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There are 217 miles of shoreline around Tenerife, varying from the plunging cliffs of Los Gigantes on the west coast to the sandy crescent of Las Teresitas in the northeast.
The most popular beaches are those in the south around the resorts of Playa de las Américas and Los Cristianos. Most of these are man-made, the golden sand having been either imported from the Sahara Desert or dredged from the seabed and pumped to shore. The Playa del Duque is one of the island's best beaches and the breakwaters provide for reasonably safe swimming although the undertow can be quite persuasive on red flag days. One of the best beaches for children is Playa de las Vistas in Los Cristianos, where lifeguards keep a constant vigil along the sandy stretch.
Further north, El Medano provides one of the world's finest windsurfing locations. The long swathes of gold to the south of the town are rarely busy except for kite flyers and strollers keen on blowing the cobwebs away.
Black is the colour on Playa Martiánez and Playa Jardín in Puerto de la Cruz. This dark volcanic sand doesn't look very appealing but at least you can see it when it gets in your sandwiches.
More of the black stuff can be found at Playa San Juan and Puerto de Santiago, both on the west coast between Costa Adeje and Los Gigantes.
One small beach worth a special mention is El Puertito between Armeñime and La Caleta in the southwest. Popular with divers, this sandy cove offers relative peace and quiet away from the bucket-and-spade brigade.
