I went on an official tour that picked me up at Catalonia Punta Del Rey hotel and dropped me off there on the way back from the Volcano tour. Was nice to pass through the woods and then get to the top of Teide. I know someone who got engaged on the pricey sunset tour of Teide- sounds very romantic to me! The cable car is so crammed that I was lucky to see from the window! Luckily the cable car ride was quick and the views from the top (on a clear day) are sensational. The guide says it rarely gets cloudy or super bad with the weather which I found surprising as it is so high up! It takes your breath away (in more ways than one- due to the altitude- so be wary!). There are two trails that don't require pre-authorization and pre-planning and pre-paying for. Unfortunately- the rest of the tour group were extremely late coming down from the mountain and so I was very annoyed that I didn't get all the extra time they had as I was on time. I could have done the extra walk to another viewpoint with that time rather than wait longer at the car park. The landscape though is very unique and interesting and is used to represent space and I can see why. The restaurant (with gift shop) has a wonderful floor to ceiling window but the price of food and drink was expensive there! We were going to visit the observatory but as the tour was running late then we couldn't!

We took the cable car almost to the top of the volcano. Beautiful experience and definitely a must-see if you are in Tenerife. You can book tickets in advance. We rented a car and the road going there from the resorts in the south is good.