The best beaches in Tenerife
With its year-round sun, Tenerife is known as a popular beach destination. And though there are so many other things to do on the island, we loved spending days at some of the beaches on the west coast. Most of the beaches in Tenerife are black sand due to the volcanic rocks. But there are plenty of golden sand beaches to be found as well. These were our favourite beaches in Tenerife.
Playa de los Guios
Playa de los Guios sits in the shadows of Los Gigantes, the huge cliffs in Puerto de Santiago on Tenerife’s west coast. It’s not a huge beach, but it’s big enough not to feel overcrowded even when it’s fairly busy. The sea is beautiful, with only a few rocky patches as you enter, and the sand isn’t so black that it burns underfoot. We spent hours relaxing here, swimming in the sea and watching people taking on the narrow hiking trail in the cliffs 100m above. And when it’s time for food or drink the beach bar next door is the perfect spot.
Playa del Diego Hernandez
Probably our favourite beach in Tenerife, and definitely the one we returned to most, was Playa del Diego Hernandez. Getting to this beach involves a 20 minute walk from La Caleta, through dirt and gravel tracks. There are so many routes you can take down, some steeper than others, but they’re all easy to follow as they’re well worn by so many people going up and down every day.
The beach is technically a nudist area, but if that’s not your vibe plenty of people do wear swimwear – especially on the northern end of the beach. The busiest we saw Diego Hernandez beach was on a Saturday afternoon but even then it wasn’t overcrowded. There are usually people selling beers and mojitos, and it’s a beautiful place to spend a day sunbathing and swimming.
Playa Tejita
Just along from El Medano and close to Montaña Roja is Playa Tejita. This conch-shaped beach is the largest in Tenerife. It’s easy to park nearby, and at the western end there are bars and restaurants that can be reached on foot.
This coast of Tenerife is windy, and around the corner in El Medano there are always a lot of windsurfers and kite surfers in the bay. Tejita is a little too rocky for this, and the waves are smaller despite the area still being quite windy, so it’s a great option for swimming without the fear of colliding with a surfer.
If you’re up for a short hike, you can easily walk up and down Montaña Roja before or after your beach trip. The whole walk took us about one hour… but it’s steep and gravelly so you’ll want to wear trainers and carry as few beach bags as possible!
Playa del Duque
Playa Del Duque is close to Costa Adeje and Fañabé on the same coastline as Playa del Diego Hernandez. The northern half of the beach is black sand while the southern part is white, but both are just as beautiful and relaxing. This is a great spot to watch the sunset, especially if you’re not up for the hike to get to Diego Hernandez. There’s free parking nearby and plenty of bars and restaurants, making it an easy place to spend a full day in Tenerife.
Playa del Bobo
This beach is right in the middle of Costa Adeje. It’s not the most beautiful one you’ll find on the island, but if you’re looking for a convenient place to relax without leaving town, this is our favourite. The sea is calm, and there are hundreds of bars and restaurants a few steps away. If you’re already staying in Costa Adeje, this is an easy beach to reach on foot without the need for a car.
Other beaches
There were a few beaches on our list that we didn’t make it to, but if we’d had more time in Tenerife I’d have gone to:
Playa las Teresitas
Bajamar
Punta Hidalgo
Playa Las Galletas
Playa de los Enojados
Gaviotas
Los Patos
Playa Benijo