Tenerife is big enough that "north" and "south" are really two different holidays.
The south — Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas — gets the most reliable sunshine year-round, since Mount Teide shields the coast from the cloud that can build up in the north. Costa Adeje is the easiest first-timer's choice, with a good mix of beaches, restaurants, and things to do within walking distance. Los Cristianos has a more low-key, seaside-town feel with its own harbour and easy boat trips for whale and dolphin watching. If nightlife is the priority, Playa de las Américas is the island's liveliest strip.
Puerto de la Cruz, in the north, is a different island altogether — greener, more authentic, distinctly Canarian in feel, though windier and more prone to cloud than the south.
Wherever you stay, Mount Teide itself — Spain's highest peak — is an easy day trip, and boat excursions from Puerto Colón are one of the more reliable ways in Europe to see wild dolphins and whales.
Tenerife has two airports. Tenerife South (TFS) is the busier of the two, with direct long-haul and UK connections, and sits closest to the southern resorts — Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje are both a short drive away. Tenerife North (TFN), nearer Santa Cruz, handles mostly inter-island flights and suits a Puerto de la Cruz stay better. A bus connects the two airports in about 50 minutes if you land at one and need the other end of the island.
The south stays noticeably drier and warmer than the north year-round, and April-October covers the best of it — warm, low rainfall, and (outside July-August) manageable crowds. July through October is when the island is at its warmest, with sea temperatures up to 24-26°C, if a beach holiday is the whole point.
Papas arrugadas with mojo sauce again make an appearance here, alongside gofio (a toasted-grain flour used in everything from soups to desserts) and fresh seafood — sea bass, sardines, tuna, and local limpets. Tenerife's own specialty is the guachinche — an unassuming, often family-run spot serving home-style food and local wine, usually found well off the main resort strips.
Every CasaLinking stay in Tenerife is booked straight with the owner — same real prices, no Airbnb or Booking.com markup.