Playa de las Americas

Playa de las Americas spans 5 miles of the coast and reaches 2 miles inland. It's one of the most liveliest, and vibrant destinations. It has a pleasant promenade and some impressive modern acrhitecture. Families and the majority of age groups are well provided for, and is popular with the British.

Most of the accommodation in Playa de las Americas are apartments and self catering. Most hotels are good quality and well appointed, particularly in the classier area of Fanabe which has the more upmarket 4 star accommodation.

Playa de las Americas has 2 good sized beaches with dark volcanic sand, and an artificual beach made from sand from the Sahara desert.

There are pleny of supermarkets, and duty-free shops selling cameras, jewellery and cameras. There is a market at Torviscas where you will find various trinkets.

During the day there is plenty to keep you entertained, water sports, water park, bungee jumping, 3 golf courses and tennis. During the night like most resorts Playa de las Americas comes to life with an array of floors shows, cabaret, karaoke, discos and nightclubs. There's also a casino.

If you like eating out there are lots of bars and restaurants which serve a wide variety of foods. Tapas bars offer local temptations and local specialities include papas arrugadas served with mojo picante.

The public transport is good, with hourly buses to the airport and half hourly buses to Santa Cruz. There are other half hourly services to other coastal resorts.

Los Christianos

The main focus of Los Cristianos is the promenade with pavement cafes which run the length of the share and harbour, where a few bright coloured fishing vessels survive.

The resort is suitable for families and couples, with most visitors being mainly self caterers. The accommodation in Los Cristianos is generally mid-range with some hotels.

During the day there's deep-sea fishing, leisure port, sports centre, and a golf course. During the night there's the usual discos, bars and karaoke.

There's a decent selection of varied local and international food, aimed towards the budget market.

There are frequent buses to Playa de las Americas.

Los Gigantes

Los Gigantes is a compact town, with a resaurant lined plaza which is situated across a small bay. The resort is fairly relaxed and low key, for the more discerning couples and families.

Accommodation in the resort is mainly high-density, low rise apartments and hotels, some of which are tiered down the cliff side. There's a few good quality hotels.

The resort has a horse shoe shaped beach with black volcanic sand. There is public bathing available at the Oasis Lido.

Shopping in the resort is limited, but enough for most needs.

During the day there's mainly the bach and lido, some water sports which including the diving centre. There are catamaran trips to see dolphins and whales, boat trips and a sports centre with tennis courts. The night life is limited but ever expanding.

Puerto de la Cruz

Since the 1950's Puerto de la Cruz has developed rapidly into a quality resort with a comforting air of maturity. Most buildings date back from well before the 1960s.Much of Puerto's appeal lies in its natural setting, the surrounding landscapes, terraced forms and banana plantations.

The resort has a broad appeal. The weather can be less consistent than in resorts in the south and the beaches don't compare. The combination of sun, sea and sights is more balanced.

In the resort there are more hotels than apartments, most of them are mid-range.

There are 3 small beaches of black volcanic sand are ok, but there's a better beach to the west at Punta Brava. There's an 8 acre lido with several vast seawater pools, spectacular torrents and fountains.

During there day there's the dolphinarium at Loro Park. During the night the resort is lively with a rich selection of entertainments, although in winter this may not be as evident, a casino dominates the heights.