Tenerife Beach Guide – Playa de Las Teresitas

Playa de Las Teresitas is one of the most popular beaches of the Canary Islands, and is one of the few on Tenerife that do not have the black, volcanic sand that most of the rest of the Canary Islands have. Originally the beach consisted of mostly rocks and a small strip of black sand, but tons of white sand was shipped from the Sahara Desert to create an artificial beach of white sand. Add palm trees and a dramatic mountain backdrop and you’ve got one of the most picturesque beaches in Tenerife.

Playa de Las Teresitas in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Photo by Sergio Martín González

The beach is approximately 1,5 km long and is located in a little gulf. As well as being created with sand from the Sahara, the beach has a specially made breakwater and artificial reef to give protection to swimmers and prevent dangerous currents and waves from the ocean coming in. Teeming with tropical marine life, its calm and beautiful aquamarine waters are ideal for swimming, diving and snorkeling. The only downside is that, being on the east coast, it can be a tad breezy sometimes.

Playa de Las Teresitas is pretty clean, children friendly and fairly quiet. It only gets busy on the weekends. You’ll find sunbeds and parasols for hire, showers, changing rooms, toilets, several watchers, bars and restaurants. There is also an ample free car parking near the beach.

Playa de las Teresitas is situated in the north of Tenerife, right next to Santa Cruz (8 km) in San Andres and can be easily reached by bus from Santa Cruz. The 910 bus service runs every 5 to 10 minutes from Santa Cruz to the beach.