Santa Ursula

Travel Agent's View

nightlife here is fairly low key, where the hotel provides much of the evening entertainment close quotes

ideal for couples and generally anyone who wants to enjoy a relaxing holiday close quotes

Santa Ursula is situated in the North of Tenerife. This resort is ideal for couples and generally anyone who wants to enjoy a relaxing holiday. It is situated in a peaceful residential district.

Santa Ursula is also a popular base for people who are wanting to go hiking and explore the north of the island, in the hills and valleys. It is close to the Orotava Valley and the Teide National Park.

Santa Ursula is the islands main wine producing area. It is situated close to Puerto de la Cruz which is only a short bus ride away and Santa Cruz is 30km away.

Santa Ursula has a number of shops which cater for your everyday holiday needs along with gifts and souvenirs. The nightlife here is fairly low key, where most of the hotels provide much of the evening entertainment. There are a few bars and restaurants where holidaymakers can enjoy a quiet meal or drink.

If it's a livelier time you are after then Puerto de la Cruz is just a short taxi or bus ride away where the bars and clubs are open until the early morning. Santa Ursula is close to the northern airport of Los Rodeos.

Insider's View

if you're looking to be in the Tenerife that wasn't built for tourism ... you're exactly where you need to be close quotes

Santa Ursula is also the place to try some of the local wine, it's country wine which is fruity and easy to drink but be warned, it packs a punch close quotes

Let's get one thing straight, Santa Ursula is not a resort, it's a working Canarian town. There's no beach, no shops geared towards the needs of tourists, no night life and the centre of town is the other side of the motorway from the only hotel.

But if you're looking to be in the Tenerife that wasn't built for tourism and keen to try the very best traditional Canarian food on the island, you're exactly where you need to be. This stretch of northern coast, which includes Santa Úrsula, El Sauzal and Tacoronte, is renowned for its restaurants and in fact, Los Limoneras restaurant in Tacoronte is where the King of Spain eats when he visits Tenerife.

There's one family in Santa Úrsula who own four restaurants and they're all wonderful and ridiculously good value for money. La Bodeguita de Enfrente and Dondé Mario are where I usually go and are extremely popular, especially on Sunday lunchtimes.

Santa Ursula is also the place to try some of the local wine. This is rich vine growing country and you'll see lots of se vende vino (wine for sale) signs on garage doors and garden gates from local harvests. It's country wine which is fruity and easy to drink but be warned, it packs a punch. Too much tasting and you'll find yourself losing the battle with gravity on some of Santa Ursula’s streets which are steep enough to warrant the use of ropes and crampons. On the bright side, I find that using up all those calories on street scaling creates room for some cakes and luckily, there's a re-fuelling stop on hand. Pop into La Dulcería La Sirena and salivate your way to the counter.

My advice? When tranquillity threatens to turn into boredom, head down the hill into Puerto for a much livelier scene and the beach.