Tenerife is the largest of the seven Canary Islands and sits close to the west coast of Northern Africa. The south of Tenerife has become a popular tourist hot spot as it contains the greatest concentration of hotels and apartments on the island, but you can still find many traditional towns and villages.
Tenerife South boasts a number of natural black sand beaches, due to its volcanic past. However, if these type of beaches do not appeal to you there are many manmade bays and golden sand beaches, which have even been awarded the prestigious blue flag status, due to their cleanliness and facilities!
Volcanic Sand Beaches
As Tenerife is a volcanic island there are a couple of rare black sand beaches to be found in the south of the island. It is highly recommended to spend the day at one of these unusual beaches, but it is wise to bring along some covered shoes as black absorbs heat!
Playa de San Juan in San Juan is a black-pebbled beach set in a sheltered bay inside the towns harbour. Today it has taken a distinctive two-tone look, making it a popular beach for holidaymakers. Even though it is rather small it still offers all the amenities you could possibly need including sun loungers, parasols, showers and a beach bar.
Playa de La Arena also simply known as 'sandy beach' is made up of volcanic black sand. This popular bay has been awarded blue flag beach status and is considered to be one of the best coves on the whole island. You will also find all the facilities you could possibly wish for such as sun beds, showers, toilets and easy access for disabled people.
Golden Sand Beaches
Playa del Duque can be found in the popular resort of Costa Adeje and is one of the most famous and spectacular beaches in the region. Even though this is a man made beach it has a very up market feel to it, due to its imported white sand and stylish beach huts that line the edge. Here's you'll find a wide variety of facilities featuring parasols, sun loungers, changing rooms, showers and toilets.
Just outside the holiday resort of Poris de Abona you will find Playa Grande. This beach offers fine light sand and very clear turquoise water. It's also an ideal spot for children or nervous swimmers as only after 100-150 metres it slowly starts to get deeper.
Playa La Pinta can be found in the premier resort of Puerto Colon, Playa de Las Americas. This soft and sandy beach slopes gently into the sea, making it a safe place for swimming. Sun beds are available for hire here at a very competitive rate too! This area is also lined by a great selection of bars, restaurants and cafes. You will also immediately notice the large inflatables floating on the ocean, which are great for the kids to play on.
Lively Beaches
Playa de las Americas is known as the party capital of Tenerife due to the number of clubs and bars in the area, especially along 'Veronica's Strip'. This is not the place for you if you're looking for peace and quiet, but it's a great beach to keep the kids amused. There are a number of water sports activities on offer in the area including jet skiing, scuba diving and windsurfing.
Family-Friendly Beaches
Playa del Camison in Playa de Las Americas is a bright sandy beach which is wonderfully suited to families. This 120m long beach offers rentable sun beds, parasols; a number of water sports activities and even lifeguards are present along the beach.
Playa la Pinta is a beautiful family orientated beach found in Puerto Colon. The sand here is soft and clean and slopes gently into the calm turquoise sea. A number of sun beds are available to hire here at a very low rate, or if you just want to lie down on a towel for the day, this is perfectly fine as well. The main feature of the bay is the enormous inflatable children's play area found floating on the sea, not far from the beachfront. The waves here are also very weak most of the time, so it is a great place for all types of swimmers.
On the other hand Playa de Fanabe in the resort of Costa Adeje stretches from the up market Del Duque area of the resort to Torviscas. This sandy beach is great for families as its not too busy and the fine sand makes it a great play area for building sand castles.
Secluded Beaches
La Tejita is definitely one of the most beautiful and untouched beaches left in Tenerife, found to the west of Montana Roga mountain, and 2km to the west of El Medano. The winds are rather strong here, so at times it can be unsafe to swim in if you are not a strong swimmer. However, because of this it has become a haven for windsurfers. At one end of the beach near the cove you will find a naturist section and a number of sun beds and parasols are available to hire along the stretch of the beach.
Watersports Beaches
Playa de Las Vistas is one of Tenerife's most popular beaches due to its immaculate wide, golden bay. Here you will find a number of umbrellas, sun loungers, changing rooms, showers and toilets. There are many different types of watersports on offer here including pedalos and parasailing rides.
Or why not try El Medano Beach, which is another blue flag beach that offers a wide range of water sports. Windsurfers, kite surfers and just normal surfers use the windy section of the beach, whilst the calmer end is used for more casual swimmers. There are also a large number of sun loungers and parasols available to rent along the beachfront.