Your Essential Guide to 2023 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival!
Street parties, parades, costumes and drag queen contests. Tenerife has it all! Amongst all the chaos that is carnival, it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out what to see and do. This guide has everything you need to know about celebrating carnival in Tenerife!
When is the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival?
The Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival is a pre-Lenten carnival that takes place over an entire month! The main week of carnival is the week prior to Ash Wednesday when the celebration kicks into high gear. During this week businesses shut down and everyone heads out to party.
The 2023 Tenerife Carnival dates Friday, 17 February 2023 and Sunday, 26 February 2023. The main carnival activities take place from February 15 to February 26, 2023.
Main Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Celebrations
- Wednesday, February 15, 2023 – The Queens Gala
- Friday, February 17, 2023 – The Opening Parade and Street Carnival
- Sunday, February 19, 2023 – The First Daytime Carnival
- Tuesday, February 21, 2023 – Grand Carnival Parade
- Wednesday, February 22, 2023 – The Burial of the Sardine Parade
- Saturday, February 25, 2023 – The Second Daytime Carnival
Where is the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival?
Santa Cruz de Tenerife also known as Santa Cruz is located on the northeast coast of the island of Tenerife. Tenerife belongs to the Canary Islands, which is a Spanish archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean about 1300 kilometres from the mainland of Spain and about 210 kilometres off the north western coast of Africa.
What is the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival?
Every year more than 250,000 people head to Tenerife to the gorgeous capital city of Santa Cruz to celebrate carnival! The Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival claims to be the second most popular carnival in the world after Rio. It was however voted the Carnival Capital of the World beating Rio, Notting Hill and New Orleans!
The Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival dates back hundreds of years. It is the quintessential party in the Canary Islands and the most anticipated date of the year. While most of Europe celebrates carnival in the winter Tenerife is the warmest place in all of Spain, so its gorgeous warm weather makes it the perfect place to celebrate carnival!
How do they celebrate the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival?
Tenerife Carnival is inescapable! It’s when the whole city gets wild and lets loose. The carnival begins with several competitions like awards for the best Murgas (musical troupes) and many other singing and dancing competitions. There is also the crowning of the Carnival Queens.
After the crowning of the Carnival Queens is when the party begins in Tenerife. For two weeks the streets of Tenerife are filled with colour, costumes and joy. Tenerife Carnival is jam-packed with numerous parades, shows, concerts, masquerade balls, and non-stop parties.
Everyone both young and old gets into costume and hits up the streets of Tenerife for long nights filled with lots of feasting, socialising, dancing and an insane amount of drinking. The motto of Tenerife Carnival is that “no two carnivals are equal!”.
History of Carnival of Tenerife
What is the history of Tenerife Carnival?
The origins of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival date back to the 15th century. Carnival was brought to the island after the Spanish Conquest in 1492. Like most carnivals it was the last chance for a feast and giving into excess before Lent.
In the 19th century Tenerife Carnival has become more official and the first competitions were added to the carnival. Masquerading had also become popular, allowing one to become anonymous so they could hide their social class or take part in some anonymous debauchery.
The first official Tenerife Carnival to be organised by the city was in 1925. However shortly afterwards during the Franco dictatorship, attempts were made to cancel the carnival. The celebrations continued, just under the name “winter parties”. However, when Franco died in 1980, the carnival returned to its original name.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival Theme
The 2023 theme for Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival is New York! One of the world’s most iconic cities provides plenty of inspiration, think of its symbols – the Statue of Liberty, Sky scrapers, Big Apple, yellow taxis. There are so many iconic celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Jay Z. So many movies and tv shows have been based here. Then there is the food, the pretzel, hotdog or pizza.
2023 Tenerife Carnival Events and Programme
- Friday, January 20, 2023
- Carnival Opening
- Thursday, January 26, 2023
- Phase One – Children Murgas Contest
- Friday, January 27, 2023
- Phase Two – Children Murgas Contest
- Saturday, January 28, 2023
- Phase Three – Children Murgas Contest
- Sunday, January 29, 2023
- The Festival of Choreographed Groups
- Monday, January 30, 2023
- Phase One – Adult Murgas Contest
- Tuesday, January 31, 2023
- Phase Two – Adult Murgas Contest
- Wednesday, February 1, 2023
- Phase Three – Adult Murgas Contest
- Friday, February 3, 2023
- Adult Murgas Contest Finals
- Saturday, February 4, 2023
- Contest of Musical Groups
- Sunday, February 5, 2023
- The Children’s Gala Queen Election
- Wednesday, February 8, 2023
- Senior Gala for election of Senior Queen
- Thursday, February 8, 2023
- Comedy Song Contest
- Saturday, February 11, 2023
- The Comprasas Contest
- Sunday, February 12, 2023
- Rondalles Contest
- Costume Contest
- Tuesday, February 14, 2023
- Concert with lyrical group Los Fregolinos
- Wednesday, February 15, 2023
- Carnival Queen Election Gala
- Thursday, February 16, 2023
- Festival of Zarzuela
- Friday, February, 17, 2023
- Opening Parade of carnival
- Saturday, February 18, 2023
- Rhythm and Harmony Contest
- Sunday, February 19, 2023
- First Daytime Carnival
- Monday, February 20, 2023
- Carnaval Monday
- Tuesday, February 21, 2023
- The 2023 Big Carnival Parade
- Wednesday, February 22, 2023
- Burial of the Sardine
- Thursday, February 23, 2023
- Festival of the Rondallas
- Friday, February 24, 2023
- Children’s Carnival Parade
- Saturday, February, 2023
- Second Daytime Carnival
- Sunday, February 26, 2023
- Piñata and End of Party
- Parade of Vintage Cars
Where to Stay for Tenerife Carnival?
There are plenty of options for accommodation in Tenerife. From luxury resorts, hotels, B&B, private rentals, inns and hostels. It all comes down to your budget and the level of comfort you are seeking. We recommend booking your accommodation in Santa Cruz de Tenerife so that you can be close to the action, and you want to be able to walk from your accommodation to the party easily!
If you want to be close to the party then book accommodation near Weyler, Calle Anaga and Teatro Guimera. But if you are looking for something close to the action that offers some peace and quiet so you can get some sleep, then stay around Las Ramblas. If you haven’t yet booked your accommodation then we recommend doing so asap because a huge amount of tourists that come for carnival and in this small city accommodation books out quickly.
Some accommodation options close to Tenerife Carnival include:
- Hotel Escuela Santa Cruz
- Be Live Experience Tenerife
- Silken Atlántida Santa Cruz
- AC Hotel Tenerife by Marriot
Check out Booking.com for some great accommodation options in Tenerife.
However, if you have no luck finding accommodation in Santa Cruz then consider staying about ten minutes up the hill in the UNESCO World Heritage city of La Laguna. This charming city is absolutely worth exploring and full of charm.
Check out Booking.com for some great accommodation options in La Laguna.
Tenerife Carnival Music
Along with carnival, the Spanish also introduced many other things including music. One style of music was rondall, a medieval Spanish acoustic musical genre that was popularised in Mexico. Another type was murga, a type of musical theatre that came from Uruguay. As well as comparsas, which is live conga music that came from Cuba.
These exotic music types are still a main feature at Tenerife carnival today.
Carnival Groups
There is something you should know about the carnival of Tenerife and that is that the carnival groups are all different.
What is a Carnival Group?
A carnival group is exactly as it sounds, groups of people who work together creating ideas, costumes, music, choreography and who march together in the parade.
What is a Murgas?
The “Murgas,” are Spanish carnival groups that feature satire artists who perform songs about current political and world events.
What is a Rondallas?
The Rondallas are carnival groups that consist of only guitars, bandurrias, lauds and octavinas.
Choose your Carnival!
Tenerife Carnival is split into two parts. There is the official carnival and the street carnival. The official carnival features over a hundred carnival musical groups; murgas, comparsas, rondallas that feature the official program for scheduled events.
The street carnival is where you can just hit the streets and can get lost enjoying more spontaneous carnival celebrations. The streets are filled with thousands of costumed people every day.
Election of the Carnival Queens
Every year on the Wednesday before Carnival weekend a Carnival Queen is selected for the Tenerife Carnival in a spectacular Gala. This magical night is so popular that it is even broadcast not only on national TV but internationally too! A Carnival Queen is selected from a few different categories including children, adults and even seniors!
The Carnival Queens are always made a focal point during the parades, riding the floats while looking glamorous. The contestants take this event very seriously! The costumes are incredibly expensive and can even weigh up to 200 kilos! Wheels are used to enable them to glide across the main stage.
This event grows bigger and more grandiose every year! Feathers, shimmering sequin, lots of different colours, textures and fabrics go into the costumes. The costumes look even more dazzling on the beautiful wearers. The aim of the show is to elect a Carnival Queen who embodies the passion and joy that the Tenerife people have for their festivities.
The Cabalgata
The Cabalgata is the opening parade and opens the carnival with a bang. It is a vibrant parade that features the carnival queen, murgas, dance groups and more. The atmosphere is electric as everyone excitedly enjoys the start of carnival.
Parade Route: The parade takes place from the Parque de la Granja, passing through Las Ramblas and ending at the Plaza de Europa. After the parade there is a massive street party that lasts until dawn.
Carnival Saturday
Saturday is a more relaxed day where people will go to watch some open-air music concerts. The music ranges from Latin tunes all the way through to DJs. It’s a great day to wander the streets and be part of the crowd. The concert venues are the Plaza de España, Plaza de Príncipe and Plaza de Europa.
DayTime Carnival
After dancing the night away you must muster up the strength to attend one of the highlights of carnival – the Daytime Carnival! In 2008 Tenerife City Council had the great idea of making a Daytime Carnival for people of all ages and families to enjoy. This idea was originally met with scepticism until the next day when 250,000 people of all ages attended!
All over you will see groups of friends and families streaming by you wearing fun and crazy costumes, having a great time and making the most of carnival! There are daytime dances, lots of stages set up around the city with live performances. There are costumed dance parties taking place everywhere! There are plenty of great food and drinks to enjoy and generally just a lot of merrymaking occurring!
Carnival Monday
This is another great day to hit the streets up and see some live music. Many of the main stages feature world class DJs. There were plans to make this day an official electronic music festival, but they didn’t officially go ahead. However, it is still like an electronic music festival.
Shrove Tuesday – The Closing Parade
The closing parade known as the Coso Apoteosis announces the end of carnival in Tenerife. The Tenerife Closing Parade is the absolute highlight of the carnival. The parade attracts the most crowds from all over the world who come to witness this spectacle. The Closing Parade features all the Carnival Queens and all the Carnival Groups. It is an amazing spectacle full of colour, costumes, floats, incredible dance routines and music. The parade takes place in Anaga Avenue.
Ash Wednesday – The Burial of the Sardine
This is the first day of Lent and on this day is an event that officially closes carnival known as the Burial of the Sardine. This is one of the most surreal carnival celebrations that occurs around the world. It sees the burial of a giant papier-mache sardine. The Sardine is paraded through the streets of Tenerife, followed by men dressed as priests and women dressed as widows, and they all pretend to mourn the sardine. The sardine is then thrown into a huge bonfire, set alight and a huge firework show officially closes the carnival.
Tenerife Carnival Street Parties
Every single night of the week during carnival tens of thousands of people take to the streets to party. The street parties are some of the wildest you’ve ever been to! Everyone dresses up in fancy-dress. The parties kick off around midnight and go right through until dawn.
The best street parties occur on the opening and closing weekends, as well as carnival Monday.
Tickets for Tenerife Carnival
Most of the events at Tenerife Carnival are free to attend. Most of the parties occur on the streets and there are loads of open-air free concerts. If you want to watch some of the competitions, then you will need tickets for these. The Crowning of the Carnival Queen is a popular ticketed event and you must purchase a ticket early.
What to Wear to Tenerife Carnival?
You absolutely must dress up for carnival in Tenerife! In fact, if you don’t dress up then you will be the odd one out. People go all out for their costumes in fact so much so that some locals will have 5 or 6 costumes every carnival for different events and will even go home and change between festivities.
However this doesn’t apply when watching the parades, most locals won’t dress up to watch the parades. They mainly dress for the street parties. If you feel a little shy many people may just pop on a wig, mask or funny hat, but you’ll have no reason to feel self-conscious when you will be surrounded by Cleopatra’s, superheroes, clowns, animals, Disney characters etc.
Lots of people dress up in the carnival theme however you can wear whatever you like.
Don’t worry if you arrive unprepared as there are plenty of street vendors selling costumes, wigs and masks all over the place. Also Winter in the Canaries is very mild compared to the rest of Europe, but that doesn’t guarantee that it will be warm! February temperatures are unpredictable and can mean cool coat weather, or bikini beach weather.
What to Do and See in Tenerife?
Carnival is just the icing on the cake in this bustling capital! This handsome and friendly port city is one of Europe’s most promising destinations when it comes to having it all, a Spanish city, beach, historic architecture, awesome shops, brightly painted buildings, sublime natural landscapes, museums, art galleries, amazing restaurants, bars, cafes, tropical parks, hiking trails and on top of all that are the super friendly locals!
In fact back in 2012 The Guardian newspaper named Santa Cruz as one of the best five places in the world to live back in 2012! Because of the city’s deep natural harbour it has led to a period of wealth which can be seen in the many stunning historic buildings around the city. Santa Cruz’s main beach is ‘Las Teresitas’ is considered the most beautiful beach in Tenerife due to its gorgeous golden beach that are filled with palm trees and a stunning back-drop of the Anaga mountains.
In town head to Plaza de Espana close to the harbour which is the biggest Plaza in the Canary Islands. Between there and Plaza de Candelaria you will find excellent shopping. Calle de Castillo is actually the main shopping street. For a lively nightlife head down to Avenida Anaga on the waterfront. Don’t miss the Mercado de Nuestra Senora de Africa which is a lively food market.
Visit the Auditoio which is the most iconic building in Tenerife and has a style similar to the Sydney Opera House. Also close to the port is one of Tenerife’s water parks, the Parque Maritimo Cesar Manrique which is an area of about 22000 square meters filled with saltwater pools. Next to this is Palmetum of Tenerife, a huge botanical garden with some of the biggest collections of palm trees in the world. Another great Santa Cruz park is the Parque Garcia Sanabria.
A main monument of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, a stunning church that dates back to the 16th century, in fact it was one of the first churches to be built in Tenerife. Also see the Iglesia de San Francisco which is considered the best example of Baroque architecture in the Canary Islands and contains a number of impressive artworks.
There are plenty of great museums in Santa Cruz like The Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre which contains the cannon that shot off the arm of Admiral Nelson, Guanche mummies and an impressive collection of archaeology and biology. Or check out Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, a fabulous contemporary art museum.
Some Fun Local Activities & Tours in Tenerife
- Puerto de la Cruz: Loro Parque Entry Ticket and Shows (purchase tickets here)
- Tenerife: Teide National Park Stargazing Experience (purchase tickets here)
- Tenerife: Siam Park Tickets (purchase tickets here)
- Tenerife: Mount Teide Tour with Cable Car Ticket & Transfer (purchase tickets here)
- Cofete Natural Park 4X4 Jeep Tour (purchase tickets here)
- Tenerife: Scuba Dive for Beginners In Turtle Area (purchase tickets here)
- Tenerife: Kayaking and Snorkeling with Turtles (purchase tickets here)
Check out Viator’s Top Tenerife Tours
Which Gran Canaria Carnival? Las Palmas or Tenerife?
Carnival in the Canary Islands occurs all over the archipelago. The islands are an explosion of music, colour, fun, parades, costumes, dance troupes and outdoor parties during carnival! The Islands are home to not one but two of the best carnivals in the world – Tenerife and Las Palmas! We love both carnivals and can highly recommend both carnivals, so choosing between them is going to be a personal choice. To help you make your decision read our Ultimate Guide on Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival.
How to get to Tenerife Carnival?
- By plane: Tenerife has two major airports, Tenerife South Reina Sofia International Airport (TFS) located about 60 km away from Santa Cruz, in the south of Tenerife. And Tenerife North Los Rodeos International Airport (TFN) which is located close to Santa Cruz. There are over sixty airlines servicing these airports with connecting flights to many major European cities. Reina Sofia is the largest airport open 24/7 and has over 9 million annual passengers. Los Redos is predominantly only domestic flights with a few international options. From the airports a taxi to Santa Cruz will cost about €60 from Reina Sofia and €15 from Los Redos. Or alternatively you can catch Bus Line 111 from Los Redos and from Reina Sofia you can take bus lines 102, 108, and 109. Line 340 connects between the two airports.
- By Boat: The Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is one of the main ports of Spain. You can reach the city with a Ferry that connects Santa Cruz de Tenerife with Cadiz, in Mainland Spain, but the trip will take about two days and Is operated by Acciona Trasmediterranea. Of course you can also take a ferry to travel between the islands.
Book your Hotel and Flight for the Tenerife Carnival
How to get around Tenerife Carnival?
The best way to get around is to go on foot, which is why we recommend booking your accommodation close to the carnival. Lots of roads will be shut, carnival traffic is crazy and there is no parking anywhere. If you are staying further away there are buses that are cheap and fairly regular going around the island of course you can take a Taxi/Uber. Or you could rent a bike or scooter.
