Tenerife holds a special place in my heart. After staying for three weeks in June 2021, I knew I would come back to this island at some point. In November 2022 I therefore spent another six weeks on Tenerife. This time, I chose to live and work in Cactus Coliving. A place that is home for digital nomads and travellers from all over the world. It perfectly combines working and living together in a community.

Why I love Colivings

I’m a huge fan of colivings. You get to live and work together with people who have jobs you didn’t even know existed and stories to tell that can inspire you on many different levels. Even though everyone has a different cultural background it always amazes me how like-minded the coliving community is. It only takes some time and little effort to make great connections.

A work day becomes so much nicer when you can have lunch in the sun with your fellow colivers, take a break lying in the hammock, get some input on a specific problem by someone who might be an expert in this field and also when you know you can go exploring the new environment after work. Cactus Coliving is one of those places I can deeply recommend to live at for a while. It’s a community, a place to learn and grow, to enjoy the moment and make the most of our precious time – and a place to get inspiration on how to create your life.

Are you planning to stay at Cactus Coliving? Scroll down to benefit from a discount through placesoflinda!

About Cactus Coliving

Cactus Coliving was founded by Maria in 2021. She transformed her childhood home, a more than 200 year old historical house, into a place that is now home to digital nomads from all over the globe. It’s pretty amazing how she put the idea of building a coliving into reality. What can I say, she did a fantastic job.

The house

With multiple single and double rooms as well as one dorm for five pax, the Cactus house fits between 20 to 30 people in total. There are private bathrooms, shared bathrooms, rooms with a balcony or even their own TV – the Cactus house meets everyone’s needs! The interior is a mix of modern and historical elements. Not to forget the beautiful cactus distributed around the house!

Cactus has two main workspaces: the formal (silent) and informal (non-silent) coworking. They both offer a nice working atmosphere and have plenty of seats. If you need special equipment like a second screen you can rent it for a small fee as well. In case you have longer meetings there are a few meeting rooms which can be reserved for a couple of hours. Every room also comes with a private desk.

Cactus Coliving has an indoor and outdoor kitchen. Cooking under the stars is therefore guaranteed. Around the house there are lots of seating and chillout areas. My favourite spot was the table in front of the outdoor kitchen. We used to have breakfast there while enjoying the sun. Sometimes we also watched a movie in one of the two cozy TV corners. Have I mentioned the hammock under the avocado tree or the large rooftop with the most beautiful view over Roque de Jama?

A historical spot is the huge wine cellar which is a meeting room during the day and also used for other events like wine tasting or family dinner. Additionally, you can wash your clothes in the laundry room for a small fee.

Summing up, the Cactus Coliving house is like a home and provides everything you need. There is enough space to withdraw yourself if you feel like having some alone time but also plenty of opportunities to enjoy the community vibe.

Read more about my top five favourite things to do in Tenerife!

Working

Working at Cactus Coliving is really nice! The Wifi covers the whole house and has great speed. I’ve never had any issues although I usually had many calls that needed good internet connection. There are also plenty of spots you can work from:

• Formal Coworking: For the silent workers
• Informal Coworking: For those who occasionally have a call and don’t like silence
• Meeting rooms: You can book one of the meeting rooms for a couple of hours
• Private desk in the rooms
• Garden

Daily life

A weekly schedule offers daily activities like yoga, workouts, wine tasting, visiting a local farm, going on hikes, buying fresh vegetables at the farmers market, game night, family dinner, workshops and seasonal activities. When I was staying at Cactus we decorated the Christmas tree, baked Christmas cookies & had mulled wine. We also went up to the volcano El Teide to watch the stars.

Daily life at Cactus Coliving never gets boring! The days pass by so quickly but are super long at the same time as you’re really spending your time in a meaningful and fun way. There are many opportunities to effortlessly spend time with other colivers. But it’s also fine to not join every activity and just do your own thing. I experienced the colivers at Cactus to be very respectful and friendly.

What’s included

Your stay at Cactus Coliving includes the following (for more information look at their website):

• Living & working in the beautiful Cactus house
• Housekeeping once a week (cleaning, change of towels and linens)
• Daily breakfast with local products
• Weekly activity schedule incl. yoga, workouts, workshops, hikes, local farm visits
• Cuddling Maria’s dog Bartolo

You don’t have to worry about preparing breakfast as the Cactus volunteers are taking care of that! The breakfast buffet is a mix of homemade granola, plant-based milk, bread, spreads, fruit from the local farmers market and freshly baked banana bread! On certain days of the week there are also pancakes & croissants. Isn’t that the best start into a working day?

Here are three laptop-friendly cafés in Málaga!

Have a look at the different rooms of Cactus Coliving to find out more. If you mention ‘placesoflinda’ in your booking you can benefit from a 25 € discount (minimum length of stay one month).

Location

Located in the South of the island, Cactus Coliving is the perfect spot for those who love sunshine! The south of the island is more sunny, less cloudy and warmer than the north. This is one of the reasons why I chose Cactus! Last time I was staying in the north of Tenerife – which is absolutely beautiful – but I prefer waking up with blue skies instead of low hanging clouds. Cactus was absolutely perfect for that!

The house is located in the middle of the Canarian town Valle de San Lorenzo. It’s not touristy at all and supermarkets or shops are within walking distance (see more below in the next chapter). You will get a real local experience!

Within only 20 minutes by car you can get to Las Americas, Los Christianos, El Médano and Tenerife Sur airport. Tenerife itself isn’t too big so you can easily do a day trip to the north. It takes between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours to get to the other side of the island. El Teide national park is also within 1 hour driving distance.

To move around the island there is a good bus connection from Valle de San Lorenzo to Las Americas & Los Christianos which then connects you to other destinations. It only takes you around 30 minutes to go to a nice beach after work. I can highly recommend renting a car on Tenerife, as it allows you to be more flexible and see different parts of the island. One option would be to rent the Cactus Car for around 15 Euros per day. The availability depends on whether it’s taken by other colivers. To be more independent you could also rent a car through one of the rental agencies. I’ve made good experiences with AutoReisen and TopCar.

My time at Cactus Coliving

In total I spent six weeks at Cactus Coliving. I would definitely recommend to stay at least a month to have the full experience, to get the chance to explore the island and bond with the other colivers. Brad and I shared a double room with a private bathroom.

Scroll down to benefit from a discount on your booking through placesoflinda!

My days started with a yoga session on the rooftop and enjoying the sunrise. I then started working at around 8 am. At 9:30 am I usually had breakfast in the garden with other colivers. For lunch we would go to one of the local restaurants or eat in the garden. After work I either joined the daily activities, went on a sunset hike or explored the surrounding beaches.

The weekends were dedicated to exploring the island. Pablo, the local guide, would take us on hikes or we organized a day trip ourselves. There are plenty of things to do in Tenerife. Have a look at this blogpost to see my favourite five things to do on the island.

Personal highlights

All in all I had a fantastic time and would definitely come back to Cactus Coliving. I will remember this time with many good memories. Here are my personal highlights:

Blue sky & sunshine

A big plus for me was definitely the location in the south of the island. As already mentioned I love blue skies & sunshine. There are nice beaches within a short drive and even the north of the island can be reached within an hour. Doing yoga in the mornings while watching the sun rising behind Roque de Jama was the best start into my day.

Many activities

I was also a big fan of the weekly plan that brings everyone from the coliving together. It doesn’t cost a lot of effort to connect with the other colivers within a few days. Once a week we had family dinner where a few people cooked for everyone else. Brad and I organized a three course Thai dinner for the other colivers which was a lot of fun. Every now and then one person of the group hosted a workshop about their hobby or a special skill they have. I also got the chance to host a photo editing workshop at Cactus.

Inspiration

Another thing I’ll never forget is all the inspiration I got from this place. So many amazing people come together and share their stories with each other. As we spent a lot of time together we learned from each other on many different levels. It’s an experience I think you would never have if you just travel to a place for a few days. For example, I learned about freelancing, about laws for digital nomads, about optimizing website speed, about webdesign itself. I experienced the passion and joy other people have for the things they do. The conversations encouraged me to make certain decisions in my life and showed me what is possible.

Advice for your stay

Last but not least I want to give you some advice for your stay at Cactus Coliving so that you can have the best experience.

Stay at least for one month

Most of the other colivers and I experienced a similar thing. After 1 week you start to feel at home and remember all the names. After 2 weeks you are in the coliving flow and the really good time begins. I would therefore recommend to stay at least a month. Otherwise you might have to leave right when you’re having the best time. If you stay longer than two months, keep in mind that the dynamics of the group can change and you will have to go through a lot of goodbyes. I think the perfect length to stay in a coliving is therefore between 1 to 2 months.

Rent a car if possible

To fully explore the beauty of Tenerife and be more flexible I would recommend considering either renting a car through Cactus or through a rental agency. Going around by bus is possible but takes so much time. Especially if you want to go north or to remote places. The island is so diverse that it would be a shame not to explore most of it.

Check the average temperature

Depending on the month you’re going to stay in Tenerife I recommend having a look at the average temperatures in Valle de San Lorenzo as well as of the rest of the island. In November we had around 23-25 degrees during the day and it went down to 12-15 degrees at night.

Down at the coast it was usually 3-5 degrees warmer than at Cactus. In the north of the island and especially up at Teide it can be much cooler. We’re talking about 0 degrees up at Teide National Park at night. It’s therefore best to bring a mix of everything. Flip flops, hiking boots, long clothes & short clothes.

Bring cash from the mainland

Even if you come from other European countries I recommend to bring cash with you. Despite having a credit card that doesn’t charge me fees and being European I still had to pay around 2 Euros per withdrawal at the ATMs. All the banks on Tenerife charge you this fee if your card is not from the bank itself. To save some money it’s best to bring some cash with you or withdraw a higher amount to save withdrawal fees.

Special discount for your stay

All in all I can only recommend to book a stay at Cactus Coliving. It’s an awesome place. On top of that you also get to explore a beautiful Canarian island.

I have a special discount for your stay at Cactus!
Just mention ‘placesoflinda’ in your booking and benefit from a 25 € discount.
(only applies for stays with a minimum length of one month)

Have you been to Cactus or a different coliving before? Or do you have any specific questions? Let me know in the comments below and I will get back to you!

Read more about my previous coliving experiences