Teide Cable Car — Attraction in La Orotava

To start with the positives. This was an unforgettable experience. The volcano and natural beauty of the area is breathtaking and absolutely worth the travel.

However, since this is a review of the cable car service I am disappointed to have to mention the negatives. With only one bus to get up to here from our town running per day- it drops you off at 11AM and picks you up at 4PM. We looked up prices in advance and were excited at the prospect of riding the cable car up the volcano. We arrived and expected a physical ticket office and a constantly flowing conveyer belt of cable cars to be able to take you up the volcano. Instead we were greeted in a patronising manner by a staff member that was supposedly “there to help”, who dealt with us as if we were an inconvenience to her. We were told to use the single machine that you could purchase tickets from which continued to lose signal and freeze. Upon realising that all cable car slots had sold out for the day she tutted and arrogantly remarked “what did you expect it’s 11AM”. Not particularly friendly, nor helpful considering the situation. She shuffled us away and told us to look on the website for tickets and she left us without any further advice or information. We spent ages stood around not knowing what to do, refreshing the website that just about managed to load with the signal there. We were INCREDIBLY lucky and enough tickets for our group of 3 became available. We purchased ascend tickets and planned on hiking our way down. We went to confirm with the lady that we had indeed managed to find tickets and were yet again, patronisingly told that we can’t hike back down as we didn’t have the appropriate equipment. Granted we should have expected this would be a requirement; But had we not been so flustered by the rush of the whole purchase process and the lack of information and willingness to help by the member of staff we would not have made this mistake. We then ended up stressing to purchase a descent ticket separately in order to be able to get back down from the volcano without hiking. Whilst we are not completely innocent in this process, as we were ill prepared and should have planned in more detail- there were clear failings by the staff in providing a service that was stress free and easy to follow. We were not only treated with a lack of respect and patience, but were disappointed by the overall cable car experience as we felt the booking system and cable car running frequency were not proportional to the demand from tourists. If you are looking to visit, you should absolutely go ahead with it, the volcano is fantastic to see. But be aware of the following:

BOOK IN ADVANCE YOU ONLY GET 1 HOUR AT THE TOP (which included having to queue up for your decent cable car 20 mins before it arrives) BRING APPROPRIATE FOOTWEAR DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE HOW PREPARED YOU MUST BE TO HIKE THE...

Feels more like a scam than a legitimate service. Three times out of three, we never got what we paid for.

The first time, the cable car didn’t operate due to wind. Fair enough — weather can be unpredictable, and we accepted that.

The second time, we bought tickets expecting to ascend and explore the surrounding peaks, which don’t require special permits. But once we got up, we were told we couldn't leave the small enclosed area due to a bit of snow. None of this was communicated beforehand. It felt like a clear case of misinformation — they sell you the ticket, make it sound like you’ll have access to more, and in the end you pay over €40 per person just to stand in a construction zone without being allowed to explore.

The third time, we paid even more for the ticket that includes access to the Teide summit. This ended up wasting nearly an entire day. The bus ride had four pointless stops on the way up, which seemed like a way to stretch the tour and make it feel like “something.” But once we arrived, the peak access was closed due to wind — again. Instead of going up, we were taken for a one-hour walk in an unremarkable area with no views. We’ve been to Teide before with our own car and know there are far more beautiful spots — this one clearly wasn’t selected for its scenery.

What’s worse is that this seems to be a known pattern. Many reviews say the same: they often know the peak access is closed or likely to close, yet they still sell the most expensive package and tell you to “go and check.” You end up spending over 5 hours on a bus, wasting a day of your holiday, and paying €50 per person for nothing of value.

The business model seems to rely on misleading advertising and upselling products they know often won’t be delivered as promised. The only protection for them is buried deep in their terms and conditions — no clear warnings during booking.

Do not buy the summit access + cable car ticket. It is essentially a scam. Instead, apply for the free summit permit and if the cable car is operating, buy that ticket separately. That way, if it’s closed due to weather, you don’t lose both your time and your money.

Read the other reviews — we are far from the only ones. Some people have paid twice and wasted two days, only to be told the peak is closed. No real refund is offered. Instead, you’re given a pointless walk as a “substitute,” so they can justify charging €50 per person for a tour...

i guess volcano teide cable-car pushed it pretty far.

in short, their reservation system is sooo crappy and not flexible at all, that if you don't book your visit in advance with weeks they will say there's no availability FOR THE COMING 3-4 DAYS or WEEK and not take you onboard. in reality they will go up top with literally EMPTY or 1-2 people cable-cars right in your face, saying they have reservations. which is, honestly, stupid and frustrating at the same time, because even if you are there early and fit to hike, as we did at 10 am, you would still cannot go up top because you need a special permit which is also impossible to get it same day. :)

yes, i understand it can get crowded, i even understand it's heavily priced and super hyped. but never seen this big failure of a process over scope.

if you insist on refreshing their website, you might get lucky and see some random spots appearing after mid-day. even so, you have to be quick. usually it's the most expensive rides, for the sunset, about double the already over-priced trip, but that would be your only chance of getting up top. we took it, although we had different plans for the day. however, even so, that trip was delayed with more than half an hour. :) and this is where i think the people running the cable car have double standards.

they would be quick to cancel your ride if you are late to the appointment with no refund, no rescheduling or some tough conditions, and... at the same time, even if you payed premium, they will just laugh-ironically at you although already taking all possible measures to ease on their work, on your wait time :)

way to go tenerife! way to go!

otherwise walking and seeing the volcano is awesome, but the experience itself overall fades away with this bad organization that is supposed to be welcoming and easy-going. better heading to another island...