The practical part
The essentials
Match the beach to the base
Santa Cruz: Las Teresitas (line 910) for a calm family day, Roque de las Bodegas (946) for black sand and surf under Anaga. Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje: Las Vistas on foot, El Médano and La Tejita by line 470. La Laguna: the Bajamar and Punta del Hidalgo pools by line 50. Puerto de la Cruz: Garachico's El Caletón by line 363.
Checked TITSA lines 910, 946, 470, 50, 363 WebTenerife: Playa de Las Vistas
Read the beach's own page for what it is
WebTenerife prints each beach's length, sand, access and services. Las Teresitas: 1,300 m of light sand, breakwaters that calm the waves, showers, lifeguard post, disabled access, an urban bus. El Médano: 750 m of sand, a town beach with toilets, showers and a tourist office, world windsurfing and kitesurfing championships, an interurban bus. La Tejita: a long natural beach under Montaña Roja with no services on the sand.
Checked WebTenerife: Playa de Las TeresitasWebTenerife: Playa de El MédanoWebTenerife: Playa de La TejitaWebTenerife: Montaña Roja special nature reserve
Pick the bus back first
Beach days end with the last bus, not the last swim. The destination page for each beach prints its board by day type; read the last departure before you spread the towel, especially at Roque de las Bodegas and Punta del Hidalgo, where the line back is the only one.
Calm water, surf and pools
Las Teresitas is the sheltered one: WebTenerife credits its breakwaters for the quiet waves and calls it a family beach. El Médano is the windy one, chosen for windsurf and kitesurf competitions. Roque de las Bodegas is a mix of gravel, pebbles and black sand facing the open Atlantic. The pools at Bajamar, Punta del Hidalgo and Garachico are natural rock pools: the sea fills them, and on a rough day the sea closes them.
Checked WebTenerife: Playa de Las TeresitasWebTenerife: Playa de El MédanoWebTenerife: Playa del Roque de las BodegasWebTenerife: Bajamar natural poolsWebTenerife: Punta del Hidalgo natural poolsWebTenerife: Garachico municipality
The flags, and what this page does not know
The Canary health service publishes the flag code: green, bathing permitted; yellow, caution; red, bathing prohibited. Other flags differ between beaches, so follow the lifeguard and the sign. Which flag flies today, lifeguard hours and whether a beach is open are not published by the pages this site reads, so it prints none of them; the municipal signs on the beach and the lifeguard post are the authority on the day. Swim only where lifeguards are on duty and between their marks, never under a red flag, and treat a natural pool like the sea it is. In an emergency, call 112.
Checked WebTenerife: Playa de Las TeresitasWebTenerife: Bajamar natural pools Gobierno de Canarias, Servicio Canario de la Salud: Servicio Canario de la Salud: bathing areas, sea state and the meaning of the flags Gobierno de Canarias, 1-1-2 Canarias: 1-1-2 Canarias: self-protection measures to prevent drownings Gobierno de Canarias, Dirección General de Emergencias: Dirección General de Emergencias: advice for activities at sea
Beaches the bus does not quite reach
Benijo and Almáciga lie beyond Taganana on line 946's last stretch; the page for Anaga says where the bus ends and the walking begins. Masca's cove is a gorge walk and a boat, not a bus stop. The south-west coves below Los Gigantes are a walk from the 477 and 473 stops.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask
Which Tenerife beach can I reach by bus from Santa Cruz?
Las Teresitas, on line 910 from the Intercambiador to San Andrés: light sand, calm water behind breakwaters, showers and bars, and a bus back all day. For wilder sand, line 946 to Roque de las Bodegas in Anaga.
Checked WebTenerife: Playa de Las TeresitasWebTenerife: Playa del Roque de las Bodegas TITSA lines 910, 946
Is there a bus from Los Cristianos to El Médano?
Yes, line 470 between Los Cristianos and El Médano, every day, along the coast by way of Los Abrigos and Las Chafiras as TITSA's route line prints it; the El Médano page prints its board. La Tejita, the long natural beach under Montaña Roja, is next to El Médano.
Checked TITSA: Line 470 timetable WebTenerife: Playa de El MédanoWebTenerife: Playa de La Tejita
Are the natural pools safe to swim in?
They are sea water in rock, and the sea decides. WebTenerife describes the Bajamar and Punta del Hidalgo pools as sheltered bathing places; on a day of swell they are closed or dangerous, and no page this site reads publishes the day's conditions. Look before you swim, and follow the signs on site.
Checked WebTenerife: Bajamar natural poolsWebTenerife: Punta del Hidalgo natural pools
The other half of the plan
And the way back.
Read the last bus back on the beach's board before you go in, and give yourself the one before it: the lines to Roque de las Bodegas, Punta del Hidalgo and Garachico have no second route home.
