How to Find Low Cost Flights to Tenerife
I remember when we were just moving to Tenerife, I was trying to find cheap flights to the island (since they are usually quite expensive), but every time I searched for low cost flights to Tenerife, I would just get a list of companies that were favored by search results as if they offered cheap tickets, though in reality, their offers were expensive.
In the end, after spending too much time tracking prices, I finally found affordable tickets to Tenerife, although not through search results, but by using my own method of comparing different options and playing with travel dates and times.
Later, after we had moved to the island and started to travel to Europe often from both Tenerife airports (in the north and south) and after starting to help others plan a cheap trip to Tenerife, I learned to find good deals quickly.
So I want to share my tips with you today in this article. I’ll show you exactly the ways to save on tickets to the Canary Islands, especially if you are flying in the high season (like October, Christmas times, school breaks, or times of festivals).
These tips should be also useful for people who want to visit Tenerife from the US, Canada, or Latin America.
NOTE: To find cheap tickets to Tenerife, I use different search engines. I usually use GoogleFights and then compare prices to those on Expedia and Booking. Since I have memberships with both of them, they occasionally give discounts.
For some destinations (when I fly to Spain or to eastern Europe), I also go directly to the Wizzair website if I find cheap options on GoogleFlights at first.
First Thing to Know Before Looking for Flight Tickets to Tenerife
And that thing is about Tenerife’s airports. This island has two airports – South Airport (TFS) and Airport in the North (TFN).
The South Airport is much busier, handling the majority of flights from various countries. North Airport accepts flights only from other Canary Islands, from different Spanish cities, and from the Portuguese island of Madeira.
This brings me to the point.
If you want to find direct affordable flight deals to Tenerife, look at tickets to Tenerife North airport. In this way, you’ll get a connecting flight in Spain which will be cheaper. Flying to the south is good for long-distance international flights (like those from the US and Canada) or for direct flights from London, different cities in Germany and Scandinavian countries. But even then, it makes sense to check flights to Tenerife North Airport too even if you are staying in the south because tickets can be cheaper.
TIP: Choosing to fly to TFN has other advantages. South Tenerife often gets very strong winds (especially strong they are from late fall to spring). From time to time flights to South Tenerife get canceled or delayed (mainly in winter) because of those winds. To ensure timely arrival and avoid anxiety (if you are scared to fly), opt to fly to the north, where conditions are typically calmer for landing and takeoff.
General Tips on Finding Cheap Flights to Tenerife
1. To find the best fare, avoid using the round-trip search option initially. Instead, look for one-way flights for both the outbound and return journeys separately. Once you identify the cheapest days for each leg of the trip, then use those same dates to search for a round-trip ticket.
Often, it makes sense to buy two separate tickets to fly with different companies rather than try to fly with one.
Start with GoogleFlight and find those cheapest deals at first by choosing one way route. For example, as here:
And on the way back to London:
So here, in these examples above, it shows that the cheapest flight to leave is on the 17th of September (if you need to fly then) and to return, the cheapest one falls on the 26th.
If you choose a round-trip ticket, it can be difficult to identify the cheapest option because the prices for different dates are mixed together.
In fact, the system might initially show you a low price for a different date, which may not actually be available. If you proceed with that date, you may find that the price changes to a more expensive one.
So it is best to search for tickets by choosing a one-way option.
Once you’ve found your cheap fare and adjusted it to your dates, proceed to Expedia, Booking search, Kayak, or your preferred aggregator to finalize the purchase. There you may have extra discounts if you are a member.
2. To find low-cost flights to Tenerife, the best time to start looking is 1-3 months in advance. Anything sooner than that is more expensive, everything after that means that prices will drop more.
3. If you are hoping to plan a budget trip to Tenerife, avoid flying in summer, in the window from around Dec 15th through Jan 15th (holidays) and within a week of the start of the Santa Cruz Festival in February.
KEEP IN MIND: Tickets around Christmas and New Year times are always expensive. There is no way to find cheap tickets then. The only possibility to pay less is to buy them 4-6 months ahead of time, otherwise, just embrace the fact that you need to pay more.
How to Find Low Cost Flights to Tenerife If You Are Flying From Europe
If you’re flying from Europe, you’ll be pleased to know that Tenerife is well-connected with many cities, making it relatively easy to find affordable flights if you plan ahead.
Cities such as London, Berlin, Paris, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna (and a couple of others) have excellent connections with Tenerife with numerous flights available. Ticket prices vary from cheap to expensive depending on the airline, but to find best deals, follow my tips from above.
For travelers from the Baltic countries, it is merely impossible to find really cheap flights to Tenerife. There are usually affordable flights from Riga, so if you’re in Lithuania or Estonia, it might make sense to travel to Riga airport to fly from there.
Alternatively, I suggest first looking for flights to Spain (Barcelona or Madrid, for example). These cities are well-connected with the Baltic countries, and flights there are generally cheap and direct. From there, you can easily find an inexpensive flight to Tenerife.
If you’re in Scandinavia, low-cost airlines are offering affordable flights from many cities, such as Oslo, Stockholm, Billund in Denmark, Turku and others. But if they are not available, check connections with Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, or Valencia from where it will cost to fly less than €20 on many days.
Also, other cities that are quite affordable to fly through are Milan and Rome. They always have some type of cheap flights to Tenerife.
From Milan, for instance, it is easy to find lots of flights every month between €20-€30, there are even low-cost tickets for 30th and 31 of December (which is a rarity). From Rome, prices fluctuate. The average price is between €40-€50 for most days but in the late spring and late winter (after the festival) it is possible to book even for €25.
Look for Affordable tickets using these searches:
Berlin – Tenerife South
London – Tenerife North
New York – Tenerife South
Milan – Tenerife North
Tallinn – Tenerife South
How to Get Cheap Flights to Tenerife From the US and Canada
The most important thing to remember when booking flights to Tenerife from the US is to choose connections through major hubs, especially from the East Coast (such as Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, etc.).
Start by finding a flight to one of these major hubs and then book a connecting flight to Tenerife. Many of these cities offer good connections, often through Reykjavik, London, or Paris.
Keep in mind that to secure a cheap fare, you may need to be flexible with long layovers and overnight connections. If you’re okay with these longer wait times, you can often find significantly lower prices. For example, we found a round-trip ticket for Mark’s parents from New Jersey to Tenerife for less than €400 per person.
Cheapest Way to Fly to Tenerife From South America
The cheapest option to get to Tenerife from Latin America is to buy a ticket to Spain’s mainland and then book a separate flight from one of the airports to Tenerife.
The reason this approach is better is because there is high competition among airlines due to the significant demand for flights, which drives prices down. Additionally, there is a wide range of choices, as multiple airlines offer flights on popular routes between many South American cities and cities in Spain. This competition leads to more affordable options and greater availability for travelers.
Once in Spain, budget airlines (like Air Europa, Ryanair, Easyjet, and Wizzair) offer inexpensive flights to Tenerife.
We personally like Air Europe a lot since they also have a very generous luggage policy (when you don’t need to pay extras for the luggage or pay a little)
By booking two separate legs of the journey, you can often find lower overall fares than booking a direct flight from Latin America to Tenerife.
So if you travel with large suitcases, choosing Air Europa would be probably the best pick.
Other Tips to Consider When Trying to Get Cheap Flights to Tenerife
I want to share a tip for finding cheaper flights from some major European cities (and countries) where flights tend to be expensive, like Brussels, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, or some cities in Germany for example.
Flights to Tenerife from these cities directly are quite expensive. But the trick to consider – most big cities have smaller nearby towns where airports accept low-cost airline companies.
For example, flying out of Munich is too expensive, but nearby Memmingen, which is close by and served by Ryanair, offers tickets to Tenerife for as low as €20-€40 euros one way while in Munich tickets go for about €150-€200. Getting to Memmingen from Munich by bus is also cheap, around €5 which together with the airline ticket doesn’t cost much. So using this option is much cheaper than buying a ticket directly from Munich Airport.
The same comes for other major cities. Flying from Amsterdam is expensive, but look for tickets from Eindhoven Airport where Netherlands-Tenerife tickets are quite cheap (I saw for as little as €100 round trip).
From western Germany, the cheapest airport to fly from to Tenerife is in Cologne, from Belgium – Charleroi Airport south of Brussels.
So the point is – always check key airports with low-cost airline services next to your city if flying from the main hub is too expensive.
This is also something to consider when flying from the US or Canada. Oftentimes, there are affordable flights between many cities in America or Canada with major cities in Europe. So you could plan a trip with a one-day layover for example, spend that day in the city and then fly to Tenerife from the nearby airport.
You will spend as much (or even less) for a combo trip with a layover (and will be able to see more) than just flying directly to Tenerife and paying for expensive flights that are not even direct.
More Tips to Plan Cheap Travel to Tenerife
- Prices of Food in Tenerife – with them, cheap travel is possible
- Planning a Stargazing Trip – what to know and when to go
- Visiting in December – things no one told you about
- Choosing Unique Accommodation – authentic & interesting places where to stay
- Prettiest Towns Around the Island – best ones to visit or where to stay
- Scenic Drives in Tenerife – different routes when you have a car
Tips for Other Canary Islands
- How Long to Spend in Gran Canaria – for first and returning visits
