Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Canarias

Orotava, La

Staggered on a mountainside overlooking its namesake fertile valley, with an old quarter of noble houses and some of the most stunning wooden balconies in the Canary Islands.

42,669 residents~48 min to San Cristóbal de La Laguna
Orotava, La, Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Photo: JosuHdez · Public domain

Living in Orotava, La

La Orotava is a graceful Tenerife town of 43,000 staggered up a mountainside above its lush namesake valley, its old quarter famous for the ornately carved wooden balconies of its noble houses and for a fine 18th-century botanical garden. Its municipality is vast, climbing from the fertile north coast all the way to the summit of Teide, and it's a common gateway up onto the mountain. The inhabited town enjoys a mild, subtropical north-coast climate. It's mostly Spanish-born, with a notable German community and a large Venezuelan one. It has its own hospital, with La Laguna and the northern airport both around forty minutes away.

Orotava, La's Spainability Scores — by who's moving

Not our opinion: we ran the same scoring engine behind the quiz for six settler profiles across all 8,132 municipalities. Each score is Orotava, La's percentile for that group — 87 means it beats 87% of the towns we could score. How scoring works.

Heat-averse Spainability Score 72

Higher than 72% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for heat-averse settlers.

Staggered on a mountainside overlooking its namesake fertile valley, with an old quarter of noble houses and some of the most stunning wooden balconies in the Canary Islands. A strong pick if you can't stand hot summers — 7 km from the sea and a settled international community.

  • Summer high (Jul–Aug) 22.8°C
  • Rainy days a year 30 days
  • Winter average temp 5.8°C
Remote-work Spainability Score 66

Higher than 66% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for remote workers.

Staggered on a mountainside overlooking its namesake fertile valley, with an old quarter of noble houses and some of the most stunning wooden balconies in the Canary Islands. A strong pick for a remote-working couple — a settled international community and 7 km from the sea.

  • 100 Mbps+ coverage 89%
  • Drive to nearest airport 41 min
  • Registered long-let rent €5.95/m²·mo
  • Summer high (Jul–Aug) 22.8°C
Retiree Spainability Score 62

Higher than 62% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for retiring couples.

Staggered on a mountainside overlooking its namesake fertile valley, with an old quarter of noble houses and some of the most stunning wooden balconies in the Canary Islands. A strong pick for a retiring couple — a hospital in town and only 30 rainy days a year.

  • Winter average temp 5.8°C
  • Drive to a hospital 0 min
  • Surgical wait (region) 106 days
  • Registered long-let rent €5.95/m²·mo
American-retiree Spainability Score 58

Higher than 58% of the 8,088 Spanish municipalities we could score for American retirees.

Staggered on a mountainside overlooking its namesake fertile valley, with an old quarter of noble houses and some of the most stunning wooden balconies in the Canary Islands. A strong pick for American retirees — a hospital in town and only 30 rainy days a year.

  • Winter average temp 5.8°C
  • Drive to a hospital 0 min
  • U.S.-born residents 0.89 per 1,000
  • Registered long-let rent €5.95/m²·mo
Family Spainability Score 57

Higher than 57% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for families.

Staggered on a mountainside overlooking its namesake fertile valley, with an old quarter of noble houses and some of the most stunning wooden balconies in the Canary Islands. A strong pick for a family with school-age kids — 7 km from the sea and a settled international community.

  • Schools in town 26
  • PISA maths (region) 447
  • Registered long-let rent €5.95/m²·mo
  • Drive to a hospital 0 min
Budget-coastal Spainability Score 47

Higher than 47% of the 2,555 Spanish municipalities we could score for budget-first coastal settlers.

Staggered on a mountainside overlooking its namesake fertile valley, with an old quarter of noble houses and some of the most stunning wooden balconies in the Canary Islands. A strong pick for coastal living on a budget — a settled international community and 7 km from the sea.

  • Registered long-let rent €5.95/m²·mo
  • Net income per person €12,366
  • Summer high (Jul–Aug) 22.8°C

What is the climate like in Orotava, La?

Orotava, La's reported winter average is 5.8°C, while July–August highs reach 22.8°C.

Climate

Winter average temp
5.8°C bottom 26% of 8,131 towns 2°C below the Spanish average (7.8°C)
Summer high (Jul–Aug)
22.8°C top 3% of 8,131 towns 7.4°C below the Spanish average (30.2°C)
Rainy days a year
30 days top 1% of 8,088 towns 56% less than the Spanish average (69 days)
Sunshine
10 h/day top 1% of 3,829 towns 38% more than the Spanish average (7.2 h/day)
Summer water stress (WEI+)
no local data
River-flood depth (T=100, town centre) estimated
0 m top 1% of 8,129 towns 0.04 m below the Spanish average (0.04 m)
River-flood risk score estimated
0 top 1% of 8,129 towns about the Spanish average (0)
Wildfire burn rate (2010–23)
0.37 ha/km² bottom 28% of 8,132 towns 1.94 ha/km² below the Spanish average (2.31 ha/km²)
Forest fires (2010–23)
7 bottom 15% of 8,132 towns 1 above the Spanish average (6)
High fire-weather days (province) regional estimate
30.9% bottom 1% of 8,130 towns 8% above the Spanish average (22.9%)

The year, month by month

AEMET 30-year climate normals — what a January or an August actually feels like, not the annual average.

vs London: +2.5h December daylight½ the rain
-5° 10° 15° 20° 25° 100 0 mm 10° 12° 15° 19° 10° 23° 14° 23° 14° 19° 11° 15° 11° day high night low JFMAMJJASOND
day high → night low (°C) rain (mm/month, right axis) Measured at the IZAÑA station.

How good is healthcare in Orotava, La?

Orotava, La's nearest health centre is 61.1 km away, and the reported hospital drive is 0 min.

Healthcare

Drive to a hospital
0 min top 1% of 8,132 towns
Nearest health centre
61.1 km bottom 3% of 8,132 towns
Surgical wait (region) regional estimate
106 days #12 of 17 regions, +3 days vs national about the Spanish average (108 days)

What are schools like in Orotava, La?

Orotava, La has 26 schools in town; the nearest international school is 10 km away.

Schools

Schools in town
26 top 2% of 7,042 towns
Nearest international school
10 km top 8% of 8,132 towns
PISA maths (region) regional estimate
447 #17 of 17 regions, −32 vs national 34 below the Spanish average (481)

How much does it cost to live in Orotava, La?

Orotava, La's reported home price is €1,772/m², while registered long-let rent is €5.95/m²·mo.

Cost & economy

Home price
€1,772/m² appraisal (valor tasado) top 42% of 306 towns 20% less than the Spanish average (€2,208/m²)
Asking price
no local data
Registered long-let rent
€5.95/m²·mo
Registered rent p25
€4.57/m²·mo
Registered rent p75
€7.52/m²·mo
Registered-rent yield
4.03% bottom 41% of 306 towns
Net income per person
€12,366 bottom 22% of 8,059 towns 15% less than the Spanish average (€14,495)
Income growth ’18–’23
31.9% top 19% of 6,605 towns

Which languages are used in schools in Orotava, La?

Spanish is the only region-wide official language in the Canary Islands, and Spanish-medium teaching is the public-school default. Individual bilingual and international programmes can use other languages, so check the specific school. See the the Canary Islands region guide for the wider regional context.

What is the community like in Orotava, La?

Orotava, La's reported population is 42,669.

Who lives here

Population
42,669
Born in Spain
87.7% 1.1% below the Spanish average (88.8%)
Born elsewhere in EU/UK
3.3% 0.5% below the Spanish average (3.8%)
U.S.-born residents
0.89 per 1,000

How easy is it to get around Orotava, La?

Orotava, La is a reported 41 min drive from the nearest airport, with 85% fibre-to-home coverage.

Getting around

Drive to nearest airport
41 min top 16% of 8,132 towns
Fibre-to-home coverage
85% bottom 37% of 8,132 towns 6% above the Spanish average (79%)
100 Mbps+ coverage
89% bottom 37% of 8,132 towns 6% above the Spanish average (83%)
Nearest airport Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport (TFN) — 41 min drive · international hub: direct flights to 5 countries (incl. Germany)

Numbers: Spainability town dataset, derived from INE, AEMET, Mitma and the Catastro. Registered long-let rent is SERPAVI declared-contract data; its p25–p75 values show the observed band. Registered-rent yield is gross, excludes costs and is never imputed. Percentile chips count only the municipalities that report the figure — the "of n" says how many. Region-ranked figures (PISA, surgical waits) compare Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas. A blank means no municipal-level figure is published — not a zero.

How does Orotava, La fit you?

These are the town's numbers. Whether it's your town depends on what you're optimising for — winter sun or mild summers, a city or a village, short medical waits, an easy flight home. The 3-minute quiz scores Orotava, La against every one of Spain's 8,132 municipalities on your priorities. It sits about 48 min from San Cristóbal de La Laguna, if that's your anchor.

Take the quiz — rank Orotava, La for you →

Questions to verify locally

  • Ask whether current long-let rents match the registered-contract figure.
  • Request recent comparable sales before relying on the appraisal figure.
  • Test fibre speed at the exact address, not the town average.
  • Visit local schools and confirm places for incoming families.
  • Confirm health-centre registration and opening hours in person.
  • Ask an insurer how the mapped flood or wildfire exposure affects cover.

Nearby towns

Other places we profile within easy reach.

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