The five carnival nights of 2027
Carnival takes over the streets of Santa Cruz from 19 February to 28 February, and five of those days are 'Noche de Carnaval', street nights, in the official calendar. In the organisers' words, the Cabalgata Anunciadora ends by opening the street dances, which then fill the capital for more than a week.
The nights themselves have no start time in the programme, which lists them as all-day entries; the times in the table belong to the parades and galas that lead into them. Around them, the programme also lists morning concerts in Plaza del Príncipe by Ni Fu Ni Fa with Los Fregolinos or La Zarzuela (21 February, 23 February and 28 February) and a classic-car exhibition on the last day.
| Date | Day | What's on | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 February | Friday | Cabalgata Anunciadora and floats contest · Carnival night | 19:30 | From Plaza de la República Dominicana to Avenida Francisco La Roche |
| 20 February | Saturday | Ritmo y Armonía, with every comparsa · Carnival night | 21:00 | Avenida Francisco La Roche |
| 21 February | Sunday | First daytime carnival (Carnaval de Día) | — | Stages in the city's streets |
| 22 February | Monday | Dragnaval gala · Carnival night | 20:00 | Plaza de la Candelaria |
| 23 February | Tuesday | Coso Apoteosis, the closing parade | 16:00 | Avenidas Francisco La Roche and Marítima |
| 25 February | Thursday | Inclusive carnival (morning) · Rondallas festival (evening) | 11:00 · 20:30 | Avenida Francisco La Roche · Círculo de Amistad XII de Enero |
| 26 February | Friday | Viernes de Piñata: children's parade · Carnival night | 18:00 | From Parque García Sanabria |
| 27 February | Saturday | Second daytime carnival · Carnival night | — | Stages in the city's streets |
| 28 February | Sunday | Senior carnival · Fin de fiesta and fireworks | 17:00–20:00 · 20:00 | Plaza de la Candelaria |
Only one night? How the five differ
Friday 19 February is when the street dances begin, straight after the Cabalgata. Saturday 20 February opens with the comparsas' Ritmo y Armonía on Avenida Francisco La Roche. On Monday 22 February, Dragnaval takes the Plaza de la Candelaria stage at 20:00.
Friday 26 February, the Viernes de Piñata, starts the second weekend. And Saturday 27 February is the only day in the calendar with a daytime carnival and a carnival night in the same box.
Where the night happens
There's no single venue: the organisers describe stages set up across the streets of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and the parades mark out the main axes. The Cabalgata sets off from Plaza de la República Dominicana and follows Avenida de la Asunción, Ramón y Cajal, Galcerán, Plaza Weyler, Méndez Núñez, Pilar, Villalba Hervás and La Marina to Avenida Francisco La Roche, where the comparsas also play Ritmo y Armonía. Plaza de la Candelaria, with its Escenario Dormitorum, hosts Dragnaval and, on Sunday 28 February 2027, the closing fireworks.
The two daytime carnivals, on Sunday 21 February and Saturday 27 February, fill those street stages in daylight and, as the organisers put it, run straight on into the night. For the city by day, see what to do in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
What to wear and what to bring
A costume, if you fancy one: the organisers describe locals and visitors in original outfits, from elaborate costumes to improvised ones, and people join the Cabalgata itself to dance in fancy dress. Nothing in the programme sets a dress code for the street.
February nights are mild rather than warm. AEMET's 1981–2010 normals give Santa Cruz de Tenerife an average minimum of 15.3 °C in February, so a light layer for the small hours makes sense. If you head on to a club in the south afterwards, each door has its own rules: see what to wear for a night out in Tenerife.
Back to the south when the street night ends
The club nights on this site are in the south (Tenerife South clubs). TITSA's line 711 is the all-night bus: it leaves the Intercambiador, Santa Cruz's bus station, and stops at Tenerife South airport and in Los Cristianos before ending at the Costa Adeje bus station, a route TITSA times at 90 min.
Between 23:30 and 05:00, these buses don't use the bays inside the station: the 711 leaves from the outdoor stop on the tram side, the 110 from the one by the law courts (los Juzgados). By day, lines 110 and 111 link Santa Cruz with the Costa Adeje bus station, and line 112 with Los Cristianos.
These are TITSA's regular timetables as of 31 October 2026; no special carnival service for 2027 had been announced, so check TITSA's website again in February. Flying in for it? Our guide to getting from Tenerife South airport to Las Américas covers the buses and the official taxi tariff.
| Line | Leaves Santa Cruz | Calls at |
|---|---|---|
| 711 | 22:10 · 22:40 · 23:15 · 00:10 · 00:45 · 01:50 · 02:30 · 03:20 · 04:00 | Tenerife South airport, Los Cristianos, Costa Adeje bus station |
| 110 (late runs) | 21:55 · 22:50 · 23:15 · 00:10 · 02:50 · 04:10 | San Isidro, Los Cristianos, Costa Adeje bus station |
Carnival Tuesday: a holiday in Santa Cruz, not across the island
Tuesday 23 February 2027 is one of Santa Cruz de Tenerife's two local holidays in 2027, along with 3 May, according to the Canary Islands Government's order on local holidays, published in the BOC on 21 August 2026. That afternoon, at 16:00, the Coso Apoteosis sets off: the parade that closes the carnival.
The holiday belongs to the capital. The same order puts Carnival Tuesday on 9 February in Arona, the municipality of Los Cristianos, and in Granadilla de Abona, where Tenerife South airport is. Adeje has its two local holidays on other dates.
Before the street: a month of contests on stage
The carnival opens on Friday 22 January 2027 with its inaugural gala in Plaza de España at 21:30, and the following weeks belong to the contests, nearly all at the Recinto Ferial de Tenerife; the Carnival Queen is chosen on Wednesday 17 February 2027. The 2027 edition revolves around Rome and goes by the name 'Roma Eterna: El imperio del Carnaval'.
Murgas sing critical, funny lyrics about current affairs; comparsas bring Brazilian and Caribbean rhythms with dancers, a batucada and a parranda; rondallas, the oldest groups, sing in a lyrical style with string instruments. Dragnaval, the drag gala, has been part of it since 2023.
Where the programme gives no time or venue, the cell shows a dash.
| Date | Time | Contest or gala | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 January | 20:00 | Musical groups contest | Recinto Ferial |
| 24 January | 17:00 | Choreographic groups contest | Recinto Ferial |
| 29 January and 30 January | 18:30 | Children's murgas, two rounds | Recinto Ferial |
| 31 January | 17:00 | Rondallas showcase | Auditorio de Tenerife |
| 1 February to 4 February | 20:30 | Adult murgas, four qualifying rounds | Recinto Ferial |
| 6 February | 20:00 | Adult murgas final | Recinto Ferial |
| 7 February | 18:30 | Children's Queen gala | Recinto Ferial |
| 10 February | 17:30 | Seniors' Queen gala and seniors' festival | Recinto Ferial |
| 12 February | 20:30 | Canción de la Risa contest | — |
| 13 February | 20:00 | Comparsas contest | Recinto Ferial |
| 14 February | — | Costume contest | Recinto Ferial |
| 17 February | 21:30 | Carnival Queen election gala | Recinto Ferial |
Club nights in February
Carnival is the city's party, run by Santa Cruz City Council through Fiestas de Santa Cruz, and it isn't on our agenda. Ours are the club nights of the south, between Costa Adeje and Los Cristianos. Once the February 2027 dates go on sale, they appear in the calendar and below this article; for the north after dark outside carnival, see Santa Cruz and Puerto de la Cruz by night.
