Tenerife in July
High summer: the sunniest month, and the month the Virgen del Carmen goes to sea.
The weather
- Average high
- 28°C
- Average low
- 20°C
- Rain
- Almost none
- Sunshine
- About 10 hours a day
Tenerife South airport, AEMET averages 1981 to 2010.
July is hot, dry and the sunniest month of the year. In the south the average high is about 28 degrees, nights stay around 20, and there are about 9 or 10 hours of sun a day.
The sea keeps warming towards its September peak, and clear nights on the high ground still show the Milky Way.
The Virgen del Carmen at sea
On 16 July Puerto de la Cruz takes the Virgen del Carmen out to sea. The fishermen carry her statue and San Telmo's onto boats at the fishing harbour for a procession along the coast, with sardines fried by the harbour the night before.
It has become a water party, known as the Fiesta del Agua because of the amount of water thrown about. Look out for the cucaña, where people try to cross a greased pole about 3 metres above the harbour to grab a flag at the end.
Punta del Hidalgo holds its own Carmen procession at sea, on a Sunday set by the tides, and San Andrés, by Las Teresitas beach, takes her out from its fishing pier on the last Sunday of July.
Dates for the diary
- Second Sunday of JulyLa Laguna's Romería de San Benito, with traditional dress, decorated ox carts and folk music. It's led by 7 women, each in the dress of a different Canary island, and in 1958 it became the only Canarian romería ever attended by a member of the royal family.
- 16 JulyThe Virgen del Carmen in Puerto de la Cruz.
- 18 JulyThe Teide cable car opened on this day in 1971.
- 25 JulyThe feast of Santiago, a patron saint of Santa Cruz. In July the city also remembers 25 July 1797, the day Nelson's attack on Santa Cruz failed, with a re-enactment in costume.
- Last Sunday of JulyThe Virgen del Carmen at sea in San Andrés.
- July to SeptemberSurf and bodyboard competitions at El Socorro beach in Los Realejos.
Times and details can change from year to year, so check with the town hall before you set off. A public holiday that falls on a Sunday can sometimes move to the Monday.
Out and about
The dragon trees are in flower, and Bajamar's seawater pools are busy with families from La Laguna.
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