Tenerife Beaches Guide

Tenerife Beaches - Overview:

Despite its size, Tenerife is not famed for its beaches and where the sand is not black it has probably been imported. Puerto de la Cruz has a magnificent lido to compensate for its black sand beaches. In the south, resorts such as Los Gigantes and Playa de la Arena have small, sandy coves. The largest natural beaches are between El Medano and Los Abrigos near the southern airport. These are popular with wind surfers and the southern beach is used by naturists.

Either scroll down the page or click on an area name below to see more information on individual beaches on tenerife.
Adeje | Arona | Granadilla | La Laguna | Puerto de la Cruz
Santa Cruz de Tenerife | Santiago del Teide | Naturists' Beaches

Tenerife Beaches - Adeje:

Playas de Troya:
El Barranco del Rey nestles between Adeje and Arona and it is home to several golden sandy beaches. Playa Cuevitas and Playas de Troya are very popular for their dry, sunny climate. There are good facilities here including changing rooms, showers, many bars, restaurants and a promenade with terraces.

Playas de Las Americas:
Playa de Las Americas I and Playa de Las Americas II were awarded the blue flag in 1998 by the European Environmental Education Foundation (FEE). This award is given to beaches that reach regulated standards of cleanliness of both coastal waters and surrounding area. Sunbeds, pedal boats, pleasure craft and jet skis are all available to hire. A host of watersports here include wet biking, parasailing, diving and surfing.

Playa Paraiso and Callo Salvaje:
These small tourist resorts in the Adeje area are approximately 12km from Playa de Las Americas, toward Los Gigantes. There is a small cove in Playa Paraso, next to a large swimming pool that belongs to a holiday complex, where as the Callao Salvaje resort has a small pebble beach.

La Caleta and Playa de la Enramada:
La Caleta is a small coastal enclave in Adeje, near to Playa de Las Americas. It has a stone beach and some fish restaurants. However if you turn off the coast road and follow a track for about half an hour to the south, you will discover some small coves of golden sand. Close to La Caleta is another beach, Playa de Diego Hernandez, which is predominantly a naturist beach. Playa de la Enramada is between La Caleta and Playa de las Americas. It is a quiet cove with a sandy beach that rarely gets crowded.

La Caleta and Playa de Torviscas:
Construction along Tenerife's Costa Adeje coastline has led to the creation of numerous sandy beaches including Playa de Torviscas, Playa del Bobo, Playa del Duque and Fanabe. These serve the holiday resorts of Playa del Duque, Fanabe, Torviscas, San Eugenio and the original nucleus of Playa de las Americas.

There is a marina in the San Eugenio complex from where you can take one of several fishing or leisure trips. The next beach along is Playa del Bobo, where there is a windsurfing and sailing school, surf board and sailing dinghy hire and you can even charter a catamaran here.

Tenerife Beaches - Arona:

Playa de Las Vistas:
The stretch of coast between Playa de las Americas and the harbour of Los Cristianos has several good golden sand beaches, including Las Caletillas and El Camison. Beyond the Camison point is Playa de Las Vistas, which has been re-surfaced with sand from the sea bed, making it one of Tenerife's best and longest beaches. On all of these beaches you can hire sunbeds, pedal boats and wet bikes. There are also many bars and restaurants in the neighbourhood of Playa de las Vistas.

Tenerife Beaches - Granadilla:

Playa de El Medano:
The Granadilla coast is home to Tenerife's best beaches of fine golden sand. The constant winds in this area make this beach ideal for windsurfing. El Medano is a small, quiet, family holiday resort, benefitting from shallow seas and boasting the longest beach in Tenerife (2km). The beach has good facilities including changing rooms and showers with numerous bars and restaurants in the area.

Playa de La Tejita:
Just south of El Medano, beyond Montana Roja, Playa de la Tejita is a broad beach of fine sand, about 1km long. The small cove at the foot of Montana Roja is a naturist beach and the strong sea currents here make it rather dangerous for swimming. There is an unmade track that leads down to the beach from the road between El Medano and Los Abrigos, however it is recommended that you explore on foot. If you continue a little further south along the coast you'll come to the small black sand beach at El Confital.

Tenerife Beaches - La Laguna:

Bajamar Pools:
Bajamar is a coastal town about 3km from Tejina benefitting from a complex of seawater swimming pools (two large ones and a children's pool). Facilities here include showers and changing rooms. Admission to the pool is free, although there is a small charge for the other services. There are many bars and restaurants near the pools and there is also a small sand beach by the pools, next to the breakwater. Playa del Arenal is located between Bajamar and Punta del Hidalgo. It has a beach of black sand and pebbles

Tenerife Beaches - Puerto de la Cruz:

Playa Jardin:
The beach at Puerto de la Cruz has recently been re-surfaced using 200,000 cubic metres of sand from the sea bed. This stretch of beach is 1km long and runs from San Felipe Castle to the district of Punta Brava. The beach has been awarded a Blue Flag, is protected by a semi-submerged breakwater and is surrounded by some 17,000 square metres of gardens designed by Cesar Manrique.

Complejo Costa Martinez:
The beautiful botanical complex of Costa Martinez is the pride of Puerto de la Cruz. It is one of the most widely admired examples of coastal transformation anywhere. The famous artist from Lanzarote, Cesar Manrique, led his prestigious team to create a nature paradise. The native plants and original sculptures blend in perfectly with traditional Canary Island architecture. There is an artificial lake, four adult swimming pools and three children's pools, along with a wide range of bars, restaurants and stalls. There is also a nightclub which is the only one in the world below sea level - giving the complex a very special vibrancy and making it one of Tenerife's most striking attractions.

Tenerife Beaches - Santa Cruz de Tenerife:

Playa de Las Teresitas:
7km north of Santa Cruz, this extensive beach has golden sand brought from the Sahara. It is protected by a breakwater and has been planted with Canary Island palms, coconut palms and Canary Island bean caper. It is close to the fishing village of San Andres (with a host of fish and seafood restaurants) attracting fairly large numbers of people. Facilities here include car parking, showers, kiosks, toilets, public telephones, Red Cross post, sunbed and rowing boats for hire.

Tenerife Beaches - Santiago del Teide:

Playa de Los Gigantes:
Los Gigantes, or 'The Cliffs of the Giants', is located on the western coast of Tenerife and is home to a very small sandy beach and a busy yacht marina. At the foot of the cliffs lies the small beach of Los Gigantes. Made of black volcanic sand, the beach here is good for families and doesnt get too crowded.

Playa de La Arena:
Playa de la Arena is just 500m from the fishing village of Puerto Santiago. It has been awarded the Blue Flag every year since 1989, making it one of the beaches that has won most prizes in Spain. Playa de La Arena is one of the finest coves on Tenerife and the area also boasts the brightest sunlight on the island. The beach has lots of black sand and facilities include changing rooms and showers, gardens with sunbeds, sun umbrellas and pedal boats available for hire. There are many bars and restaurants on or near the beach.

Tenerife Beaches - Naturist's Beaches:

The main naturist beaches on Tenerife are:
Playa de los Patos (La Orotava)
Playa de Diego Hernndez (Adeje)
Playa de Montaa Amarilla (San Miguel)
Playa de Montaa Pelada (Granadilla)
Playa de Montaa Roja (next to la Tejita, Granadilla)
Playa de Las Gaviotas (Santa Cruz)