby sizes, which no operator keeps as a matter of course, and the type of boat.
If a trip is still wanted, then a large catamaran in the early morning, not a speedboat ride. The whales sit twenty minutes off the coast all year round; in the whale and dolphin watching category, prices start at €25.20. The short version is the Respectful, No-Chase Whale & Dolphin Encounter for €28: ninety minutes, according to the operator on a large, stable catamaran, 4.6 stars from 15,139 reviews. Ask before booking about a shaded deck and nappy-changing facilities; “toilet on board” doesn’t automatically mean there is a changing table there.
See availability and prices for the Whale & Dolphin Encounter
Pushchairs: where they roll and where they don’t
The promenades in the south are level, paved and largely step-free – you can walk along the water all the way from Playa del Duque to Los Cristianos. The tram between Santa Cruz and La Laguna can also be used with a pushchair at ground level.
Everything that looks pretty, on the other hand, is steep: the lanes of La Orotava and Garachico, the mountain village of Masca, the paths in the Anaga mountains. A carrier is the better choice there. No place on this island is designed for wheels, except the holiday resorts themselves.
What helps on an ordinary day
The large supermarkets in Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos stock nappies, baby food and sun protection – there’s nothing you need to fly in except whatever the child is used to. Pharmacies are recognisable by their green crosses and are densely spread through the resorts.
On the sun, just the plain facts: Tenerife lies at the same latitude as the Sahara, radiation is strong even in winter, and there is barely any natural shade on the beaches. A parasol or a beach shelter tent is not overkill here.
A midday break at the hotel is no loss on this island: between twelve and three there’s the least to do at the beach anyway, and the weather is still the same at five.
When Tenerife with a baby is the wrong choice
If the holiday is meant to deliver excursions. Almost everything that makes the island famous – Teide, the Masca gorge, the Anaga mountains, a trip to La Gomera – is a full-day undertaking with an early departure, hairpin bends and little shade. With an infant, only a fraction of that remains, and that’s fine as long as you know it in advance.
If, on the other hand, it’s about two weeks with reliable weather, short distances and calm water, the south coast is hard to beat. How that changes a year or two later is covered in the article on Tenerife with a toddler; the overview for families sorts the island by age group.
Our recommendation
For most people: the Finca Las Margaritas for €10 per person. An hour is the length that reliably works at this age, there’s shade, you set the pace yourself, and with 4.7 stars from 1,565 reviews it’s no lottery. For two adults that’s €20.
For the shortest attention span and a small budget: the Camel Experience for €9 per person. 45 minutes, 4.7 stars from 764 reviews, animals to watch, and nobody has to get on the water.
For parents who still want to get out once: the Respectful, No-Chase Whale & Dolphin Encounter for €28 per person – ninety minutes, 4.6 stars from 15,139 reviews, according to the operator on a large, stable catamaran. Take the first departure in the morning and ask beforehand about a shaded deck and a baby-size life jacket.
If none of these fits: in the first year, the beach is the programme, and that’s not a consolation prize. Anyone who’s booked Teide as the trip’s main destination should know the guided round trips last seven to nine hours – with a baby, driving yourself with one stop at the Roques de García is clearly the better plan. And anyone skipping a boat trip isn’t missing anything that won’t still be there in two years.
