Tenerife Carnival

This 10-day fiesta, with dancing, live music, parades, street performers and fancy dress, brings fun-seekers from around the world to fill the streets of Santa Cruz and party until dawn alongside the locals. The costumes are dazzling, with lashings of feathers and glitter and lots of naked flesh. Cross-dressing is a particular passion: at one parade, pretty much everyone is dressed as a member of the opposite sex, with pregnant men and macho ladies abounding. Like a hyperactive hybrid of London’s Gay Pride and the Rio Carnival, this outrageously flamboyant festival is a mid-Atlantic cousin to Sydney’s Mardi Gras. And for visitors, it’s a chance to revel like never before while enjoying the best of the Canary Islands’ winter sun.

Highlights

The evening of Ash Wednesday (which falls on 6 February in 2008) sees the Burial of the Sardine, where a huge fish effigy is paraded through the town, followed by weeping, hysterical men dressed as widows in black dresses and fishnets (obviously). The sardine is burned on a bonfire, and there’s a great firework display to help send it off in style.

In The Know

Head Count

Around a million people come to the carnival in Santa Cruz (where the population is usually around a

Meeting Point

Rendezvous outside the curvy, spiky Opera House (designed by progressive architect Santiago Calatrava) on Avenida Marítima. You’ll want to see it while you’re in town anyway, and it makes for an eye-catching starting place.

Best View

Find yourself a spot along the main parade route, which takes in Avenida de Anaga, Avenida Marítima and the harbour, as well as the Plaza de España.

Packing Tips

If you’ve got anything silly winking its eye at you from the back of your wardrobe, take it. Now is the time to show off that feathered headdress/pair of furry hotpants/false moustache; think Folies Bergère meets Village People.

Escape

Hit the beach: Las Teresitas, about a 10-minute drive away, is the closest, and the only one on the island with non-volcanic, yellow sand – imported from the Sahara.

Dos and don'ts

• Don’t be a shrinking violet – join in! People from across the planet come here to celebrate – that includes you.
• If you do want to sit by and watch for a while, take a cushion and a jumper out with you, or you’ll get chilly and uncomfortable very quickly.
• See if you can find time to explore the area – Mount Teide, the island’s volcano, is part of a glorious national park, and the tiny nearby island of La Gomera is wonderful, too.
• Make like the locals and sleep as much as you can during the day; you’ll need all the energy you can muster for the all-night parties.

Need To Know

Children

Kids love the excitement and spectacle of the carnival and are warmly welcomed. There is an official children’s parade on the final Saturday.

Parking

Finding a space for your car isn’t easy in Santa Cruz. If you’re not staying within walking distance of the town centre (and there are a few decent places to bed down), it’s best to use public transport to get as close as possible. The local bus company puts on extra services, which run all night, to and from most of the main towns and resorts (see www.titsa.com).

Disability Access

Few official provisions are made, but much of the route is flat and can be navigated, as long as you have the patience for crowds.

Food & Drink

Stalls are set up on the streets to sell drinks and tapas; and many of the local bars and restaurants stay open all night, too. We like Los Cuatro Postes on Calle Emilio Calzadilla (+34 922 287 394; closed Sundays), which serves a variety of Spanish-influenced dishes, and the bars on the traditionally Canarian streets of Calle de La Noria and Calle Antonio Domínguez Alfonso.

Sleep

There are a few unremarkable places in Santa Cruz itself; be prepared to travel for the better options. The lovely Hotel San Roque (+34 922 133 435; www.hotelsanroque. com), on the northwest coast, is an elegant 18th-century building in the village of Garachico, about 40 minutes’ drive from Santa Cruz.

VIP

Not applicable at this event.