Tenerife Rafting Bike is quite unlike any other bike tour. For one thing it is downhill all the way so it doesn’t require a high level of fitness. We have had an 85 year old rafter and kids as young as 8 or 9 can manage just fine (depending on their parent’s assessment of their ability to follow our safety instructions).
We are often told at the end of the day what a wonderful time our rafters have had. Quite often they tell us it has been the highlight of their holiday but prior to coming out with us, they had no idea what to expect.
Here is a little Youtube video made by Julie of Tenerife Tattle after she joined us for a day with some visiting family. I think it gives a pretty good idea of a Rafting Bike excursion…
Rafting Bike excursions cost €40 per person and last approximately 4 hours. Places are limited so we recommend you book your Rafting Bike Excursion in advance.
This is a lovely time of year for biking in Tenerife. Our high quality hire bikes enable you to see Tenerife in a much more up close and personal way than if you were closed up inside a hire car the whole time. and you get an entirely different perspective of the island.
As one recent client said, “It’s funny how all the hills seem bigger by bike!”
You are able to take bikes on the bus here. They slip into the cargo bay on the side of the bus. There is a limit of two bikes per bus, but if you are exploring Tenerife as a couple, then the two of you can hop aboard a guagua and take off to visit the villages farther afield.
As Tenerife is a hilly island that will generally mean going uphill by bus and cycling downhill back to your hotel.
Our bike hire prices have just been reduced as we are now entering the cooler season. The price includes pick up and delivery to resorts in the south of the island.
Tour bikes – 1 day = €7.50, 3 day = €20, 7 day=€40
Mountain bikes – 1 day = €9, 3 day = €25, 7 day=€50
There are quite a few companies in Tenerife that will rent you a cheap bike during your holidays. Some do so as a little side line to their general tour business or holiday management company.
With the Rafting Bike excursions we also have another string to our bow although our business remains 100% about bikes. Whether we are focussed on Rafting Bikes, road bikes, mountain bikes, touring or kid’s bikes we ‘ve been in the bike hire business in Tenerife for ten years now and there is not much we can’t tell you about what makes a bike comfortable and road safe.
That’s why whether we rent you a bike for one day or for seven it comes with some additional items free of charge:
Bike stand - so much easier than trying to get the bike to balance against a wall.
Repair Kit - suppose you catch a puncture on a side road. This little kit will get you home without a fuss. Air Pump – who needs a flat tyre to spoil their day?
Lock – peace of mind when you stop for a bite to eat.
Helmets – should be worn at all times when riding on Tenerife roads.
High Visibility Vests – same as the helmets. This is for your safety and should always be worn when cycling on roads.
There can’t be many people who can proudly say that their business has been going downhill for ten years but here at Rafting Bike we are happy to say just that.
When Rafting Bike was born, some of the equipment we needed, like the specialised trailer for the bikes didn’t exist and we had to invent and adapt what was currently available.
This photo was taken in November, 1999 on one of the first Rafting Bike excursions that we made and it shows the cumbersome and expensive first attempt at our trailer.
We’ve gone through four design changes since then and though the trailer we are using today is still not perfect it is a whole lot better than that bulky blue contraption.
In those days the bikes were trailed up to the starting point, at 2,200 meters high, by a 1973 Volkswagen jeep. Nowadays we use the latest of the several Rafting Bike vans that we have had.
In the past ten years we have been told by the thousand of people who have gone raft biking with us that it was the highlight of their Tenerife trip. Really we are lucky to say we have been going downhill for ten years because how many other people do you know that get to do something they love but who also get to make so many people happy at the same time?
So, what are you waiting for? Fill in the simple contact form and let’s get your Rafting Bike trip organised.
It really is a great day out and we have worked very hard over the years to make it as enjoyable as possible. For participants the day is exciting and different yet it is very relaxing and fun too.
But why take our word for it?
Here are some recent quotes about Bike Rafting in Tenerife taken from around the web:
The pace is easy and relaxed. For most of the time brakes are applied to keep behind the guide but now and then there is a steep downhill slope followed by an uphill surge where all brakes are off and you pelt down hell-for leather in order to maintain the momentum to get you back up the rise without pedalling. It is totally exhilarating.
While the bike riding is the main event there is more to the day than that alone. Owner Mauricio and guide Thomas have the route so carefully planned that they have interesting stories to tell on each stop. They also play off each other like an old comedy team and you have to keep a careful eye on Mauricio to know when he is pulling your leg. On the rare occasion when the group of bikers is required to cross lanes of traffic Mauricio positioned his van and trailer across the road like a mother hen spreading her wings while her chicks scampered to safety on the other side.
The scenery was not restricted to the rural lansdscape either. We flew though the villages where the locals waved and bid us “Buenas Dias!” and then on down to just past La Escalona where we stopped for a drink and traditional Spanish nibbles. From there it was small sideroads all the way down to the highway into Los Cristianos and the day finish with a gallop along the beachfront and an explosive surprise from Mauricio.
Bike rafting
We have just returned from a week in Tenerife where we went bike rafting.
Now, I dont like exercise but this was a free wheel ride from about 2500m above sea level down to the sea. Took us about 2 and half hours. Hardly any pedalling just alot of braking.
The guys picked us up from our hotel and then drove us all the way to the edge of the crater. Then we got sorted with bike helmets and reflective jackets. We had a lead cyclist and a back up vehicle.
After a few tips on road rules and what the team do to allow passing vehicles, we were off
There were 14 of us – dutch, english, german and russian.
We had a couple of drinks stops and the guys gave us some tapas half way down.
Great day out and easy enough for all abilities.
Cost for 3 was 120 euros.
If you have been Bike Rafting recently, please leave a comment to let others know about your day. We’d love to hear about it.
In all our years of taking bike rafters down the mountainside we have experienced very few days like this one. The photograph was taken on 6th January 2006.
Snow is common enough on Teide in colder weather but it is unusual for it to be laying like this on the roadside. On the pictured day we gave the riders the choice to back out and cycle another day but all insisted on doing the trip – even one brave rafter who was wearing only open-toed sandals over his bare feet.
At Rafting Bike we like to think we are more or less prepared for anything. In the support van we carry jackets, leggings, gloves and even earmuffs but until this day – no socks!
On our first stop we shod our brave bare-foot rafter with a pair of gloves which might have looked funny but were enough to let him happily continue the trip and reach the end.
On those occasions where there is snow at 7,000 feet by the time you reach 4,000 feet the usual mild Canarian weather prevails and by the time you reach Los Cristianos you can even sunbathe or go for a swim in the sea.
We are often asked ‘who can do bike rafting’. The answer is just about anyone. As the intrepid Scots pictured here show, age is no barrier to freewheeling downhill for 22 miles. At 85 the husband is our eldest participant and his wife at 79 is our eldest lady rafter.
Both sailed downhill like champions and were as delighted with their day as we were to have them with us proving that age is no barrier to having a little out-of-the-ordinary fun on your holidays.
At the other end of the scale, we offer baby chairs on bikes for parents of children up to the age of approximately 3 or 4, depending on the size of the child. Over the weight of 20 kilos the baby chair becomes a little unwieldy and with safety in mind we don’t advise having the child on the bike with you beyond this weight.
At about 9 years old kids become a lot more confident and responsible and we have found that at this age, children are quite capable of coming along on their own bikes. This depends on the child’s own ability to ride a bike and their level of maturity of course.
So the only people who cannot ‘do bike rafting’ are children between the ages of 3 to 9 but we can make a special arrangements for them to accompany you downhill in the support van.
According to a report published today in Europa Press taxi fares have increased by more than two times the CPI (customer price index) in many areas of Spain.
Tarragona, Murcia and San Sebastian show the highest taxi fares while Santa Cruz de Tenerife has the lowest taxi fares of all with a daytime fare of 0.54 euros per km compared to Tarragona at 1.01 euros per km.
In these times of economic pressure, it’s good to know that there is resistance against rising prices. At €40 for a 4.5 hour excursion including pick-up and traditional Spanish tapas and refreshments, the Rafting Bike Tour represents value for money and an even cheaper option is to hire bikes for your own exploration of our lovely island in the sun.
This is a lovely time of year for biking in Tenerife. Our high quality hire bikes enable you to see Tenerife in a much more up close and personal way than if you were closed up inside a hire car the whole time. and you get an entirely different perspective of the island.
Well, naturally we know the answer to that one.
At Rafting Bike we like to think we are more or less prepared for anything. In the support van we carry jackets, leggings, gloves and even earmuffs but until this day – no socks!
