Teide Quad Tours for Beginners: What to Expect on Your First Ride

Check-in and briefing

Arrive before the time on your booking. The La Escalona double quad asks for 30 minutes and the late-morning tour from Granadilla asks independent arrivals for 45. On the Arona day or sunset tour, the time printed on your booking is the check-in time. Registration, the licence check, a 15-minute briefing and helmet fitting all come first.

The licence check is where first-timers most often come unstuck. Drivers must be 18 or over and show the physical card. A photo of your licence gets you refused at La Escalona with no refund, and the Arona and Granadilla operators also turn away provisional licences and licences held for less than a year. If your licence was issued outside the EU, carry an International Driving Permit as well. Our guide to whether you need a licence for a quad tour in Tenerife sets out each operator’s rules.

Then comes the kit. Every tour gives you a helmet. The 3h Chío tour adds a thermal jacket, gloves and a full-face helmet, and the Granadilla tour adds back protectors, a jacket and gloves. On the Arona tour, jackets and shoes are for rent, and a €30 damage-coverage agreement is compulsory. You sign a form, the guide demonstrates the controls, and the group sets off.

This is the moment to say you have never ridden a quad. Guides would much rather know before departure than find out on the first bend.

Learning the controls

A tourist quad has a thumb throttle on the right handlebar, brake levers on the bars, and handlebar steering. Most first-timers get the hang of the throttle and brakes within minutes. The steering feels heavier than a car’s or a bicycle’s, because you turn the whole front axle and lean your body into the bend, and you sit astride the machine with nothing around you.

The speeds are modest. The Arona operator caps its quads at 45 km/h over a route of roughly 70 km of paved road. The Granadilla tour runs 600cc machines, a more powerful quad than the entry-level fleets, so it suits a nervous rider less well than the gentler options. The Puerto de la Cruz sunset quad tour starts with a short training session on traffic-free roads before the climb, which helps if you want to try the controls away from cars first.

Riding in convoy

You follow the guide and do not need to navigate. The rules are the same on every tour: keep a gap of a few lengths, do not overtake, and do not race to catch up if the group stretches out on a climb. The guide waits at junctions and stops.

Phones stay away while you ride. The Chío tour bans mobile phones on the quad, and the Arona tour forbids photos and video from a moving quad for drivers and passengers alike; you take pictures at the stops, when the guide says so. Alcohol is banned on every tour that publishes its rules. The guide also watches how each person rides: the Arona operator states that its guide can stop a participant, require a change of driver or suspend someone’s driving if their riding is unsafe.

These are public roads with cars, coaches and cyclists on them, so the guide’s pace has a reason. Our guide to whether quad biking in Tenerife is safe covers the common rider mistakes and the mountain-road hazards in more detail.

Passenger option

If you decide you do not want to drive, ride as a passenger on a double quad. You sit behind the driver, wear a helmet, hold on as instructed and lean with the driver in the bends. Passengers need no licence. Children can ride from age 6 or 7 depending on the operator, and some set a minimum height: 120 cm on the Granadilla and Arona tours, 125 cm on the Chío tour.

The pricing differs by operator. On the Chío tour, $116 covers one quad whether you ride alone or two-up, and a passenger who also wants to drive pays a second-driver fee of about €10 on the day. The Arona tour includes a driver change at no charge. The La Escalona double quad costs $66 per person, two tickets per machine, and includes insurance for both riders. Weight limits apply: 180 kg combined per quad on the Arona and Granadilla tours, 150 kg on the La Escalona quad.

A passenger seat is a good way to see the mountain if one of you is confident on the controls and the other is not. If neither of you wants to sit astride a quad, a buggy has a steering wheel, side-by-side seats and a roll cage; the Morning or Sunset Teide Buggy Tour costs from $232 per buggy and is rated 4.8/5 from 545 reviews. Our quad vs buggy guide compares the two.

What makes Teide special

The ride gets better as it climbs. Southern routes leave the dry coastal hills, pass through the Canarian pine forest and Vilaflor, the highest village on Tenerife at about 1,400 m, and come out into the volcanic highlands of the national park. The Arona tour reaches about 2,100 m at Boca Tauce and the Granadilla tour about 2,400 m. The Chío tour approaches from the west and stops at viewpoints including Mirador de los Poleos and Mirador de Samara.

That change of scenery over a short distance is why a first ride on Teide feels like more than a spin on a machine. The climb also brings a change of temperature: the caldera runs roughly 10 to 15°C below the coast before you add the wind on an open quad. Our page on the best time for a Teide quad tour explains the cloud sea, winter road closures and the cold descent after sunset.

The first ten minutes

Most beginners feel a little awkward at first. The quad feels wide, the steering takes effort, and the convoy can seem fast. Concentrate on smooth throttle and gentle braking, and let riders who have done this before pull ahead. Brake before a bend, not in it, and look where you want to go.

Confidence usually builds quickly once the controls feel familiar, often by the first photo stop. If it does not, tell the guide at that stop. They can keep you near the front, ride beside you for a stretch or, where the passenger also holds a licence, help you swap seats.

What to Check Before Booking

Route

Confirm where the tour actually goes. The word “Teide” in a title does not mean the summit or the cable car; the Arona tour states that it does not reach the crater, the cable car or the lava fields, and turns round at Boca Tauce.

Duration

Check whether the advertised time includes check-in, the briefing and stops. The tours on this site run about 3 hours, and the La Escalona and Arona operators say 2 to 3 hours depending on how the group rides. Our guide to half-day Teide tours explains how the clock usually splits.

Pickup

Check your exact meeting point and whether transport costs extra. The Chío tour offers a hotel transfer from Los Cristianos and Las Américas up to the Playa Paraíso area, arranged by the operator after booking. The Granadilla tour runs an optional pickup between La Caleta and Las Chafiras for about €5 per person. The La Escalona and Arona tours include no transport, so you need your own way to the start.

Driver and passenger rules

Check minimum ages, licence requirements, passenger height and weight limits, and whether a driver swap costs extra. The rules above differ more between operators than the tour titles suggest.

Terrain

All riding inside Teide National Park is on paved roads, because off-road riding is prohibited there. If dirt tracks matter to you, read our guide to off-road quad biking near Teide before booking.

Weather and clothing

Dress for high-altitude conditions, not for the temperature at your hotel: a warm layer, something windproof, long trousers and closed-toe shoes, which every operator requires. In winter, snow and ice can close the access roads, and tours are cancelled when that happens. The tours on this site have free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Our guide to what to wear for quad biking in Tenerife has the full list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a quad hard to drive?

Most beginners learn the basic controls within a few minutes of the demonstration. It feels different from a car: the steering is heavier and you lean into bends. Speeds on the guided tours are modest, with one operator capping its quads at 45 km/h.

What if I am nervous?

Tell the guide before departure. They can explain the controls again, keep you near the front or ride beside you for the first stretch. You can also book as a passenger behind a confident driver.

Do I need a driving licence?

Only to drive. The driver must be 18 or over with a full physical licence, and some operators want it held for at least a year. Passengers need no licence.

Should my first tour be off-road?

Not necessarily. A scenic road-based Teide tour is the easier first experience, and inside the national park every tour is on paved roads anyway.

How long should my first tour be?

A few hours, or a half-day, is usually enough. The tours on this site run about 3 hours including stops, and the transfer adds time at each end if you take one.

Morning or sunset for a first ride?

A morning or daytime slot is easier: full daylight, warmer air and a descent before dark. Sunset rides finish in fading light and get cold fast. Our guide to the best time for a Teide quad tour compares the two slots.

Final Thoughts

For a first ride, pick a daytime tour on paved roads with a clear briefing and the kit you need for the altitude. The 3h Guided Quad Tour to Mount Teide from Chío ($116 per quad, 4.7/5 from 1,312 reviews) runs daytime departures at 10:00, 12:00 and 15:00 and includes a thermal jacket, gloves and a full-face helmet. If you want to ride two-up for less, the La Escalona double quad costs $66 per person and is rated 4.8/5 from 325 reviews. Check the meeting point and licence rules on your chosen listing before the day, because they differ by operator. Our guide to which Teide quad tour is right for you compares all five routes.