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The most beautiful beaches in Tenerife, (the largest of the Canary islands) and where to find them.
I have to admit it has been hard to make a choice, since Tenerife has really a huge variety of beaches: black sand beaches, golden beaches, wild ones and fully equipped ones.
If you plan to spend a week or two in the island, though, you can plan to visit a few of them and enjoy Tenerife beach life at its fullest!
DIANA BANCALE
Founder and author, travel blogger since 2014.
What is the best time to go to Tenerife on the beach?
Tenerife has probably one of the best weathers in the world, with many days of sunshine throughout the year and average temperature of 23/24 degrees all year long.
With that been said, you need to know that the island has a big variety of climates that can change as you drive just a few km.
The south of Tenerife, especially the area of Costa Adeje, has the warmest weather with average temperature of 24 degrees, even in wintertime, and really few days of rain. I moved there 4 years ago and I can confirm this data.
Anyway, if you want to be sure to find the best weather to enjoy Tenerife beaches, it is better to travel between June and September. But, if you can travel only during other times of the year, don’t worry: there will always be a sunny beach somewhere in the island.
What I do before going at the beach is make sure to have a look at the webcams websites and check the weather before leaving! 🙂
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Tenerife beaches map
The best hotels in Tenerife
Hotel Botanico y Oriental Spa Garden – 5 STARS
Hotel Botanico y Oriental Spa Garden offers 3 outdoor pools and luxurious accommodation set in attractive gardens, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Mount Teide. Free unlimited spa access is included for all guests over 16 years old.
Silken Atlántida Santa Cruz – 4 STARS
Set in Santa Cruz’s financial and commercial centre, Silken Atlántida offers panoramic sea views from its glass lifts. It has a rooftop terrace, and rooms with free Wi-Fi and hydromassage showers.
The hotel has an on-site fitness centre, as well as a sun terrace, 2 saunas and 2 hot tubs.
Sol Arona Tenerife – 3 STARS
Sol Arona Tenerife lies 200 m from the beach of Los Cristianos, in Tenerife. It features a large outdoor pool with sun loungers and rooms with balconies, most with sea views.
Best beaches in the south of Tenerife
Being the south of Tenerife the most touristic area of the island, here you will find the most accessible and equipped beach, generally with quite shallow waters and protected by docks, which make them a good choice also for families. Here you will find a selection of some of my favorite ones!
Playa del duque
Located in the fancy area of Costa Adeje, in the south of Tenerife, this is a great beach with blue flag, turquoise waters and fine white beach, definitely worth visiting during your holiday in Tenerife. The beach is equipped with sun loungers and umbrella, but if you prefer you can just lay in the sand for free.
All around the beach there is a nice walk passing through fine restaurants, nice hotels and beach clubs, since we are in one of the most elegant areas of the south of Tenerife.
If you want to have a quick bite, you can always go to the shopping mall right at the back of the beach and buy something at the supermarket, having a pic-nic on the beach.
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Playa de Los Cristianos
This beach is located next to the port of Los Cristianos, where touristic boat tours and ships to the near islands of La Gomera and La Palma leave. Neverthless, the water here is clear and nice, well protected by docks and quite shallow.
The sand is fine and golden and you can find sun loungers and umbrellas for rent, besides free toilets and showers, making it the perfect spot for a beach day with your family and friends.
On the back of the beach you’ll have a lot of bars, restaurants and shops, since this is kind of the “city beach” of Los Cristianos.
The beach also has some volleyball courts, always frequented by young people and sport teams from all over the world.
Playa de Las Americas
Playa de Las Americas is one of the most popular beaches for surfers, since here you will find the best waves in the south of Tenerife. The beach itself is not that nice if you don’t surf, I am not gonna lie 🙂 It’s nor really sandy, mostly dusty and cobbles and the access to the water is quite rocky, so not really comfortable.
What I like of this beach, though, are the good vibes, the young people, the location next to clubs and surf bars and especially the lovely sunset you can enjoy from there.
If you wanna admire it while sipping a drink, I suggest to visit “Metropolis Bar”.
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Large sandy beaches between Los Cristianos and Las Americas, with nice calm waters, and fully equipped. At the back of the beach there is a wide choice of restaurants (quite touristy), bars and clubs for nightlife.
Playa de Los Guios – Los Gigantes
If you are planning your holiday to Tenerife, make sure to include the tall cliffs of “Los Gigantes” in your tour. To have the best view (and the nearest one), you wanna visit the beach of Los Guios, right next to this amzing natural spectacle. The beach is not big, sandy and quite proteced. It is nice to have a view on the cliffs but at some point in the afternoon, the sun gets covered by the mountain so you will be in the shadow.
El Médano
El Medano is one of the cutest and more lively neighborhood of Tenerife south. The atmosphere makes you feel like in a small fisherman town but not only. The beaches of El Medano are indeed perfect for people loving water sports such as kite surf, wind surf and surf. Strolling around the seafront you will find a lot of surf schools and bars frequented by young people.
The beach is long and sandy, quite wild and surrounded by one of the landmarks of Tenerife: La Montana Roja (Red Mountain).
I love El Medano and its beaches but keep in mind that the weather here is often very windy, so make sure to check the forecast before going there, if you are bothered by the wind!
If you go there for water sports, instead, with windy weather you’ll be just fine 🙂
Playa de la Tejita
One of the wildest beach in Tenerife South, next to the protected are of Montaña Roja Nature Reserve.
If you want to avoid the crowd and feel connected to nature, this is the beach for you. It is very long and connects El Medano to Los Abrigos. One of the special features of this beach is the color of its sand: reddish volcanic sand.
Thanks to the frequent nice waves, this beach is also famous among surfers.
There is a big car park next to the the beach and there is also a nearby camping with showers and a bar.
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One of my favorite beaches in Tenerife, 10 minutes walking from my house 🙂 Surrounded by palm trees and with calm waters and golden sand, it reminds me of somewhere in the Caribbean.
The beach is a popular spot to spend a relaxing day, especially in the weekend, in the south of the island. If you want to rent sun loungers and beach umbrellas, it is better to go early in the morning, since the beach can be very crowded.
Here you will find 3 places (beach bars) to have a drink or eat something, right on the beach, and also showers and public toilets.
Playa de la arena
Black volcanic sand beach in the tourist city of Puerto Santiago, it is a nice spot to spend a relaxing beach day, thanks to its fortunate location with frequent sunny weather. The rocky seabed makes this beach a special place for snorkeling and scuba diving enthusiasts. Playa de La Arena is fully equipped, with toiletes, showers and a lot of shops and restaurants right at its back.
PS: If you want a sunbed, it would be better to get there quite early in the morning since the beach can be easily crowded!
Playa Diego Hernandez – La Caleta
Despite being a quite small beach, especially when there is high tide, it is one of the most loved beaches in Tenerife, because it is still wild and with turquoise waters.
It is also known for being a nudist beach, althought not everyone is naked there 🙂
To get there, there is no easy access, so you will need to follow a rocky path from Golf Costa Adeje (approx 20 minutes walking).
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Best beaches of Tenerife north
The north of Tenerife has wildest beaches, mainly rocky and with black volcanic sand. The landscapes are wild and beautiful, less touristy than the southest part of Tenerife and more popular among local people.
Playa Benijo
Located in Anaga Rural Park, in the north of Tenerife, this beach is really beautiful. To get there you will pass by a green laurisilva forest with great views on the Atlantic Ocean and panoramic peaks. If you are looking for peace and not so many people, this may be the beach for you.
Playa de Las Teresitas
This is the beach of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the main city of the spanish island, well famous for its Tenerife Carnival, held every year in February.
Check out what to see in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1 day!
I like Playa Las Teresitas because it is a very wide beach, with golden fine sand (imported from Sahara desert) and surrounded by palm trees. Thanks to its shallow waters, it is also the perfect beach for a family holiday with children. The beach is completely equipped with free showers, public toilets and beach bars.
After relaxing at the beach, I suggest you to continue to enjoy your day by exploring the nice city of Santa Cruz, strolling around the nice city center streets, starting from Plaza de Espana with its big fountain.
Find out what to see in Tenerife here!
Playa el Bollullo
One of my favorite beach in Tenerife north, located in La Orotava, right at the foot of a cliff. The sand here is deeply black, creating a beautiful contrast with the blue of the ocean. Just make sure to bring your flip flops since when it’s very sunny it can get extremely hot!
When you get there by car, you can park at the parking lot next to “El Bollullo Restaurant” and from there follow a path of just a few minutes.
If you want to have a snack on the beach there is a nice beach restaurant right over the beach.
Playa El Socorro
Sandy black beach, fully equipped and accessible, in the north of the island. The water are clear and clean, awarded with “blue flag”. If you want to have a bite or a drink, you will find here a few “chiringuitos” (beach bars). You can’t miss the perfect views over the ocean at sunset!
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This is the most famous beach of Puerto de La Cruz, a lovely city in the north of Tenerife, where it is considered its “city beach”. It has been designed by the popular canarian artist Cesar Manrique in 1990 and it is surrounded by gardens and stone walls, with an amazing view on Mount Teide, the biggest volcano in Tenerife.
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