Black Sand or Yellow Sand Beaches of Tenerife – The Island’s Best Beaches

Tenerife has a very wide range of beaches for visitors to the island to choose from, and, of course, beaches are what most holidaymakers want when they are away on vacation. There are black sand beaches, made from the natural volcanic sand, and there are yellow sand beaches, made with sands transported from the Western Sahara, or made with sand collected from the seabed. There are very big beaches and small sheltered ones, there are beaches at resorts where it is very easy to get to them, and there are remote beaches that are only accessible by footpaths or even by boat, in some cases. The beach at Masca is like that because it is only accessible by boat or by taking a long and quite difficult climb down a ravine. There are rocky beaches and mixed beaches where there are rocks and pebbles and sand. With all the different sorts of beaches available you are sure to find the kind of beach you like best somewhere on the island. So let’s take a look at some of the best beaches of Tenerife.

Playa de las Teresitas beach at the village of San Andres, just up the coast from Santa Cruz the capital of Tenerife, is thought by many people to be the best beach in the island. It is made from golden-yellow Sahara sand and is a very long beach. There is a breakwater that makes Las Teresitas safe for bathers. It has palm trees at the top of the beach making it look very tropical and exotic, it has a car-park, and is very easy to get to by road.

In the south of the island are the main tourist resorts of Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas, and not surprisingly these locations have yellow sand beaches. Playa de las Vistas is one of the most popular of the beaches of the former resort, whilst Playa de Troya is the main beach at Las Americas. It offers watersports, sun-beds, restaurants and other facilities. Further up the coast are the beaches of Fanabe and Torviscas.

Also, in the south are the beaches of El Medano. Playa la Tejita is a massive sandy beach here that is very popular. The only problem with El Medano is it gets very windy but this has made it ideal for windsurfers.

We find most of the black sand beaches in the north of Tenerife, and one of the best is known as Playa Jardin (“Garden Beach”) at the resort of Puerto de la Cruz. Awarded European Blue Flag status, this long beach has attractive gardens at the top, hence its name. It is also right by Loro Parque (“Parrot Park”), a location very popular with tourists on vacation in the Canary Islands.

Further down the northwest coast, right by the town of Icod de los Vinos, famous for its 1,000-year-old dragon tree, we find the black sandy beach of San Marcos. Sheltered by cliffs and with a seafront with plenty of bars and restaurants, this is a real hidden gem, and a very popular beach with those that have discovered it.