I traveled 12,000 miles to see Ed Sheeran in Tenerife. It was frivolous, but totally worth it

Last summer, my husband and I embarked on one of our most impulsive adventures yet: a whirlwind trip to the Canary Islands to see Ed Sheeran live.

We’d seen Ed Sheeran perform live multiple times before, but this concert had one motivation unlike any other. This time, we wanted to hear our all-time favorite song, Tenerife Sea, performed live in Tenerife for the first time.

It definitely wasn’t the most practical trip. It required seven flights, multiple airlines, and plenty of credit card points, but the experience was unforgettable.

We couldn’t pass up the opportunity

Ed Sheeran has been the soundtrack to much of our 10-year relationship. Tenerife Sea was a favorite when we first started dating, and Perfect later became our wedding song. In fact, we planned a dreamy vacation to Tenerife for years because of Ed Sheeran’s song. The island had always been high on our bucket list ever since we heard his song.

Even though we’d seen him live many times, Ed Sheeran had never performed Tenerife Sea in Tenerife. When the concert date was announced, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we couldn’t pass up. In fact, Ed Sheeran was one of the biggest artists to ever schedule a concert in Tenerife.

Not to mention, my husband and I had just endured months apart during a grueling military deployment, so we were thrilled to secure floor seats! It felt like destiny to experience a special performance with a song that had meant so much to us, in the very place it was written about.

Credit card points made it possible

I’ll admit, this wasn’t a cheap trip. Because we had already planned our annual summer cruise, this trip would be an additional vacation that we hadn’t budgeted for. To make it happen, we (happily) drained most of our credit card points.

Those points covered seven flights across three different airlines, as well as rental cars and 5-star hotel stays.

Planning this trip wasn’t straightforward, as we pieced together the cheapest international options we could find. This routed us through Iceland before we finally reached Tenerife. It was complicated, but it made the trip possible without spending thousands in cash.

Iceland is one of our favorite countries in the world, so we were thrilled to see this was one of the cheapest flight options to get us to Europe with credit card points.

We used Marriott points to stay at The Edition Reykjavík and Chase Ultimate Reward points to rent a car. During our stay in Iceland, we took a small boat tour to see puffins and drove to the southern side of the island to see the black sand beach. It was incredible!

There was one direct flight from Reykjavík to Tenerife on IcelandAir, which we booked with Chase Ultimate Reward points. The cheapest and most convenient return option was through Madrid, Spain. This actually worked well with many ultra-cheap Ryanair flights from Tenerife to mainland Spain. We used credit points to rent our car in Tenerife for the weekend to navigate around the island.

We stretched our trip to get the most value

Since our flights routed through Iceland, we decided to maximize the trip by adding a few extra days to the beginning of our vacation. My husband and I spent three incredible days exploring Iceland’s dramatic landscapes and venturing to the island’s southern region – somewhere we hadn’t visited before.

In Tenerife, we checked into a luxury resort to soak in the sun and enjoy the island ahead of the concert. My husband secured us a suite at The Ritz-Carlton Tenerife, Abama, using his Marriott points.

We received a complimentary upgrade because of his status, giving us access to a private pool, open bar, and suite lounge. With a few days in Tenerife before the concert, we relaxed on the property, utilized the luxurious amenities, and explored a few areas in Tenerife.

Candid travel tip: If you’re looking for the best happy hour in Tenerife, visit The Ginger Pig in Santa Cruz. The mojitos are amazing!

By turning the trip into more than just a quick in-and-out, we created a full travel experience that felt both adventurous and indulgent. I didn’t want to waste our precious credit card points for just a few days, so it made sense to extend our vacation to make the most of our time.

Ed Sheeran was the highlight of our trip

The concert itself was everything we had hoped for and more. When Ed Sheeran finally played Tenerife Sea live for the very first time, the moment felt surreal! The audience was electric, and we belted the lyrics with everyone else.

We had always dreamed of traveling to Tenerife together, but it took us many years to make our Canary Islands trip turn into a reality. Hearing a song that had been so meaningful to us, performed in Tenerife, brought me to tears. The atmosphere, the setting, and the music all came together in a way that made the performance unlike any other we’d experienced.

It was an exhausting vacation, but Ed Sheeran was worth it

The magic of the night quickly faded as we made our way to the airport after three hours of sleep. We had an early Ryanair flight to Madrid, which my husband hated with cramped seats, little comfort, and no chance to rest.

By the time we arrived in Madrid, we were exhausted and napped for about four hours before venturing into town. We had a delicious dinner at a small Italian restaurant before calling it a night. Our flight back to the U.S. was early the following morning, and we were already run down from little sleep the night before.

We barely managed to leave the hotel for dinner before collapsing, completely drained. Still, even in our exhaustion, we both agreed: it had been worth every mile, every point, and every hour of jet lag.

This trip wasn’t practical, and it certainly wasn’t easy, but it was unforgettable.

Travel doesn’t always have to be sensible, as some of the most meaningful adventures are the impulsive ones. For us, following Ed Sheeran across the world to hear Tenerife Sea live in Tenerife was one of those moments.