So, two weekends ago, I went on a last minute holiday to Tenerife with Ali and her kids! Whilst on the phone sorting me going down in August to look after the kids for a couple of days whilst Ali was at work, I’d said to her that she sounded pretty tired having been working and looking after them during the school holidays (even with them going to holiday clubs!), so we hatched a plan to away somewhere for a few days at the end of the school holidays, meaning I could help look after the kids for a bit whilst Ali could potentially get a bit of time to relax.
After seeing what was available in the UK, there wasn’t that much available that wasn’t crazily expensive, and obviously you’ve got the gamble of how good the weather will be, so we ended up booking a 4 night stay in Tenerife, getting back home the afternoon before the kids would have to return to school!
I travelled down to Bristol day on Thursday by coach – it’s a bit of journey doing it this way because I have to get in to Manchester to get the Bristol coach, but it’s quite a bit cheaper than the train! We had a really early start on the Friday morning – we took the bus from Temple Meads just before 5am, since our flight from Bristol Airport was at 7.30am.
Since we’d booked the holiday so recently, we were only allocated seats when we checked in at the airport, and we were right at the front of the plane, with three seats on the front row that’s opposite the door, which means you get loads of legroom! I sat with the kids there, whilst Ali was across the aisle and was able to have a relaxing flight!
Arriving for our brief holiday!
We got to Tenerife by about noon, and then took our coach transfer to the Hotel Hovima Jardín Caleta in Costa Adeje. We got there early afternoon, a few hours before our room was ready, and thankfully we were able to store our cases and get changed in a spare room they let us use, so I changed out of my jeans, and the kids put on swimming stuff so they could play in the pool.
Hotel Hovima Jardín Caleta.
We’d decided to go fully inclusive, mainly because it would just be easier to do that with young kids, but also when I worked out how much extra it would cost each day, we might easily have spent that on buying food and drink anyway! So whilst we were waiting for our room it meant we were able to get drinks and snacks from the poolside bar which was good!
Our room became available late afternoon, and was pretty decent. It was an apartment-style room with a small kitchen, a living area and a bedroom, so me and D took the L-shaped sofa that turned into two single beds, whilst the girls had the room with the double bed.
Volcanic sand on Playa de la Enramada.
After getting ourselves organised we took a stroll to the beach next-door to the hotel, which has black volcanic sand, and does look a bit unusual! Also, it kind of behaved slightly differently to regular sand – I found that when I was paddling in the sea, the incoming waves easily swept away the sand under the water as I was standing on it, making it a bit difficult to stay upright! Luckily the beaches we went to over the rest of the holiday had regular sand which I was able to stand on with no issues!
Pool fun with the kids!
The next morning, we were at the hotel pool as soon as it opened! The kids really enjoyed playing in there, and I’d brought my GoPro so we were filming each other jumping into the water and generally messing about, and the kids liked being able to film themselves (so I’ve got some really cool footage and photos from it!). And whilst we were having fun in the pool, Ali was able to take a bit of a break and spend time chilling out in one of the hotel’s rooftop jacuzzis.
Reserva Callaos del Agua.
Playa del Duque.
After lunch, we took a walk down to the Playa del Duque, which was about a twenty minute walk from the hotel, and was the first beach with regular golden sand. The kids had brought snorkels and masks with them, so they were able to do lots of underwater swimming, and also see the various fish swimming around.
Searching for fish on Playa del Duque.
Me at Playa del Duque.
We did pretty much the same on the Sunday, although I was quite impressed that Ali did a water aerobics class whilst we were in the pool on the morning. I took an hour to have a lie down in our room in the afternoon, whilst the others went back to the same beach as the day before – the heat had really zapped my energy (another fun benefit of heart failure!), but I then walked down to join them. They were there with a family we’d got friendly with back at the hotel – Jen, her son Ted (who’s the same age as D and had been playing with the kids all weekend), and also Jen’s mum.
Pool aquarobics.
For our final full day, we hired a car and took a trip to the Mount Teide National Park. Ali was driving, and to be honest I was quite relieved as some of the roads were a bit scary! I’m not great with mountain roads with major drops at the side, and even as a passenger there were moments where I was a bit anxious! But Ali’s driving was great, and we got to see some really amazing scenery throughout the park.
Me, Ali and the kids visiting Mount Teide National Park.
View of Mount Tiede from Llano de Ucanca Vista Point.
We eventually managed to get pretty close to Mount Tiede, but unfortunately the visitor centre was closed so we just had a walk around over some of the lava fields. Bizarrely, just after we parked up, we bumped into Jen and Ted, who’d also decided to visit the volcano, which was a really crazy co-incidence, and meant the kids had someone else to play with for a short while!
After a late lunch back at the hotel, we decided to have one last afternoon on the beach, so drove down to the Playa de las Vistas in the Las Américas area, which was a bit further south than where we were staying. It was a lot more touristy there, but we managed to find a nice spot at the edge of the beach and we had fun in the sea, and also playing on the sand.
Underwater swimming at Playa de las Vistas.
The kids turn Ali into a mermaid on Playa de las Vistas.
We stayed there until about 8 o’clock, and as we were walking back to the car, we decided to get some ice-creams, and head back to the sea-front to sit and watch the sunset (even though the original plan was to get back for an early night ahead of travelling home the next morning!)
Enjoying ice cream at sunset at Playa de las Vistas.
We got back to the hotel at 9pm, grabbed something to eat, then went to the bar with the kids, whilst Ali took the car back. Jen, her mum and Ted were also there, so I sat with them whilst the kids caused havoc running around the place! I had a bit of a panic because it seemed to take ages for Ali to get back from returning the car, and I wasn’t able to get hold of her by phone at all, but she eventually returned – I think it’d taken a while for her to find somewhere to fill up with petrol, but in the meantime I’d been running through scenarios in my head of me having to travel back on my own with the kids!!
It was an early morning for us to get breakfast before our coach turned up to take us back to the airport, and we were all back to Ali’s by 4pm, giving me a bit of time before I caught my train back home.
Even though it was really only 4 days, it was such a great holiday (up there as one of the most fun holiday I’ve had), and it was a shame it couldn’t have been longer! I think I mentioned on here last year, after I went to Spain with them, that I’m used to doing holidays on my own, but I do really enjoy the dynamic of sharing it with others, and it makes it much more fun (and less lonely!). And I really adore both those kids, they’re just amazing, and they give me a real joy when they’re enjoying themselves and I get to see their smiling faces (I appreciate that they’re not always smiling, and I’m lucky to experience their good days!). I love to get to hang out with them all, and I so appreciate getting to spend time with them, even if it’s just for a short period!