NCL Excursion in Tenerife

Has anyone done the full day excursion through NCL in Tenerife? Looking to book it for my upcoming cruise and was looking for any feedback! :)

Thanks in advance!

You should also pose this question over on the NCL board, where you'll have an audience of NCL cruisers.

I don't know what the NCL excursion covers, but of course the cruise lines are all using local operators. A couple of years ago we did a wonderful Celebrity-sponsored excursion in Tenerife that took us in 4-wheel drive Jeeps for a scenic drive across the island, into Teide National Park, where we had time to walk around the incredible rock formations, and of course had great views of Pico de Teide. It was an excellent day. The tour operator was Tamarán:

http://www.tamaran.com/inicio-en.html

(photo by turtles06)

Thanks for your reply!

I suppose the description would help! Here it is:

Lovely towns, colonial mansions and breathtaking landscapes are some of the highlights of this tour. Start your day with a scenic drive to the north of the island passing quaint towns, vineyards and banana plantations. Drive up to the Alexander von Humboldt viewpoint for a wonderful view of the fertile Orotava Valley and it banana plantations. Continue your drive through the village of La Orotava to the historic quarter where youâll start a walking tour of the old city. Walk along the cobblestone streets lined with Colonial mansions and their typical wood-carved balconies.

Visit La Casa de los Balcones (The House of the Balconies), formerly an aristocrat's residence, that shows a permanent exhibition of Canarian and mainland Spanish handicrafts. After free time for lunch on your own, itâs off to Las Canadas del Teide National Park, dominated by an impressive volcanic crater. Enjoy breathtaking views of the lava plains of Ucanca and admire the wind-eroded stone formations. After a break for refreshments, your tour continues through La Esperanza forest from where you can see Mount Teide, surrounded by lush vegetation.

Note: Tour involves approximately 2.5 miles of walking and 15 to 25 steps (no wheelchair access). This tour is not recommended for guests with heart or respiratory problems, as you will ascend to an altitude of approximately 7,200 feet/over 2,200 meters. We recommend that you bring sunglasses, sunblock, a cap and jacket.

Rather than taking an expensive tour of Tenerife, you might want to just take the hop-on hop-off bus. There is one stop in the main town square and another one close to the cruise port. It's inexpensive and very convenient. http://Tenerife.ca

Having worked in Tenerife for 4 years I would consider one of the Jeep Safari trips already recommended. Tenerife is a beautiful, scenic island and it would be a shame not to see it.

Alternatively, hire a car. CICAR have an office in the port and are a reliable, well established company.

Thanks all! I ended up booking the NCL excursion described above! Looking forward to seeing some of the island! :)

We did the "Best of Tenerife" tour with NCL last year (February). The weather was good in Santa Cruz, but it was snowing on Mount Teide and some roads were closed. They still managed to get us up there, and the landscapes were amazing. Bring warm clothes!

After Teide there was a stop in Puerto de la Cruz where we had about an hour of free time.

The tour included a stop for coffee and cookies, but no lunch.

I have to say, most of the time was spent on the bus, but the fact is, Teide is pretty far from Santa Cruz, so if you want to see it, you have to get there somehow. I thought the excursion was acceptable value (I think we paid $120 per person, I'm sure it's more now), and it really was all day. I think they got us back to the ship just after all-aboard time, which would be unthinkable with a private tour.

Hawkeyetlse, thank you so much for sharing your experience! Very helpful! Can I ask what you wore that day? Would pants with a warm hoodie and maybe a scarf be good enough? Do you recall how much time was spent off the bus on the mountain?

And since it's so far - were there restroom stops anywhere during the day? :)

It was absolutely freezing and very windy up on the mountain, so most people were pitifully underdressed. But we didn't really spend a lot of time outside on the mountain. Maybe 20 minutes at the rock formations near the summit. A lot people snapped a few quick photos and got right back on the bus. We saw a lot of cool landscapes from the bus.

There were a couple restroom stops. Our tour guide was kind of toilet-obsessed, actually :D but don't worry they always take this into consideration when planning the itinerary for group tours. :)

Great! Thanks so much for the information! I'll probably wear a hoodie and jean jacket (if I can fit it over the hoodie! Lol) and pack some mini-gloves in my purse! :)