San Miguel castle show: what to expect

The evening, in order

The castle describes a royal welcome first, in a hall decorated with armour, where the Count and the Countess greet guests. Then the tournament begins, and you eat while the knights compete for the castle's honour. Between bouts the castle lists acrobatics, flights by birds of prey and a fire show. After the banquet and tournament, the Canary Islands tourism portal says guests move to a ballroom for acrobatics, ballet and capoeira with music. No source gives a running order, so treat this sequence as a guide. Dinner is served while the tournament runs, so you eat and watch at the same time.

Tournaments, jousts and mêlées

A medieval tournament was a mock fight, not a single event. Tournaments included the mêlée, a group fight, along with hand-to-hand combat and sometimes jousts. Tournaments were held to honour coronations, marriages and births, or simply for entertainment. A joust was one-on-one: two riders charging with lances. In the High Middle Ages the mêlée was the main event and the joust a side event. By the late Middle Ages the rules had tightened, and combat was meant to be non-lethal. Theatrical jousting has been revived since the 1970s, and dinner shows like this one come from that tradition.

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Why lances break

Jousting lances are made of wood with a blunt metal tip, not the sharp metal of a war lance. The design lets the lance break on impact and puts the force into the opponent's shield instead of impaling them. That is why snapped lances are a normal sight at jousting events. Historically the riders used warmblood chargers or heavier destriers, similar to today's Andalusian horse. The castle's pages don't describe its equipment, so this is background, not a promise about what you will see. They do say the show features Spanish horses, and the castle says it works with World Horse Welfare.

Falconry is older than the castle

Falconry is the traditional art of training and flying falcons, and sometimes eagles, hawks and other birds of prey. It began as a way to obtain food and has since become a social and recreational practice. UNESCO says it has been practised for over 4,000 years, and it appears on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with Spain among the countries named in the nomination. The castle lists flights by birds of prey in its show. It doesn't say which species appear, so treat any bird you read about elsewhere as unconfirmed until you see it.

Where the dinner tournament comes from

Dinner shows with jousting were developed in Spain in the late 1960s, in Mallorca and Benidorm, according to Wikipedia's article on Medieval Times. The format later reached the United States. The castle says it was built in 1987 by a businessman and inspired by the Conde Mal show in Palma de Mallorca. It has a 50-metre sand arena, and its history page presents the Count and the Countess as the hosts of the evening. It was built for the show, so it is a purpose-built stage and not a historic fortress, and the castle makes no claim otherwise.

Cheering is part of it

The castle's history page invites you to shout, boo or cheer for the knight who represents you. The Canary Islands tourism portal describes families cheering on their knight and laughing at the antics of the castle jester. That makes the room loud, and it is the most important thing to know before you book. If you enjoy joining in, the format works in your favour. If you prefer to watch in silence, a quieter evening will suit you better. Pick a night out that matches your group: friends and families who like to take sides will get the most from it, while guests who want to talk over dinner will find it hard.

Length, nights and timing

The castle gives about two and a half hours, dinner included, and the booking options give the same length. The show runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The booking calendar shows the start time for your date, so don't plan anything tight around it. Doors open before the show starts, and the castle has a terrace and bar you can use before it begins. Because the show is in the evening, allow for the trip home afterwards, whether you drive or take the pickup option. The ballroom performances come after the banquet and tournament, so the evening may run past the length given for the show itself.

Children and accessibility

It is described as family entertainment for all ages, and the Canary Islands tourism portal tags the castle for families. The show includes a fire show and loud cheering, so judge it against your child's tolerance for noise and a late finish. If a child is nervous around animals or flames, tell them in advance what to expect. The show is marked wheelchair accessible, and the castle lists an accessible area for guests with reduced mobility. The booking form sorts guests into adult, child and infant by age, so enter each guest's real age.

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What to wear and bring

The castle publishes no dress code, so there is no rule to follow. Choose clothes you can sit in for two and a half hours, eat in and cheer in, and that suit a warm evening. Tenerife is warm: Wikipedia gives coastal averages of 18 to 20 degrees Celsius in winter and 24 to 26 in summer, with most rain between autumn and spring. The castle has a souvenir area, free wifi, and free parking for guests, and you can buy snacks and drinks before the show.

Arriving and leaving

The castle is on Avenida Edelmira Alfonso in Aldea Blanca, in the municipality of San Miguel de Abona. Drivers can park for free. Pickup and drop-off is an option on the booking form: from the south of Tenerife it runs on all three show nights, and from the north on Saturdays. If you plan to use public transport, check timetables and your return options before you go, because no source gives a route. Whichever way you travel, plan the trip home before the show, not after it.

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Who this isn't for

Skip it if you want a quiet evening, because cheering is part of the format. Skip it if you want a historic site: the castle was built in 1987 for this show. Think twice if fire shows or loud crowds upset your children, or if you need to be in bed early, since the evening runs late. And if the language of the performance matters, the sources won't tell you, so ask the castle first. The same goes for any special need that the castle's pages do not mention.