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The best Christmas dinner tables in south Tenerife are being booked right now, in October, by people who have done this before. One British bar in Costa Adeje has more Christmas Day requests than it has tables, and the regulars know to ring early. That is the first thing to understand about Christmas here: it is busy, it is popular with Brits, and the good stuff goes to whoever plans.
The second thing is that Tenerife celebrates on a different calendar. The big local nights are Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and the Three Kings on 5 January, not Christmas Day, and the supermarkets shut on days you would not expect. This guide covers both sides: where to get a proper turkey dinner, and the local events worth building your trip around, from New Year’s fireworks lit against towering sea cliffs to a town that tried to make the world’s biggest nougat. In 2026 Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fall on a Friday.
Contents
- The weather at Christmas
- The local calendar that catches Brits out
- Where to eat Christmas dinner
- Christmas Eve: the night locals go big
- December events worth catching
- New Year’s Eve: four ways to see in 2027
- Three Kings on 5 January
- Things to do over the holidays
- Practical tips
- Frequently asked questions
The weather at Christmas
Expect 20 to 25°C by day in the south, plenty of sun and a sea at around 21°C. That is cold for the first ten seconds and fine after that, and you will see families in the water on Christmas morning. Evenings drop to the mid-teens, so pack a jumper for dinner on a terrace.
The view that sums up a Tenerife Christmas is Teide with snow on the summit, seen from a sunbed. The mountain is over 3,700 metres high and often catches a dusting in December and January. If a cloudy day turns up on the coast, the north is frequently in different weather altogether, as our autumn guide explains.
The local calendar that catches Brits out
In Britain, Christmas Day is the main event. In Tenerife, three other dates carry more weight:
- Christmas Eve (Nochebuena), Thursday 24 December. The big family dinner, eaten late, often followed by midnight mass.
- New Year’s Eve (Nochevieja), Thursday 31 December. Dinner, then out to the squares and beaches for midnight.
- Three Kings (Día de Reyes), Wednesday 6 January. This is when Spanish children get their presents, after the parades on the evening of the 5th.
25 December, 1 January and 6 January are public holidays. Most supermarkets and local shops close on those days, and many close early on the 24th and 31st. Restaurants and bars in the resorts stay open, so you will eat, but if you are self-catering and planning to pick up supplies on Christmas morning, you will find the shutters down. Do your big shop on the 23rd. Boxing Day, on the other hand, is not a holiday in Spain, so everything reopens on the 26th.
Where to eat Christmas dinner
The south has dozens of places serving turkey on 25 December. These are the ones with something about them, whether that is the setting, the price or the atmosphere. Prices and sittings below are from last Christmas, so treat them as a guide and confirm when you book.
The Treehouse, Chayofa
Up in the hills above Los Cristianos, away from the seafront crowds, The Treehouse is a British pub with a stage, a garden and a children’s play area. It is a live music venue the rest of the year, which gives Christmas Day a proper party feel. Last year it ran two sittings, 14:00 to 17:00 and from 18:30, with a three-course menu and a glass of cava for €55 a head and a 50% deposit to secure the table. It is a short taxi ride from Los Cristianos or Las Américas.
The Winchester, Costa Adeje
A beachside British bar on Calle Londres, best known the rest of the year for giant mozzarella sticks that went viral on TikTok for their cheese pull. At Christmas it is one of the most in-demand tables in Costa Adeje. Regulars report that it starts taking Christmas Day bookings in October, runs three sittings and still turns people away. If you want it, contact them now rather than in December.
Sunset Plaza, Sunset Bay
Less a single restaurant than a square of five British bars in the Sunset Bay complex in Torviscas: Sinatras, One for the Road, Times Square, Bar Uno and Hair of the Dog. On Christmas Day there is live entertainment in the middle of the square, so whichever bar you book, you get the show. Visitors who have done it rate Sinatras as the pick for food. Good for groups who want Christmas dinner to roll into an afternoon out.
Empire, Safari Centre, Las Américas
A British restaurant and steakhouse in the Safari Centre on the Golden Mile, which puts up its own Christmas decorations. Empire serves a traditional Christmas Day set menu, and it is the obvious choice if you are staying in Las Américas and want to walk to dinner and back.
GF Gran Costa Adeje
The no-fuss fallback. This five-star hotel opens its Christmas buffet dinner to non-guests, and last year it was €35 a head with drinks extra and no booking needed. That makes it the answer if everywhere else is full or you have left it late, and the hotel setting feels more of an occasion than a bar.
Grandee O’Donnell, Golf del Sur
An Irish bar in Golf del Sur that runs Christmas dinner at 15:00 and 19:00, with vegetarian options. Worth knowing if you are staying in Golf del Sur, Amarilla or Los Abrigos and do not fancy chasing a taxi into the main resorts on the busiest day of the year for drivers.
Almost every Christmas Day menu is a set price with a deposit, and the popular places sell out weeks ahead. Book before you fly, ask what time your sitting ends, and check whether drinks are included. For the rest of the trip, our Sunday roast guide covers the bars that do a proper roast all year.
There is also a local Christmas Day custom that costs nothing: families take a picnic down to Playa de Los Cristianos and spend the day on the sand. If you are self-catering, it is a lovely way to do the day, as long as you shopped on the 23rd. And on Boxing Day, when normal life resumes, our full English breakfast guide has the best fry-ups for the morning after.
Christmas Eve: the night locals go big
Christmas Eve is the Canarian equivalent of our Christmas Day dinner, so some local restaurants close for staff to be with family while the better ones and the hotels lay on special menus. Expect seafood, roast meats and turrón and polvorones, the Spanish Christmas sweets, for afters. Book anywhere you want to eat that night.
For something completely different, the Music Hall Tavern in Las Américas has run a Christmas Eve edition of its drag-comedy dinner show in recent years, with a three-course meal, live vocals, impressions and plenty of audience involvement. In 2024 it started at 19:30. It is loud, cheeky and very British, which is exactly the point.
December events worth catching
The councils publish their 2026 programmes in late November, but the same events come round each year, and these are the ones worth planning around.
Adeje switches on its Christmas lights and blesses its nativity scene in Plaza de España, in the old town up the hill from the coast, at the end of November. A Christmas market runs in the same area through most of December (in 2024 it ran from 3 to 20 December, on weekday afternoons and weekend mornings), and the auditorium hosts concerts in the run-up to Christmas. Recent line-ups have included Los Sabandeños, the Canary Islands’ best-known folk group, and a gospel choir the weekend before Christmas. If you only catch one local concert, make it Los Sabandeños. They have been performing since the 1960s and are part of the islands’ identity.
Arona holds its own light switch-on in Plaza del Santísimo Cristo de la Salud in Arona town, the old municipal centre inland from Los Cristianos. In 2024 it came with a Christmas show of nearly 100 performers, sweets for the children and fireworks. It is a world away from the seafront, and the bus up is cheap.
Santiago del Teide, the municipality that includes Los Gigantes, runs some of the most entertaining events in the south. In December 2024 it held a food festival called Un Acantilado de Sabores in Plaza Buganvilla in Los Gigantes, and in December 2025 around 200 volunteers made a giant turrón from gofio, plantain, almonds and Canarian honey in a bid for a Guinness World Record. Whether there is a sequel in 2026 has not been announced, but it is the kind of thing worth watching for.
Down the coast, El Médano holds the San Silvestre Medanera, a road race on 29 December that has become a fixture of the town’s Christmas. Our El Médano guide covers the town.
If you want the full Spanish Christmas atmosphere, it is worth one day trip north. Santa Cruz has a Christmas market on the Alameda del Duque de Santa Elena and the island’s grandest lights, and La Orotava publishes a nativity scene route every year with dozens of belenes set up in churches, shops and homes across its old town. Both are reachable by bus, and our day trips guide has the details.
New Year’s Eve: four ways to see in 2027
New Year’s Eve is the biggest night of the season. Whatever you do, you need to know about the 12 grapes. At midnight, you eat one grape on each of the twelve chimes, all twelve before the last stroke, for luck in the year ahead. It is harder than it sounds and everyone ends up laughing. Supermarkets sell small tins of peeled, ready-counted grapes the week before. Buy them.
The free party in Los Cristianos
The main public event in the south is the open-air party in Plaza del Pescador, the square by Los Cristianos harbour, with live bands, DJs and fireworks. It draws locals and holidaymakers in equal measure and builds through the evening, so get there before 23:00 if you want space near the stage.
Fireworks against the cliffs in Los Gigantes
The smaller, better-looking option. Los Gigantes celebrates in Plaza Buganvilla, and the fireworks go up over the cliffs and the ocean, with the sheer rock face lit up behind them. It suits couples and families who want atmosphere without a crush. Sort your transport home in advance, because it is a long way from the main resorts.
A gala dinner
The hotels and smarter restaurants run New Year’s Eve gala dinners. The Hard Rock Hotel in Adeje, for example, puts on a gala dinner followed by an open-bar party with live performances, a DJ, fireworks and the lucky grapes. Galas like these often cost well over €100 a head, and quality varies, so read recent reviews of that specific venue before paying.
On the water, or on the Strip
Boats run New Year’s Eve sailings along the coast, often with an open bar, a buffet and a swim before midnight, so you watch the fireworks from the deck. They sell out, so book early. If you would rather keep going until sunrise, the clubs on Veronicas Strip in Las Américas run until dawn, and our Veronicas Strip guide covers how the night works.
Taxis are close to impossible to get for an hour or two after midnight on New Year’s Eve. Either celebrate within walking distance of your hotel, or arrange a pick-up in advance.
Three Kings on 5 January
If your trip runs into January, the Cabalgata de Reyes on the evening of Tuesday 5 January is the best thing on for children. The Three Kings parade through town on floats, throwing sweets into the crowd, and Los Cristianos and Adeje both hold parades that draw big crowds. Get a spot on the route early and bring a bag for the sweets.
The next morning is when Spanish children open their presents, and families share a roscón de reyes, a ring-shaped cake with a small figure hidden inside. Whoever finds it is meant to have good luck. The bakeries sell them in the days around the 6th, and it is worth buying one. Remember that the shops are shut again on the 6th.
Things to do over the holidays
Siam Park is open 365 days a year, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day included, on winter hours of 10:00 to 17:00. A water park on Christmas morning sounds odd and works brilliantly, especially for families who want to get out of the hotel before dinner. The holiday weeks are busy, so book ahead, and read our Siam Park guide on when the Fast Pass is worth it.
For the snow on Teide, go up in the afternoon and stay for the sunset. A quad tour through the national park gets you into the lava fields and up to the viewpoints as the light goes. Wrap up, because it is properly cold up there in December, and know that the cable car can close in ice or high wind. Our Mount Teide guide covers all the options.
The whale and dolphin boats sail through the winter, Christmas week included, because the pilot whales live off the south-west coast all year. A morning trip on Christmas Eve or Boxing Day fits neatly around the celebrations. Our whale watching guide explains which boat to pick.
For everything else, our things to do guide pulls it all together.
Practical tips
- Book Christmas dinner now. The popular places take bookings from October and fill up long before December.
- Do your big shop on the 23rd. Supermarkets close on 25 December, 1 January and 6 January, and many close early on the 24th and 31st.
- Flights and hotels for mid-December to early January are among the most expensive of the year and climb as the dates fill.
- Buy a tin of ready-counted grapes for New Year’s Eve in the week before.
- Plan your way home on New Year’s Eve before you go out. Taxis are scarce after midnight.
- Buses run reduced timetables on the public holidays, so check TITSA before relying on one. Our guide to getting around without a car has the basics.
- Pack a jumper for evenings and proper warm layers for Teide. Our packing guide covers what to bring.
- If you need a chemist on a holiday, the farmacia de guardia (duty pharmacy) is listed on the door of every closed pharmacy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the weather like in Tenerife at Christmas?
In the south, usually 20 to 25°C by day with plenty of sun, a sea of around 21°C and evenings in the mid-teens. Teide often has snow on the summit.
Where can I get a traditional Christmas dinner in south Tenerife?
Plenty of places. The Treehouse in Chayofa, The Winchester in Costa Adeje, the bars of Sunset Plaza in Torviscas and Empire at the Safari Centre all serve a traditional Christmas Day menu, and GF Gran Costa Adeje runs a buffet open to non-guests. Book early, as the popular ones fill up from October.
How much does Christmas dinner cost in Tenerife?
Last year a hotel buffet at GF Gran Costa Adeje was €35 a head without drinks, and a three-course dinner with cava at The Treehouse in Chayofa was €55. Most places charge a set price and take a deposit.
Are shops open on Christmas Day in Tenerife?
Most supermarkets and local shops close on 25 December, 1 January and 6 January, and many close early on the 24th and 31st. Restaurants and bars in the resorts stay open.
Where is the best place for New Year’s Eve in south Tenerife?
The free party in Plaza del Pescador in Los Cristianos is the main public event. For the most dramatic fireworks, Los Gigantes sets them off over the cliffs. Gala dinners, boat trips and Veronicas Strip are the other options.
What is the 12 grapes tradition?
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, you eat one grape on each of the twelve chimes for luck in the year ahead. Supermarkets sell tins of peeled, ready-counted grapes for it.
Is Siam Park open on Christmas Day?
Yes. Siam Park is open 365 days a year, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, from 10:00 to 17:00 in winter.
When is the Three Kings parade in Tenerife?
On the evening of 5 January, with parades in Los Cristianos, Adeje and towns across the island. The 6th is a public holiday when Spanish children open their presents.
Prices, sittings and events in this guide are based on recent years. The councils publish their 2026 Christmas programmes in late November, and restaurants set their menus in the autumn, so always confirm details directly with the venue or the official programme before you book or travel.