Hotels in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the island's working capital, not its beach resort — that role belongs to the south coast towns, so come here for city life rather than sand. It's a genuine Spanish-Canarian city with a busy port, a striking modern auditorium on the seafront, and a carnival that rivals Rio's for scale and local devotion, held every February.

The shopping streets around Calle Castillo and the Plaza de España waterfront redevelopment give it a more workaday, lived-in feel than the package resorts further south, which is either a relief or a disappointment depending on what you came for. Be honest: the city beaches are modest and the outskirts are unglamorous industrial sprawl. It's well placed for day trips, with La Laguna's cathedral a short ride away and Tenerife Norte airport nearby, making it more convenient for arrivals than for lounging.