Christmas in La Orotava and Puerto de la Cruz
None of our guides had covered Christmas yet, and it's one of the best excuses to come to the north of Tenerife: every year, La Orotava and Puerto de la Cruz put on markets, lights and parades just a short hop from El Sauzal, without you ever needing to leave the north of the island or rely on a rental car to hop from town to town.
La Orotava: Christmas market and carols in the old town
La Orotava's town council puts on a Christmas program every year that includes a market in the Plaza de la Constitución, festive lighting across the old town and carol singing, plus the Cabalgata de Reyes. It's one of the best-preserved old towns in the Canary Islands, so strolling between stalls with centuries-old houses in the background gives it a different feel from your typical Christmas market.
Puerto de la Cruz: "Enciende tu Navidad" and the harbor fair
A few minutes away, Puerto de la Cruz holds the switch-on of its Christmas lights ("Enciende tu Navidad"), puts on a Christmas Fair on the Explanada del Muelle and a craft market in the Plaza Reyes Católicos. If the dates line up, the Festival de Bandas y Fanfarrias fills the town with live music before the year is out.
Everything minutes away, no need to cross the island
With your campervan parked wherever makes sense for exploring on foot, you can string both towns together in the same afternoon without relying on bus timetables or a separate rental car.
- El Sauzal → La Orotava: about 13 minutes.
- El Sauzal → Puerto de la Cruz: about 17 minutes.
- La Orotava → Puerto de la Cruz: about 7 minutes.
Before you come
For sleeping, we stick to the same rule as always: check Park4Night before choosing where to spend the night. The official 2026 program hasn't been published yet as we write this — Christmas rolls around every year with a very similar market, lights and parades, but confirm exact dates on both town councils' websites before planning your trip.
Choose your campervan and dates in our fleet finder — and keep in mind that December is genuinely peak season in Tenerife, so the sooner you book, the better.