From 2,356 to 3,555 meters (7,730 to 11,660 ft) in a few minutes – and from there it is no longer the ticket that decides, but the reservation.
Photo: Axel Cotón Gutiérrez · CC BY-SA 4.0
The cable car stops for wind, ice and maintenance, and it happens often enough that you should check before driving up. We read the operating status from the operator's site every morning at six. For the hours after that: check again yourself on the morning of your ride.
The cable-car ticket alone takes you to the top station and onto two short trails to the viewpoints of La Fortaleza (PNT 11) and Pico Viejo (PNT 12). Stay at the top: one hour. That is enough for both trails if you keep moving – and the thin air makes you walk slowly anyway.
The last 660 meters (0.4 miles) along the Telesforo Bravo trail (PNT 10) require a reservation around the clock: €15 for visitors in the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. window, booked through Tenerife ON, at most 56 days ahead, new places released on Mondays at 7 a.m. With a summit reservation you may stay two hours at the top. Everything else on the Mount Teide page.
Children under three, pregnant women and people with cardiovascular conditions are not carried; people with reduced mobility are excluded because of the evacuation procedures. Dogs are not allowed, assistance dogs excepted. Under-16s only accompanied by an adult.
The operator sells tickets online for a fixed ascent time. If you buy on the spot at the base station, you take what is left that day – in high season that is often not much.
| Return, adults | €42 |
| Return, children aged 3 to 13 | €21 |
| One way, adults / children – for anyone hiking up or down | €23.50 / €11.75 |
| Canary Islands residents, return · children | €10.50 · €5.25 |
| Summit reservation PNT 10, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., on top · children and the 6–9 a.m. / 6–10 p.m. windows | €15 · €0 |
Ticket with a fixed ascent time from the operator's own site, brand Volcano Teide. Resellers often charge €44 and more for the same ticket, sometimes with an audio guide. If you also want the summit: secure the summit place at Tenerife ON first, then set the ascent 30 to 60 minutes before your summit window opens. The two systems do not know each other.
Free until 6 p.m. the day before, at most three date changes a year. If the cable car is stopped for wind or a technical fault, the ticket is rebooked or refunded through "Manage your booking" – also when the ride is delayed by at least 90 minutes and the ticket is unused. The summit reservation is refunded by Tenerife ON on request by e-mail; keep the cancellation notice.
Not a summit pass, not a parking guarantee, not a guided tour. It is a ride up and down with one hour at the top. If you want the crater, you need the reservation on top; if you cannot get one, the top station and its two viewpoint trails still give you one of the best views in the Canaries – Pico Viejo, the caldera and, on a clear day, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro.
Photo: Mike Peel · CC BY-SA 4.0
Year-round from 9 a.m., closing time depends on the season. Last ascent one hour before closing, last descent ten minutes before. The base-station car park opens at 8 a.m.
| January 1 – March 27 and April 13 – June 30 | 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. · last ascent 4:00 p.m. |
| March 28 – April 12 (Easter weeks) and July 1 – September 30 | 9:00 a.m.–6:40 p.m. · last ascent 5:40 p.m. |
| October 1 – 13 | 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. |
| October 14 – 24 | 9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. |
| October 25 – December 31 | 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. |
There is no official one; the operator contradicts itself in its own blog. One post recommends the first ascent at 9 a.m. (fewest people, morning light), another 12 to 4 p.m. and Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays, based on its visitor numbers. What is certain: for the summit, the 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. window has the most free places.
At 3,500 meters it almost always blows. At what wind speed the cable car closes, and how often that happens, the operator does not publish. If you have only one day, put Teide at the start of your trip and keep a second date free.
The top station is roughly 15 to 20 °C (27 to 36 °F) colder than the coast, with wind and high-altitude sun. For the summit trail, long trousers, a fleece and mountain shoes with grip are mandatory and checked; for the top station they are simply sensible. Dizziness and headache after the fast ascent are common – walk slowly, go down if it gets worse.
If you are not driving, book the cable-car ticket and the bus together. The summit is not part of these tours – it runs on a separate quota for accredited guides, and such tours are rare and expensive. In case the cable car stops: the evening program in the national park does not hang on a cable.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 21.09.2026. Whether the cable car runs on the day is decided by the wind, not the operator.
Photo: Rahernaiz 91 · CC BY-SA 3.0 es
€42 for adults and €21 for children aged 3 to 13, return. A one-way ride is €23.50 or €11.75. Canary Islands residents pay €10.50. The summit costs visitors another €15, booked separately with Tenerife ON.
Not strictly, but it makes sense: the operator sells online with a fixed ascent time, and in high season the popular times go early. If you turn up unannounced, you get what is left at the base station.
A few minutes for 1,200 meters of altitude. Still allow for waiting at the base station at your booked time and for one hour at the top – the operator does not allow more without a summit reservation.
No. In strong wind, ice or technical faults it stops, and that happens often. The operator shows the status on its site; we take it over every morning at the top of this page. If the cable car is down, the ticket is rebooked or refunded.
Yes. The top station is at 3,555 m, and two short trails lead to the La Fortaleza and Pico Viejo viewpoints. The view over the caldera and to the neighboring islands is the same as from the summit, just without the crater.
Yes, with a one-way ticket for €23.50. But the ascent via Montaña Blanca (PNT 07) also requires a reservation, with a checkpoint and mandatory equipment, and is officially rated difficult: about 1,200 meters (3,900 ft) of climbing on loose pumice.
Sources · accessed on 2026-09-25
