Places to Visit in Tenerife – Beaches, Botanical Gardens, Leisure activities and Pools

Of course, when visitors come to Tenerife, one of the things they seek are the beaches. Most of the beaches in Tenerife have volcanic black sand, and many of them have small pebbles. You can still find beaches with sand of all types and colours though, including some beaches with white sand. We have a special section about Tenerife’s beaches, but below we highlight some of the best-known ones.

In the south, El Médano is a great place for windsurfing and wind-based activities. At Playa de Las Vistas in Los Cristianos, the promenade goes all the way to Playa de Las Américas with a big fountain by the shore. In the north, Playa de Las Teresitas has sand from the Sahara Desert. We particularly recommend Playa del Socorro and Playa de Los Patos for surfers.

The climate in the north of Tenerife is favourable for botanical gardens. El Drago Milenario in Icod de Los Vinos is more than 1,000 years old and over 16 metres tall. The Palmetum is a botanical garden in Santa Cruz de Tenerife dedicated to palm trees, with more than 400 species. Hijuela del Botánico is a smaller botanical garden in La Orotava. Jardín Botánico de Puerto de La Cruz was created to acclimatise tropical plants to send to the mainland, although this failed.