The Canary Islands in Spain have become one of the main centers for nomads in Europe, and it makes total sense: good stable weather (18 to 24°C) all year round, impressive nature (forests, volcanic islands, black sand beaches, etc.), good prices, awesome food, and a huge nomad/expat community.

The Mapmelon Team spent two weeks at Nine Coliving in Tenerife, one of the most famous colivings in Europe. This is a small guide with everything you need to know before going to Nine Coliving.

Location📍

Nine Coliving is situated in La Orotava, a small town in the north of Tenerife (the largest Canary Island). The north of Tenerife is a good option for nomads because it is less crowded by tourists than the south and has a wide variety of landscapes.

Nine used to be an old traditional Canary house (1852) in the center of La Orotava, a picturesque town that maintains traditional Canary architecture (wooden balconies and colorful houses). The house has many outdoor spaces: an inner patio, a backyard garden with a BBQ, and a rooftop with space for yoga. It also has an old gym, a huge kitchen, a large coworking space, and a dining room. Everything is beautifully decorated and well taken care of.

Arrival 🛬

To arrive at Nine Coliving you can rent a car, take a taxi or take a train. It will also vary on which airport your flight arrives at, we totally recommend paying a little extra and landing at Tenerife Norte Airport (as there’s an hour and a half of difference between airports).

• Renting a car is around 14-30eur per day in Autoreisen or Cicar, so it is a cheap option to discover the island (as public transport is not the best). You can pick up the car at the airport and return it when returning home.

• Parking in the center of La Orotava is free although some days it can be crowded. Blue lines have a limited amount of time you can park on, and yellow lines are for residents (Do not park there!).

• A taxi from North Airport is around 35-45eur and takes 16 min, and from South Airport is around 110-140eur and takes 1 hour.

• Public transport is more complicated, as Google Maps is not always up to date. So when you look up buses, make sure you double-check the website of Titsa.

• By bus from the North Airport. There are two airport buses: number 30 and 343, both in the direction of Puerto de la Cruz.  With n. 30, stop in Enlace Orotava: it’s a 15 min walk to Nine (up the hill). 

• By bus from the South Airport. You take bus 343 to Puerto de la Cruz and then transfer at El Canario onto a bus to La Orotava bus station. The total ride takes about 1,5 hours. Busses you can take from El Canario to La Orotava are lines 352, 345, and 101. When you get off the bus at El Canario, cross to the bus stop on the other side of the road.

Transportation 🚗

Tenerife has a lot to offer, and you may need a car to discover everything. Renting a car is super easy, safe, and cheap. But if you don't drive, don't worry! At Nine, there are usually some colivers with cars (the hosts also have cars), and if that is not available, you can always share a taxi with your new friends!

To get a taxi, you can call them on the street, but the best option is to call or WhatsApp a taxi service or taxi driver to pick you up (the hosts at Nine have different numbers for you to call).

Staff 🤗

Nine Coliving is run by Anne and the community host, Silvia. They also have different hosts and volunteers depending on the season (we met Anna, Constanze, Marilia, Larissa, and Ivana). They were all helpful and kind. You can feel that they are a family and that they take care of everyone in the house.

Not all of them live in the house, but there's always someone available to help. They usually participate in all the different community events and organize transportation for all the people in the house.

Of course, there's also Lara, the coliving's dog that everyone loves!

Accommodation 🏡

Nine Coliving has many spacious and beautiful rooms with natural light. We had the luck to stay in the Ethan room, which had a double bed with views of the beautiful garden and the old town. The room also had a desk, a wardrobe, and a super comfy bed. The plugs in Tenerife are the same as in Europe, known as Type C. WiFi is available in all the rooms.

Coworking 💻

The coworking space at Nine Coliving is really spacious, with a huge window that brings a lot of natural light into the room. The space consists of two connected rooms and has desk space for about 10 people. It's more than enough as not all guests work at the same time or place.

In the coworking space, you can find everything you need, including standing desks, monitors, and even a screen cleaner! The internet is fast, and we never had any issues with the connection.

Coliving/Community 🌍

Even though the experience depends mostly on the colivers, you will never have a bad experience considering all the care that the hosts put into the community.

At Nine, you will connect with other colivers daily while having breakfast on the rooftop. There's a weekly BBQ on Sundays, and almost every week there's another dinner or lunch happening at home. They also have weekly yoga lessons and a monthly Pub Crawl open to all the nomad/expat community in Tenerife.

Depending on the guests, they plan different activities such as climbing Teide, hiking in Anaga Park, stargazing at Teide, swimming in Los Patos with Lara, surfing trips, sunset wine, salsa, etc.

All the communication happens in Slack, and colivers respond to the messages to reserve a spot in the different activities.

Summary ✅

We loved our stay at Nine Coliving, and it set a high bar for our expectations for future colivings. It's a close-knit community where you will always have something to do. I mean, there's a girl who has been living there for two years! What better review could there be?