Cheap Flights from London to Tenerife: Fares from £49 (2026)

Cheap Flights from London to Tenerife, Starting at £49

I almost rebooked for somewhere closer. October, a grey Tuesday at Gatwick, and I was quietly wondering whether four and a half hours was too far for a long weekend. Then I checked the Tenerife forecast — 24°C, clear skies, Mount Teide catching the late afternoon light — and the return fare was £98. I stopped wondering.

Here’s the fast answer. Cheap flights from London to Tenerife start at around £49 one-way in shoulder season, and a return under £150 is genuinely realistic if you travel outside the winter-sun rush and the school-holiday windows. The catch everyone misses: Tenerife has year-round sun, which means both that there’s never a truly bad time to go and that peak prices are driven by UK school calendars rather than island weather. Pick the right week and you pay half what the December crowd pays for the same sunshine.

Five carriers, departures from every major London airport, and a route that runs 365 days a year. That competition is your edge. Below: the cheapest months, an airline breakdown, which of Tenerife’s two airports to actually land at, and the timing tricks that reliably shave £30 to £50 off the fare.

Check live prices for your exact dates before reading on — the search tool below shows the cheapest available days at a glance.

Best Time to Book Cheap Flights from London to Tenerife

The brilliant and slightly maddening thing about this route: the island’s weather barely changes, but the fares swing by 200 percent across the year. It’s UK demand doing the moving, not Tenerife’s thermometer.

May and October give you warm Tenerife sun at a fraction of the winter-peak price. September is nearly as good and still reaches 26°C. If you’re chasing the absolute cheapest ticket and can handle a slightly cooler day on the beach, late April is the move.

My October booking came in at £98 return. I had the black-sand beach at Playa Jardín largely to myself because families had returned from summer — while February regulars were paying £200 for the same route in the same sun.

London to Tenerife Airlines Compared

Five carriers divide this route, each with a different balance of price and what’s bundled in.

Ryanair

Ryanair offers the lowest base fares on this route from Stansted and Luton, often from £49 one-way. The honest caveat: only a small under-seat bag is included. A cabin bag costs £20 to £35 extra each way — which, for a week in the Canaries, you almost certainly need. Add the bag before comparing with Jet2.

easyJet

easyJet flies from Gatwick, Luton and Southend from around £55, with a slightly more generous free allowance and an easier experience buying bags through the app. Gatwick is well-placed for south and central London travellers — the Gatwick Express takes 30 minutes from Victoria.

Jet2

Jet2 is the sleeper pick on this route. The 22kg hold bag is included in the base fare, which means that once you price up a Ryanair ticket with a bag, Jet2 often wins or draws on total cost. Jet2 also has more relaxed change policies — worth something when booking months ahead.

TUI

TUI leans toward package holidays but sells standalone seats with a 20kg bag included. Worth checking if you’re booking accommodation separately and want the bag in the price without the hassle of extras.

British Airways

BA departs Heathrow from around £85 with a carry-on included, refreshments and Avios. It’s rarely the cheapest, but if you’re travelling from west or central London the Elizabeth line to Heathrow in 35 to 45 minutes can make the total door-to-TFS journey competitive with a cheaper fare from Stansted.

Tenerife South (TFS) vs. Tenerife North (TFN): Which Airport?

This is the question first-time visitors to Tenerife don’t know to ask — and occasionally get wrong in a way that costs them an hour in a taxi.

Tenerife South (TFS) — officially Aeropuerto Reina Sofía — is where the vast majority of UK leisure flights land. It sits on the sunny southwestern tip of the island, roughly 15 to 20 minutes from Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos, and about 25 minutes from Costa Adeje. If your accommodation is in the southern resort strip, TFS is your airport. Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2 and TUI use it almost exclusively for UK routes.

Tenerife North (TFN) — Los Rodeos — is closer to the capital Santa Cruz and to La Laguna’s UNESCO old town. A handful of UK charter services use it, but most direct London flights go into TFS. If your flight lands at TFN and your hotel is in the south, you’re looking at 50 to 60 minutes across the island. That’s manageable, but worth knowing before you confidently book a taxi without a price check.

The practical rule: match the airport to your accommodation’s location, not to the cheapest headline fare. A £10 fare difference evaporates in an extra 40 minutes of taxi.

Use the Live Price Calendar

The cheapest days in any given month are usually midweek. Scan the calendar and the gap between a Friday and a Wednesday is often £30 to £50.

Six Ways to Pay Less for London to Tenerife Flights

1. Use the price calendar, not fixed dates — a two-day shift in departure can shave £40 off the fare.
2. Compare all London airports in a single flight search — Stansted and Heathrow fares for the same dates regularly differ by £20 to £35 once bags are factored in.
3. Check Jet2 before assuming Ryanair wins — a Jet2 ticket with a 22kg bag often undercuts a Ryanair base fare plus bag by £10 to £20.
4. Book eight to twelve weeks ahead for shoulder months; four months ahead for December to February or school summer holidays.
5. Set price alerts — flash sales on this route cut fares by 30 to 50 percent and typically run for 24 to 48 hours only.
6. Fly midweek. Tuesday and Wednesday departures consistently undercut Friday and Sunday on this leisure-heavy route.

What to Do in Tenerife Beyond the Beach

The resort coast is easy and enjoyable. But if you fly to Tenerife and only sit on the beach, you’ve missed the part that makes the island genuinely interesting.

Mount Teide and the cable car. Spain’s highest peak at 3,715 metres, Teide rises from a volcanic caldera in the centre of the island and dominates every horizon. The cable car takes you from the base station at 2,356m to 3,555m in eight minutes — on a clear day you can see all the other Canary Islands. Book the cable car online well in advance; it sells out days ahead in peak season. The drive up through the Teide National Park, through fields of black lava and ochre pumice, is extraordinary even without the cable car.

Whale and dolphin watching. The deep channel between Tenerife and La Gomera is one of Europe’s most reliable cetacean-watching spots — short-finned pilot whales live here year-round, alongside bottlenose dolphins. Responsible operators run morning and afternoon trips from Los Cristianos for around £35 to £50. It’s one of those excursions that consistently overdelivers.

La Laguna. The UNESCO-listed former capital is a quiet 20-minute bus ride from Santa Cruz. Cobbled streets, 16th-century Canarian architecture, good coffee, students going about their day. I spent an unplanned morning there eating pan de pueblo and watching the fountain in the Plaza del Adelantado and missed the beach entirely. Worth every minute.

Anaga Rural Park. The ancient laurisilva cloud forest in the northeastern tip of the island is nothing like the sunny south — dense, draped in mist, with hiking trails that descend to hidden black-pebble coves. The contrast is jarring in the best way.

Canarian food. Papas arrugadas — small potatoes boiled in heavily salted water until the skin wrinkles and turns white — served with mojo rojo (smoky red pepper sauce) or mojo verde (coriander and garlic) are at every table, from the resort seafronts to the inland guachinches. A guachinche — a farmhouse eatery selling seasonal home cooking — in the north of the island is one of the best-value meals you’ll find anywhere in Europe: around £10 to £15 a head for more food than you’ll finish.

Stay Connected from Landing

UK roaming in Spain varies by network, and airport SIM queues at TFS are slow and overpriced. A travel eSIM loaded before you leave means you have data the moment the wheels touch down — for the taxi app, the Teide cable car booking you forgot to make, or just not paying your carrier’s roaming day rate.

Planning accommodation? Our hotel guides cover the best-value places to stay across the Canary Islands so you can pair a cheap fare with a well-located base.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the cheapest month to fly from London to Tenerife?

Late April, May and October are consistently the cheapest months for cheap flights from London to Tenerife, with one-way fares around £49 to £80. UK demand drops in shoulder season when the winter-sun crowd has departed and families are back at school. Avoid December through February and the school summer holidays in July and August for the best prices.

How long is the flight from London to Tenerife?

A direct flight takes around 4 hours 30 minutes regardless of which London airport you depart from. Tenerife has two airports — South (TFS) handles most UK leisure flights and is closest to the resort coast; North (TFN) is nearer Santa Cruz and La Laguna. Check the airport code when booking so you don’t end up with an unexpected long transfer.

Which Tenerife airport should I fly into?

Tenerife South (TFS) for most UK visitors — it’s 15 to 25 minutes from the resort areas of Costa Adeje, Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos. Tenerife North (TFN) is only the right choice if you’re staying near Santa Cruz or La Laguna, and most direct London flights don’t serve it anyway.

Which airlines fly from London to Tenerife?

Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2, TUI and British Airways all operate the route year-round. Ryanair and easyJet have the lowest base fares; Jet2 often wins total cost once a hold bag is included; BA departs Heathrow with a full-service product and Avios.

When should I book London to Tenerife flights?

Eight to twelve weeks ahead for shoulder-season travel (May, October), and at least four months ahead for December to February or school summer holidays. Set up a price alert — flash sales on this heavily served route regularly knock 30 to 50 percent off fares for a short window.

Is Tenerife worth visiting outside summer?

Unquestionably. Tenerife averages 20 to 22°C in January and rarely drops below 18°C at sea level, which is why December to February is peak season for UK sun-seekers. Shoulder months like May and October offer genuine warmth with far fewer crowds and fares that are often half the winter-sun price — which makes them the real insider choice.

Book Your London to Tenerife Flight Now

That £98 October return turned out to be the easiest travel decision I’d made all year. The Teide cable car at sunrise, papas arrugadas with mojo rojo at a guachinche table with four seats, pilot whales off Los Cristianos — none of it requires paying the December-peak fare. It requires moving when a price drops, flying on a Tuesday and leaving the hold bag at home. This route has five carriers scrapping for your seat. Let that competition do the work.

Browse the flights hub for more route guides, or head to hotel guides to find where to stay once you land.