This is theme blog Boat tours Tenerife about different kind of boat tours you can do spending your holidays in Tenerife. People often booking first option they found without understanding how big choice of boat tours on the island they have. The most important and first thing you must understand is that practically all the boat trips are starting from the South of the island and therefore living in a hotel of the North in places like Puerto de La Cruz, La Laguna or Santa Cruz de Tenerife you will have to travel to the South. It refers not just to the boat tours, but also to any kind of water sports and activities in Tenerife. Natural protection by Anaga and Teide mountains from the trade winds and protection by neighbouring La Gomera island from the open ocean makes the South of Tenerife an ideal destination for all kind of boat tours and other water activities. Here are also a few very well developed marinas and harbours what allows to keep yachts and boats in perfect conditions safely even in stormy weather.
Boat tours Tenerife - choosing a boat trip
The biggest mistake the island visitors do coming to the island is booking boat trips in hotels and on the street. Nothing wrong, but then your choice is limited to big catamarans and extremely commercialized boats working as a kind of tourist factories. You are booking a boat trip and the realize there's a hundred people packed on board beside of you - noisy music, cheapest beer and sangria, everything to serve somehow a lot of people and don't spend too much money for that. Got it? So look toward and book a smaller yacht that guarantees the best whale watching Tenerife could offer, if you prefer really nice experience and not listening noisy music, crying children and observe a few people constantly vomiting because they didn't knew nothing about seasick and didn't took a special pills before the trip. Or maybe you are extremely socializing person and that's exactly what you have been looking for. Even in this case you have a choice between different catamarans and boats and on TripsPoint you will find just the best of them. Some boat trip operators in Tenerife have been rejected by TripsPoint to list their boat tours simply because their not the best reputation and we care about our travellers satisfaction, so try to deliver as good experience as it possible in an exact destination.
Yearly Rating of regular Boat Tours in Tenerife
Regular boat tours in Tenerife are made both by smaller boats, sailing yachts and big catamarans and ships. Below you will find the list and boat tours rating based on the best relation between the boat tour price per person and its quality for each boat category. We don't pretend to be a rating institution and this rating could be objective of personal experience of our local supervisors. But we believe our supervisors, because nobody know the destination better than locals living there. So here's the rating - starting form the best boat tour in Tenerife and at the and just good, but also not bad boat trip (it because bad trips are not allowed to be listed on TripsPoint):
Category A of Boat tours Tenerife - Sailing Yachts and smaller boats
WINNER - Ayla sailing yacht with 4 hours tours Tenerife
Ayla yacht dolphin & whale watching boat tour in Tenerife is the Winner of our rating for a few obvious reasons. First of all even with 11 passenger capacity the crew takes on board for a regular 4 hours boat tour not more than 7-8 people! That makes it almost like a private charter which cost almost 7-10 times more! Second - you are picked up directly from your hotel in the South of Tenerife and taken to smaller marina in Las Galletas right to the yacht - very convenient. Third - you have a very good and fresh meal included to the price and it's prepared right on board! Fourth - the crew are amazing people and they love nature, so the best spots with rich marine life will be shown to you and you will watch dolphins and whales very close to you. In our honest opinion this for now Ayla with 4h boat tour is absolute Winner in all categories - this is the best of all the best boat trips in Tenerife - your satisfaction is simply guaranteed!
SECOND PLACE - Big Smile Luxury yacht with 6 hours boat trip
A few years Big Smile Luxury yacht was the winner of our rating, but with a high demand for private charters the number of regular boat tours in Tenerife by this yacht was reduced and you can enjoy their amazing 6 hours long sail to the Masca Bay only once a week. It's worthy to suite your schedule to this boat tour - you will see whales and often dolphins, you sail along the highest cliffs in Atlantic, you stop for snorkelling and swimming and you also will be picked up right from your hotel, if it's situated in Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos or Las Americas. The yacht is very comfortable and there are also tasty snacks, fruits and drinks included and served on board. With the Big Smile Luxury yacht with 6 hours boat trip not more than 11 people are taken on board, so it still quite a private experience.
THIRD PLACE - Arriro-Kosamui sailing yacht with 3 hours boat tour
Smaller than previous yacht Kosamui-Arriro yacht is still one of the best options if about Boat tours Tenerife. Taking up to 11 people on board and sailing around whale watching and snorkelling stops the yacht offer pleasant 3 hours long boat tours in Tenerife by Arriro-Kosamui yacht that highlights all the best of the South and you are guaranteed with nice and pleasant experience. Disadvantage is that no transportation service offered and therefore you will have to come by yourself to the meeting point specified in your Voucher.
Category B of Boat tours in Tenerife - Mid-size Catamarans and Boats
WINNER - Opera with 3 hours luxury boat trip
Opera-60 is the largest RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) in the world. In fact it has nothing with classic tiny rigid inflatable boats, the Opera-60 is huge motor boat. Because it is so light it has unique nautical abilities easily and fast sliding on the waves and not diving into. It makes the boat very stable and comfortable. There are soft comfortable big seats for the Opera's 3 hours long luxury boat trip. You are collected right from your hotel and you are served with welcome drinks and snacks. Finally, you can be sure it is the best of boat tours in Tenerife in the class of mid-size and big boats.
SECOND PLACE - Diamant Flying boat with glass bottom with 2 hours boat excursion
The Diamant flying boat 2 hours boat tour is quite exceptional, because first - it literally flying over the waves and therefore this is the only option for people suffering with seasick and second - it's equipped with a huge window on the bottom of the boat, so you can see fish and whales or dolphins passing under the boat. Despite the excursion of 2 hours only that seams to be short you see and do the same things that on an hour longer trips - the boat going really fast. Pick-up service from your hotel in Tenerife South is free-of-charge and pick-up from Los Gigantes zone is available on certain days for an extra 10 Euros per person.
THIRD PLACE - Bonadea II Catamaran with 2 hours Whale watching trip
No transportation, no food and no drinks and it is one of the cheapest boat tours possible in Tenerife, BUT it is the best of cheapest boat tours in Tenerife! What make Bonadea Catamaran boat trips absolutely enjoyable is that they are simple and straightforward. Nobody try to make you cheap amusement or cheap tricks - you are going straightforward to watch the pilot whales and what's surprising - you see them literally always. The boat captain is famous for his knowledge of these mammals and on the way the crew explain you with enthusiasm about what they love the most - whales and dolphins.
Category C of Boat tours in Tenerife - Big Catamarans and Ships
WINNER - Maxicat Catamaran with 5 hours long trip to Masca Bay
It's the hardest category to compete, because all the catamarans and ships in this category working a classic tourist factories - the economy is simple, load as more as possible people and have as less as possible expenses. But even in this category there boats and crews that care about customers, even it's a hard task with such a number people on board. Macixat Catamaran is definitely winner in this category with its 5 hours long trip to Masca Bay by Maxicat Catamaran. If you have to go on a big catamaran, go with this one.
SECOND PLACE - Shogun oriental sailing ship with 5 hours boat tour to Los Gigantes cliffs
Shogun is a replica of ancient oriental sailing ship build of excellent quality teak wood and it is one of the biggest ships on the island. The experience is quite nice even many people on board, but, because there are two floors and quite lot of space you wouldn't feel claustrophobia. On the sail with Shogun ship boat tour to Masca you will highly probably see whales and dolphins and included to the price meal is served at the buffet alongside with drinks. Pick-up service is realized by big bus collecting people from certain pick-up points (see this boat tour page with a map for details).
THIRD PLACE - Freebird Catamaran with 4h 30min boat tour to Los Gigantes cliffs
The Freeboard Catamaran is very strongly promoted and it's the biggest catamaran on the island, probably it's the first thing you'll find googling for boat trips Tenerife. Even it placed on the last place in our rating, it is still one of the nicest boat tours in Tenerife made by such a big catamarans and boats. With the Freebird Catamaran 4h 30min boat tour along the coast of Tenerife South and by the cliffs of Los Gigantes you will see pilot whales and sometimes dolphins, you will have swimming stop and you will be served with paella, which is unfortunately maybe not the best paella you ever tasted, but it doesn't matter, if you're really hungry. At the end you are going by really big boat with almost two hundred other people on board and booking this kind of trip you rather don't expect this boat tour is the same private and luxury as sailing charters in Tenerife. You aim to see the island from a different perspective, feel the ocean breeze on your face, watch whales and see the giant cliffs of Los Gigantes.
This rating's made for the season 2018 and, if you are going to Tenerife on a holiday, please, check out updates, which are published on this Boat tours Tenerife blog on a regular basis. Things are changing every year, so it's important to be up to date, but they are not changing drastically and therefore you may use this rating for planning and booking your boat tours in Tenerife to be sure you are taking right decision. You are also welcome to leave your boat tour review and write your own travel stories in your travel blog on TripsPoint after returning from the holiday. On TripsPoint you earn TripsPoint Money for each review you left (no matter bad or good, important that true) and travel story you wrote, because your own experiences are extremely helpful for other travellers.
To discover more about Tenerife, it attractions, the best tours, activities and things to do you are welcome to our dedicated Blog about Things to Do in Tenerife. There you will find our TOP-100 things to do and have links to other theme blogs, so discovering all that information will definitely make your holidays surely happy, very well planned and you will escape all the classic tourist traps waiting for you in and by resorts. Moreover, you will find there are much more things to do in Tenerife than you imagined before. Thank you for reading and you are welcome to share a link to the Boat tours Tenerife Blog with others, if you found it useful for yourself.