Everything I wore in Tenerife this March

What to wear in Tenerife in March

March can be a strange time for Tenerife. Although the Canary Islands are famous for their warm, year-round climate (I once heard them described as the ‘Islands of Perpetual Spring’, which I thought was poetic, if not necessarily true – I mean, I’ve been to Gran Canaria in September and it felt like the earth was on fire, so….), spring can be just a little bit unpredictable, which makes it hard to know exactly what to pack to your trip. 

Well, fear not, because not only have I visited the Canary Islands in just about every season going, for our last trip to Tenerife, in March of this year, I happened to take photos of (almost) everything I wore. So here’s my guide to what to wear in Tenerife in March…

Some things to bear in mind when deciding what to wear in Tenerife in March:

1. Unless you’re extremely hardy, or your hotel has a heated pool, the water’s likely to be too cold to swim in. We did see a few people in our hotel pool, but most of them were children, who don’t seem to feel the cold. I did pack swimwear, but didn’t really wear it much, because although it was definitely warm enough  to sit out in the sun most days, I’m one of those people who’s permanently freezing, so I need it to be a temperature most people would find uncomfortably hot before I’ll want to lie out for hours. 
2. Nights tend to be chilly: most restaurants and bars have heat lamps to make up for this, but I’d still recommend a light jacket or thick sweater if you’re planning to sit outside. 
3. The north of the island is generally cooler than the south, so what you pack may depend to some extent on where you’re staying.
4. With all of that said, you might just get lucky and get a full week of boiling hot weather. I mean, I’ve had that happen too, so essentially you need to pack for EVERY eventuality. This has been really helpful, hasn’t it? 

Here are some of the specific things I packed for Tenerife in March:

I take a pair of jeans everywhere with me, just in case it gets chilly. I didn’t really need them for our trip to the Auditoria de Tenerife, but I DID need that hat, because it was warm. Oh, and that’s one of those lightweight jackets I mentioned above: this one is a jersey blazer, so it can be easily dressed up and down, and it doesn’t crease easily. 

A classic sundress with flats – another ‘wear anywhere’ kind of item…

Aaaaand, it’s another sundress!

OK, a tulle ballerina skirt is possibly a little bit ‘niche’, but this was for a special evening out to celebrate my birthday. Although the sun’s still out here, this was taken just before it went down, so I’m wearing the leather jacket too, as it was starting to get chilly. (I took two jackets because, well, I’m an asshole over-dresser, but you could easily get away with just one. It’s not THAT cold…)

Breton stripe top. Monkey not included, but you can find them at Monkey Park, where you don’t have to wear stripes, but I do recommend long sleeves, and something you don’t mind getting monkey paws on, if you’re hoping to interact with the animals. (Also, no tie straps: one time I was wearing a halter-tie bikini under my top, and one of the monkeys tried to undo the knot…)

Later that day in La Caleta. This was our first morning, and, as you can see, it was a little bit overcast, hence the long sleeves and jacket, but it did warm up later, so don’t worry – you won’t need jeans and jackets every day in Tenerife in March (or not unless you get really unlucky…)

With that said, as I mentioned above, the north of the island, where this photo was taken, does tend to be cooler than the south. I’ve only ever ventured there on day trips, and I’ve always needed a jacket in winter and spring, although I’m guessing it’s probably much warmer in summer. At this time of year, though, it really does feel like two different climates: for instance, here I am later the same day, back at our hotel in Costa Adeje, in the south: 

Much warmer. 

You know what’s NOT warm, though? 

Standing on top of Mount Teide: which, on this occasion, was covered in snow. (It isn’t always.) This is quite deceptive, though: although it was obviously cold enough for me to want to wear my jacket and jeans, the sun was pretty strong here, so it was actually much, MUCH warmer than all the snow in the photo suggests, and there were people wandering around in shorts and flip-flops. Now, I don’t recommend flip-flops on a mountain whatever the weather, which is why I’m wearing my trusty Converse here, but I DO recommend sunscreen, even if there’s snow: my pale skin would easily have burnt in the sun without it. 

At the other end of the scale, though, this day was really warm: I’m wearing a bikini underneath my skirt and top, and the white shirt was to protect my skin from the sun, rather than from the cold. If you’re pale, and over-sized shirt is another must-pack: I wear mine as a swimsuit cover-up, to avoid getting burnt!

With all of that said…

… all of these photos were taken in March 2016, when we had quite a few overcast days, and I found myself reaching for a sweater more often than I’d have liked. When we visited in March 2022, by contrast, it was MUCH warmer, and I don’t remember wearing a jacket much, if at all. So please take all of this advice with a pinch of salt, and remember that the weather in Tenerife in March isn’t set in stone, so you may have a completely different experience from me. One thing’s for sure, though: no matter what the weather’s like, it’ll definitely be warmer than Scotland…

Related: What to pack for Tenerife in December