ABOUT
Welcome to Paraholic Tenerife! (Paraholic: noun: a person suffering from a chronic love or addiction to paragliding)
That´s us or as an ancient wise man once said: Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.
Because we belong there.
And because of that, what could feel more satisfying and joyful than spending time outdoors in the paragliding world, checking forecasts, taking you flying around beautiful Tenerife, and seeing that magical glow of happiness in your eyes and a huge smile at the end of the day!
My name is Oana Matei, and I’m a Paraholic. I have been living and flying in Tenerife since 2010 because all those flying flags on the Tenerife´s map made it look like a paragliding paradise. It definitely is! Plus, the beautiful ocean, nature, and the warm temperatures all year rock!
Sharing now with you the passion and knowledge of flying in Tenerife.
The guided paragliding tours and coaching services are available every year from November 1st to April 30th, this being the time of the year with the best flying conditions.
SERVICES
With its 15 paragliding sites that work with different wind directions and intensity, Tenerife offers you different flying experiences: from soaring close to the ocean at 200m, thermaling and XC above amazing landscapes to peaceful high-altitude flights at 2200m.
Paragliding is guaranteed 99% of the time.
In order for you to have a safe and fantastic guided paragliding holiday, we provide:
✓ briefing and debriefing regarding the daily forecast and the paragliding areas
✓ retrievals
✓ pick-up and drop-off from the meeting points in Adeje and La Caleta
✓ coaching service: groundhandling, thermalling and XC assistance, radio support in flight
✓ recommending and booking restaurants and different non-flying activities
✓ There´s also the possibility of having an instructional paragliding tandem (180eu/flight) to increase your confidence and piloting level and decrease the likelihood of incidents.
Limited spaces in order to offer you the best service!
All you´ll have to do is enjoy and fly, fly, fly!
PACKAGES
Tenerife will take your breath away with its beauty, the unique microclimates, and the different flying conditions: sometimes smooth, soft, and dreamy, occasionally rough to train your heart, and technical to improve your skills. One of the best teachers ever!
Guiding
- For intermediate and experienced level pilots
- Minimum 50 hours airtime per year in different flying conditions
- Briefing and debriefing regarding the daily forecast and the paragliding areas
- Radio contact in flight only due to weather conditions and emergency situations
- Pick-up and drop-off from the meeting points in Adeje and La Caleta
- Retrievals during the flying day
70€ day/person/day (for more than 3 days)
80€ day/person/day (for 1-3 days)
Coaching
- For new pilots and low airtime pilots
- Minimum 30 independent flights per year
- Instructional radio support in flight
- Groundhandling, thermalling and XC assistance
- Briefing and debriefing regarding the daily forecast and the paragliding areas
- Pick-up and drop-off from the meeting points in Adeje and La Caleta
- Retrievals during the flying day
*Maximum 3 pilots/group
200€ day/person/day
Instructional tandem flight
- XC flight
- Thermalling and XC tips
- Acro manoeuvres and descending manouvers included
- Gain a better understanding of paragliding
- Duration 45min-1h
Tandem flight available for non-pilot companions upon request
180€ day/person/flight
Optional accomodation at the annex buildings of hotelfondacentral.com, only with the guided paragliding tours or coaching services, available at the following prices (stays of minimum 6 days and 7 nights): 45€/night single room, 65€/ double room, 97,50€/night triple room.
The guided paragliding tours and coaching services are available every year from November 1st to April 30th, this being the time of the year with the best flying conditions.
Mandatory conditions:
-qualified pilot with an internationally recognized license, third party insurance
-autonomous take-off, flying and landing
-complete paragliding equipment, VHF radio, and functional phone
-travel insurance and accident insurance specifically for paragliding
REVIEWS
“Heartful, caring, knowledgeable, sunshine. The first 4 adjectives that came to my mind when I think at our wonderful time, we had with Oana. She brought us always to the best places to fly, no matter how much driving it was. Whoever is at the take-off, no matter what skill level the pilot has, she turns the flight into a rememberable moment – which can also imply that you are not starting but ground handling instead. It is not an easy job to satisfy everybody from beginner to professional, but she really did well. She keeps the herd of flying sheep’s small, so that she can take care of everybody – generating a family like experience. For Oana, a flying day will not end by bringing all of us back to our accommodations. Most of the time, we were heading all together to a restaurant to eat fantastic local food for a decent price, far away from crowded touristic places. Papas arrugadas, fresh seafood, just to mention a few. To sum-up, if you are looking for a personal guiding experience, a lot of flying time in a wonderful place, willing to learn to adapt to a different environment – Tenerife is definitely not the alps but a beautiful island with 46 micro climates, listening to the caretaking advices of Oana, you will have a superb time on Tenerife, I guarantee. Thank you very much Oana for this wonderful experience.”
“Sensationell! Awesome! Oana finds always a spot to fly, escape the cloudy weather and delivers the opportunity to fly for unexperienced pilots as well. She exactly knows where to fly and later land in safe spots. She motivates the more experienced pilots to fly distance and retrieves them in a short time. If desired there are often 3-4 flights a day. Or a flight for 3-4 hours.
And she knows the best restaurants for dinner and makes a good companionship.
It’s absolutely great to join her. (I fly since 1986). “
“If you are looking for someone that can optimize your chance to fly around Tenerife island, Oana is the right person. She is very committed, ready to drive all around the island to find the best take-off every day.
Even when I was tired, and I was willing to rest the next day, she contacted me the next morning to suggest a program for the day, which was always cool and I could not decline….
She is a very kind person, drives carefully, reliable and always on time like a Swiss cuckoo clock at pick up time. In addition, she knows excellent restaurants, away from the touristic routes.
If you want to enjoy the best what Tenerife can offer to a paragliding pilot, Oana will be the perfect guide”
“We had 5 wonderful days with Oana guiding us on Tenerife.
Very friendly, very good knowledge about flying on this island, gave very good instructions about danger- zones and places to land in difficult situations, has a very good paragliding- network, was always in time, helped us with hike and fly Ifonche…..We totally recommend Oana and she would be our first choice next time !”
“I had an amazing week paragliding in Tenerife with Oana; I can’t wait for a return visit. I experienced long ‘top to bottom’ flights, climbs to Cloudbase in predictable thermals, XC ridge flying, and an intense white knuckle gorge flight, leading to nice thermal flying over the flatlands, which was truly awesome. Oana is the perfect host! Being a local XC pilot she has a detailed local knowledge of local conditions, sites and weather. Her impressive flying skills are compliment by her fantastic logistic abilities, accommodation and knowledge of local restaurants; essential for recuperation after a long day in the sky.”
“Always well prepared, always with a plan, resulting in many nice flights and great satisfaction. Thank you Oana! Gladly again!!”
“I had only 1 day available to go flying this holiday (there’s so much more to see and do on tenerife), so I was very happy that Oana, the guide, was able to make the most of it. Very flexible, helpful and friendly! On my next visit I will definitely fly with her again!”
“I felt safe and cared for as a beginner and enjoyed a very nice week with Oana! She is very joyful and was there from morning to evening to care for the group and its needs. Great service! Thanks for the time :)”
“It was my third time paragliding in Tenerife. I had three different guides so far. If you are looking for the perfect organized, relaxing, comfortable, friendly and secure flying holidays, that´s with Oana for sure. She does a perfect job, brings you to the best flyable spots on the island and gives you all the information you need to have a joyful, secure and long flight. We have seen a lot of local places you will never find without her (not only take-offs and landings). Thank you very much for your outstanding service!”
“When you want to fly in Tenerife and spend your time efficiently, at the best places, in good company and in a perfect atmosphere, then look no further, Oana is the guide to go for. She´ll take you to the main flying sites, the best restaurants and will not stop smiling during the whole day. And on top of it all, she´ll accompany you everywhere, even at the restaurants and will help you pick the best local food. I´ve had a great time and will not hesitate to go with Oana again when coming back to Tenerife. “
“Lovely week with secure and very pleasant guiding by Oana in every aspect! The way she deals with different pilot levels is great. In addition very nice lunches and chills in the right moment. Sure I will come back when the Low Countries are bewitched with rain and spell!”
“When I planned for a paragliding week in Tenerife december 2022, none of my usual contacts could take me.
But there was Oana! Not only she had time for me, but she was very reactive in all the inquiries around my trip there.
I like her seriousness and her frankness, minimizing risks, by a professional preparation for every flying day. She also communicates with other guides to optimize our flying adventures.
And, on top of all Oana is a very friendly person, managing seriousness and fun.”
“The days with Oana were really great. She knows the area very well and takes care of everything. When I had a problem with my glider, she used her contacts, and just 2 hours later, I was back in the air. Oana is a super nice person. I had a fantastic time! As a bonus, she shares all about local Tenerife and places to visit.”
“Had the most incredible experiences in a beautiful environment. Oana is a fantastic guide – totally recommend!”
“We got to know each other when she came up to us with a nice smile and helped to free the glider from a cactus. With her calm manner, the canopy was freed quickly. After a great conversation, it was clear to us that we wanted to fly with her for a week. During this week, she always gave us good advice on take-off and landing sites, as well as about the weather (Tenerife’s weather system, wind, thermal hotspots, etc) and everything that had nothing to do with flying (restaurant, sightseeing). She is always in a good mood, funny, helpful, and a great pilot. We can’t wait to come to Tenerife again. To experience even more. Thanks a lot for everything.”
“She knows the scene in Tenerife extremely well – not only the paragliding but best restaurants, beaches, hiking, etc. It was so nice to have her services to get me oriented quickly to the fly sites and conditions on Tenerife so that I could maximize my time, safety, and fun in the air. Oh…and she is just super cool! I would give 6 stars if I could!”
“Thanks Oana for the great coaching and for being so helpful organising things. I always felt safe and have learnt a lot.”
“Thanks a lot for the guiding, Oana!
Oana arranged everything very well, I’ve always felt good and I’m already looking forward to the next time flying with her.”
“Professional and friendly guide on the island for paragliding pilots. Oana is friendly and tailors your pg holiday to your needs. Only to recommend, we come back next year.”
“Oana is a sunshine. We flew more than we could have hoped for. We look forward to the next time.”
“Oana is doing a very good job! We have flown with her more than anyone else. She used her knowlegde well to estimate the not always easy wind conditions on the island. Bravo!!”
“I had a wonderful paragliding experience with Oana and I cannot recommend her enough. She is very competent and client-oriented.
I went to Tenerife for 1 week in early December 2021 with my wife and two kids so we could all have a good time together (wife & kids: family hotel and zoos, daddy: Paragliding ;))
I contacted Oana via WhatsApp and booked 3 days guiding with Oana so I still had enough time with the family. On the first day of the guiding the weather was not so good and Oana offered me to cancel the guiding day free of charge, what a service! So I just changed the date of the first guiding day to two days later when the wheather had good thermal potential again. During the three days of guiding Oana picked me up at my hotel, and drove me to the landings sites for inspection and then we went paragliding as much as possible to launch zones of Taucho and Ifonche. She briefed me on important aspects of the terrain and the landings and the best thermal areas, so I had no problem in getting many hours of great flying time. After landing I texted her where I was and 15min later she was at the landing site and drove me back up to the next launch point. Often she would monitor where I was flying and was already at the landing zone when I arrived. On two of the three days I booked my wife and kids wanted to go to the zoo once more so I told Oana that I will only come in the afternoon for half a day guiding. This was no problem, I just texted her around 1pm when family time was finished and 15min later she was at the hotel to take me flying. Overall I had such an amazing paragliding experience with many hours flying in a short amount of time, and this was only made possible by Oana. In summary, she is a perfect guide for paragliding in Tenerife and I cannot recommend her enough.”
“Great time with Oana, she knows the place like the back of her pocket and can easily read the conditions. Super nice and simple to hang out with her. If you have limited time and you wanna fly with confidence it’s surely the best choice! Have fun in the air.”
“I escaped the bad weather in the alps and came to tenerife. I found Oana on the internet.
I had three wonderful days with over 10 hours of airtime. Professional, with great commitment and the best care, that’s how I experienced Oana. I can recommend her at any time.”
“Oana begins with a short questionnaire to determine the level of each participant and their expectations.
Then each day is organized according to the weather conditions, the expectations and the capacities of each one.
Good humor and pleasure are there every day.”
“What a fantastic 3 weeks I’ve had! I’m still smiling.
I came to Tenerife as a newly qualified uk pilot that hadn’t flown since training. Oana was very quick to respond to my enquiry and answered all the questions I had about visiting.
I had requested to ground handle before flying to get myself comfortable with my new equipment which she accommodated by taking me to a safe spot to practice till I was completely happy.
Up on the take off area her expertise really shows, her knowledge of the winds, weather and potential areas of turbulence is shared to the group to help build up a picture of the environment and ensures you are prepared for a safe and enjoyable flight.
Oana has the perfect attitude to flying, she’s friendly, knowledgeable and safe making people feel comfortable and able to fully enjoy the Tenerife flying experience.
Not only is Oana’s guiding fantastic but her great knowledge of local restaurants left my belly happy as well as quenching my thirst to fly.
I will definitely be returning not only for the brownie and croissant breakfasts and delicious fishy lunches but the guidance Oana gives that has made my confidence grow and given me the knowledge and skills to have a safe and enjoyable paragliding future.
A very warm and sincere heartfelt thank you for your guidance and support during my fantastic visit.
Thank you.”
“Thx… for guiding, finding me when I bombed out and making me paraholic!!! 🙂 hanging out in this beautiful spots with Oana is soul therapy… definitely will come back 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻”
“I am traveling a lot and doing the paragliding vacations and for Oana I have only the best words. Great advices, tailoring advices to the pilots level and knowledge and of course interpersonal skills that make you feel really welcome! Having the time with Oana, learning about Tenerife flying was definitely way to go for me and I am sure I’ll be back for more Taucho action :)Oana, 5 stars with pleasure!! 🌟”
“Great time! The best choice in Tenerife. Had a great time with Oana. She knows all the places and read the conditions easily. Thanks a lot for the guiding, Oana!”
“We had great flights and a nice sightseeing program, it was very nice to have you on our side! Kind regards and all the best until we meet you again.”
“I spent 9 days with Paraholic Tenerife in December 2021. Oana drove us all around the island to get the most out of the weather situation. Small group and good vibes guaranteed.”
“She is deeply knowledgeable and experienced with a great understanding of the many launch sites on the island. She helped me develop my cross country skills and extend my flight times, while always being thoughtful about conditions and safety. It was an amazing week!”
“For all the people who want to read a short review: I had an amazing time with Oana, the paragliding, the organisation and her guiding an tips were perfect!
Now the long story: We, my girlfriend and I booked Oana in January ’23 for 8 days straight. We have never been paragliding in tenerife. She showed us perfect pragliding sites, including all the possible landinds an takeoffs, alternative landinds and told us everything we had to now. She allways found the perfect spot for our skill and the daily conditions(thermalling and/or soaring!). We had an amazing time and allready booked another trip with her! On top of that, you will not only get a fantastic paragliding adventure, but also a culinary trip all over tenerife, she knows extraordinary good locations to eat!
All in all: Thank you Oana for the perfect time, see you soon!”
“Thank you very much Oana for your pleasant professional coaching.I had 5 sensational days with great progress,awesome flights all over the island and a lot of fun!”
“Oana is a fantastic person, always positive and a great professional. 7 days with Oana were high-quality, intense… just great- great flights, great tips from Oana, great restaurants… Thank you Oana❤️ we will be with you again.“
“Super organization, always the right nose for the right starting place, nice restaurants for the breaks and lots of time in the air! Great guiding, definitely again👍”
“We enjoyed full-time guiding with Oana and got to know starting places from south to north. Thanks also for the good tips on the restaurants. The great photos will remind us of the beautiful holidays. Oana, nice to know you, we will recommend your guiding.”
“I came to Tenerife specifically to learn to thermal and get into the XC game. Being new to the sport, I had accumulated most of my airtime coastal soaring and had less than ten minutes of actual thermalling. On the very first day, with Oana guiding me on the radio, I spent over an hour thermalling my way up to cloudbase. Every day was a personal best, spending hours flying into the clouds, hunting thermals, simulating XC tasks, and beautiful sunset landings at the beach. After four days with Oana, I felt that I progressed from the beginner level, reaching a new stage of competency as a Pilot. Oana was a joy to hang out with daily and highly professional, meticulous at forecasting, planning, and safety. If you’re looking for a laid-back, intimate view into the world of paragliding in Tenerife, book with Oana. She’ll take you to new heights…literally!”
“She gave me some great advice that’s made me a much better pilot. Not only is she a great instructor, but also a genuinely lovely person. I’d definitely recommend flying with her.”