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You are here: Home / Canary Islands / The Best Beaches in Tenerife

The Best Beaches in Tenerife

El Duque beach in Costa Adeje. Tenerife

From natural grey volcanic beaches to vibrant sands imported from the Sahara, Tenerife has a beach for all moods.

Heading to the Canaries for a beach holiday? You’re not alone! But even if you’re planning a different kind of holiday, a day on the beach is a must with so many great options to choose from.

Costa Adeje

The majority of the best-known beaches in Tenerife are located on the Costa Adeje in the south-west of the island. This is hardly surprising given that you’ll find the best of the weather here, with shelter from the winds that can be a problem in the East.

The best beach holidays in Tenerife, Canary Islands

Costa Adeje is where you’ll find three of the best known resorts –  Los Cristianos, the infamous Playa de las Americas (PdlA), and Costa Adeje itself – an upmarket offshoot of PdlA.

Playa del Duque

‘The Duke’ is one of the best beaches on the whole island. Lying at the western tip of the coast, it’s cut off from the rest of the resort by a rocky outcrop, making it feel very exclusive.

Playa de La Enramada

La Enramada is perfect if you enjoy long strolls along the beach. It’s a wide and open sandy beach continuing right to the edge of Costa Adeje. At the one end you’ll find the small fishing village of La Caleta, where you can enjoy a taste of traditional Tenerife life.

Playa del Puertito

El Puertito is another quiet, local beach, just slightly further along from La Caleta. It’s also right by Playa Paraiso – a predominantly pebbled beach which boasts an incredible saltwater lagoon, perfect for a little nature spotting.

Playa Paraiso beach on the Costa Adeje

Troya Beach

Troya is one of the best beaches in the Playa de las Americas resort. Known for its fine golden sand and shallow waters, it’s particularly popular with families. With the sea being relatively calm and the beach being particularly wide, it’s nice and safe. There’s also a banana boat that’s very popular with older kids!

La Tejita

La Tejita is one of the southernmost beaches Tenerife and also one of the largest natural beaches on the island. It stretches for more than half a mile and is wide-open. It’s set within a protected area and has the striking La Montaña Roja (Red Mountain) volcano at one end.

There’s a range of watersports available here, with kitesurfing and windsurfing – as well as regular surfing – all on the menu. This is a popular spot with fans of water sports too, with surfing, kitesurfing and windsurfing available.

Around the other side of La Montaña Roja is Playa Grande, another vast stretch of sand that’s popular with the watersports crowd.

Puerto de La Cruz

The northern resort of Puerto de la Cruz offers more natural beaches, characterised by rich grey-black volcanic sand. There’s also a range of attractions from the Loro Parque zoo and an 18th-century fort.

Although not a beach, the outstanding lido is a family-friendly way to enjoy some sunbathing and swimming in natural saltwater swimming pools without the tidal dangers.

Lido at Puerto de la Cruz

Playa Jardin

Playa Jardín is considered by many to be the most beautiful beach on the whole island. It was designed by the acclaimed architect and artist Cesar Manrique, from neighbouring Lanzarote, to showcase the island in all its splendour.

The curved beachfront has a perimeter of palm trees and other local flora and the whole thing serves to make the beauty of the bay, sea and Mount Teide stand out perfectly.

Playa Martianez

Martianez is a much smaller, and pebbled, beach in the town so whilst it’s not great for sun worshippers it’s one of the best options on this side of the island for surfers and windsurfers and other watersports afficionados. After a day spent playing on the sea, the nearby Sol Costa Atlantis has a great spa for a spot of relaxation.

El Bullollo

El Bullollo, located on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz, is an incredible untouched beach. It offers picture-perfect opportunities for those postcard selfies and simply a great place to spend a few hours in the sun. You can get there by car in 15 minutes from PdlC or if you feel up to it you can hike along the coast to burn off some of the tapas and sangria!

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz is the resort you’re looking for if you want a more traditional, rugged holiday. Located in the north-east of the island, it’s much more relaxed than the mega-resorts of the south.

Playa de Las Teresitas

Las Teresitas is our final contender for Best Beach in Tenerife and rightly so. Even though it’s a man-made beach, with beautiful imported Saharan sand, and it can be extremely windy, Las Teresitas offers the perfect combination.

Its shallow aquamarine waters are perfect for paddling and swimming alike, there’s an artificial reef bringing in plenty of wildlife to view if you want to don a mask and snorkel, and there’s kiosks selling traditional food dotted in and amongst the palm trees.

The man-made beach of Playa las Teresitas

And if all thats not enough, there’s a quaint fishing village next door and the whole thing is set against a stunning mountainous backdrop. In short, it’s the quintessential picture-postcard beach.

Playa de Antequera

A little further along the coast is Antequera. Accessible only by foot or by boat, this is a real hidden gem. It offers nothing in the way of facilities so you’ll need to come prepared, but it’s popular with local surfers so you can watch them falling in the water as you soak up the sun.

Garachico

If you want to venture away from the resorts completely, Tenerife has a number of villages with small beaches that are worth visiting. Chief among them, perhaps, is the 15th-century town of Garachico.

A volcanic eruption in the early 18th century destroyed the harbour – and the economy that relied on it – but it also created rock pools which are one of the island’s most poplar attractions. The town itself is worth a visit for anyone but the beaches – a mix of sand, shingle and pebbles – are quiet places to enjoy some gentle seaside life.

What do you think? What’s your opinion on the best beach in Tenerife? Let us know!

A Tenerife beach from above

By Andrew McKay on May 4, 2018 in Filed Under: Canary Islands

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