Tenerife Spanish Courses
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Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital of Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands off the northern Atlantic coast of Africa. Its favorable tropical climate, diverse geography and carefree island atmosphere provides a truly pleasant, relaxing setting in which to learn Spanish.
Spanish Courses Offered in Tenerife
Canarias Cultural
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What Previous Students Think About Tenerife
The seaside and the climate.
Annette Schut
Not too large, not too small pleasant city that made the whole experience better
Klaus Gebhardt
About Tenerife
Tenerife is a sunny and relaxed semi-tropical island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is recommended to students who want to mix Spanish studies with sunbathing, beautiful nature and cultural sightseeing. Tenerife is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the whole of Spain, thanks to its cheerful island atmosphere, friendly locals and good weather all year around. The summers in Tenerife are very hot, and winter tends to be the peak season for visitors. The island works best as a short-term language immersion destination, from 2 weeks to 3-4 months.
Sunny Tenerife is the biggest island of the Canary Isles. Its location off the North-West Coast of Africa means it enjoys a semi-tropical climate, perfect for sun-seeking students. The island boasts amazing landscapes, lush jungles, beautiful beaches and a great nightlife. A major sight on Tenerife is the imposing and rugged Mount Teide. It is Spain’s tallest peak—as well as being great to look at, the surrounding areas offer numerous hiking and nature spotting trails. The Teide was an active volcano until fairly recently and the nearby volcanic rock formations are nothing short of impressive.
The busy port city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island’s capital, can seem hectic at first, but the contains many hidden treasures. Walking around the centre, students can admire the many colourfully painted buildings and quaint little shops. The tropical central park is beautiful, with benches where visitors can rest under the shade of palm trees and admire the greenery and the beautiful, ornate fountains. Although Tenerife has many tourist areas, the centre of Santa Cruz is typically Spanish and unspoiled by too much foreign influence—students won’t hear much English or other foreign languages spoken here.
Santa Cruz has an efficient and cheap bus network, which also allows students to explore the areas around the city. One of Santa Cruz’s recommended attractions is the Museo de la Naturaleza y Hombre, which offers an impressive combination of natural history, science and technology. The museum holds an important collection of Guanche mummies, and there are interactive screens and displays showing off the island’s wildlife and geology. The museum’s display signs and brochures are only available in Spanish, making this an excellent place for immersion students to practice the language.
There are several well-kept city beaches in Santa Cruz, but if these get too busy, there are many quieter beaches along the island’s coast. Tenerife beaches are characterised by their dark volcanic sand, formed by lava rock that has been eroded and ground down by the movements of the sea. Water sport activities such as scuba diving, snorkelling, wind surfing, parasailing and riding on jet skis are very popular in Tenerife. Students may also consider taking trips to the other Canary Islands, which can easily be reached by ferry.
Dining out and enjoying typical Spanish and Canarian cuisine is not difficult on a student budget in Santa Cruz, especially if students eat in bars and restaurants used by the locals. The typical dish of Tenerife is papas arrugadas, or wrinkled potatoes, and fresh seafood is very inexpensive and popular. After lunch, when the sun is at its highest, the tradition of an afternoon siesta is very much alive on Tenerife.
Spain is known for its vibrant festivals all throughout the year and Tenerife is no exception. One of the liveliest events is in February: a huge carnival in the capital of Santa Cruz. It is often said to be one of the best carnivals in the world, coming second only to the famous carnival in Rio de Janeiro. There are parades with flamboyant floats, extravagant feather and sequin costumes, loud music, exciting shows and street dancing, and almost every reveller is in some form of fancy dress. Games, performances and lots of food and drink add to the party atmosphere, and the main event is a huge ceremony to crown the Carnival Queen.
The Spanish spoken in Tenerife is lilting and soft, similar to the Spanish spoken in Latin America. This is because many people from the Canary Islands emigrated and travelled back and forth to the Caribbean in the colonial times. Tenerife’s happy and relaxed culture reflects this influence too—life on the island feels very laid back.
Tenerife summers can be very hot with temperatures peaking at around 25-35ºC (77-95ºC) in August. The winters are much cooler, and therefore more popular with visitors. October to May is considered Tenerife’s peak season. Whilst people probably wouldn’t want to swim in the sea when the temperatures are at their lowest in December and January, hiking and biking trips along the island’s many picturesque nature trails are very appealing.
The costs of living on Tenerife are cheaper than in most cities on the Spanish mainland. Prices increase in the main tourist hotspots, and slightly over the winter peak season, but dining out, groceries and public transport remain low-priced in areas inhabited by locals. Electricity prices can be high on the island, however, and may raise the accommodation prices. Students who find their own accommodation are advised to rent properties where bills are included.
Recommendations
Tenerife is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Spain. The perfect weather all year around and the cheerful atmosphere attracts people from all over the world. Apart from this, Tenerife also has beautiful natural surroundings and places of cultural and historical interest. We recommend Tenerife if you would like to combine Spanish studies with vacation, beach, water-sports, relaxation and cultural activities.
Doubts or Questions?
If you have any doubts about what language course to choose in Tenerife we will be very happy to help you: You can contact us by email, phone or via Skype.
We can also highly recommend trying our School Comparison tool where you can get a complete overview of the differences in the schools available in Tenerife or you can download brochures of all the school we offer in Tenerife.
To book a Spanish language course in Tenerife, please fill out the Registration form, you will then receive a response from UniSpain confirming that we are processing your request for a Spanish language course.