Best Area to Stay in Tenerife for Families: Beaches, Bases and Hotels

Quick Answer: The Best Family Bases in Tenerife

Our pick by family type: Costa Adeje for a water park, golf and boat trips on one stretch of coast; Los Cristianos if your children are young and calm water matters most; Playa de las Américas or Playa Paraíso if you want a family hotel to keep the kids busy; El Médano if older children are into wind sports; and Puerto de la Cruz if you prefer a traditional northern town to a resort strip.

If you are choosing between the island's regions for reasons beyond the children, such as walking or a quieter coast, our main guide to where to stay in Tenerife compares every base. This page narrows the choice to the areas where family-friendly beaches and hotel facilities are documented.

Costa Adeje: Family Beaches, Siam Park and Resort Hotels

Costa Adeje runs from Playa de Troya to Callao Salvaje. The official Adeje and Costa Adeje page calls it one of the most visited areas of southern Tenerife, with a high-level hotel stock including 4 and 5 star hotels, a golf course, a marina for whale and dolphin boat trips, and Siam Park, which the board ranks among the world's best-known water parks. Adeje's 14 beaches come in different coloured sands, and the board cites roughly 300 days of sunshine a year.

Fañabé Beach is the family beach to aim for. The tourism board puts it, with Torviscas, among the liveliest beaches in southern Tenerife; it holds a Blue Flag and lists a children's area among its amenities, alongside showers, toilets, and sun loungers and parasols for hire. Gentle waves and a promenade of shops and restaurants make it the board's pick for a family day out.

Los Cristianos and Las Vistas: Calm Water for Young Children

Los Cristianos grew from a small fishing village into a resort and still keeps its seaside charm. Arona's tourism page says most of the area's shopping and cultural life is concentrated in the town, around a busy port. A tourist train takes children and adults on guided rides through Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas, and the board rates Arona as a good place to combine active tourism, family leisure and relaxation.

Las Vistas Beach, also in Arona, is the strongest single argument for this base. The Las Vistas Beach page explains that a row of breakwaters keeps its water calm, which the board says makes this golden-sand beach the perfect place to take kids. Access by car is easy, amenities are on site, access has been adapted for people with disabilities or reduced mobility, and the beach's own artificial island sends a fountain of seawater into the air.

A broad seafront avenue links Las Vistas to neighbouring beaches, with shops and restaurants along the way, and Arona's accommodation includes tourist apartments as well as hotels if you prefer self-catering.

Playa de las Américas: Family Hotels and Water Activities

Playa de las Américas, another of Arona's resort areas, has several beaches and a wide range of water activities all year round. If you would rather know where the island's late-night zones are before picking a hotel, our guide to the best area to stay in Tenerife for nightlife maps them for you.

Hotel Bitácora shows what a dedicated family hotel here looks like. Hotel Bitácora's official site describes a 4-star family hotel with a family pool, a children's pool, a slide pool, Springly World, a Mini Club, a minidisco, a playroom and a games zone, plus daytime and evening entertainment for all ages, with live music and a show every night.

Not every pool is open to children all year. Bitácora's Medusa pool is for family use in summer but reserved for guests over 18 in winter, and both the outdoor spa pool and the infinity pool on the UP! terrace are for over-18s. The Bitácora Family Spa costs extra.

Playa Paraíso: Resort-Style Stays With Kids' Activities

Playa Paraíso suits families who want an all-inclusive resort and plan to spend most days on site. Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife, on Avenida de Adeje in Playa Paraíso, offers all-inclusive stays with à la carte restaurants, sells family packages, and says on Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife's website that it runs fun activities for children of all ages. Dogs are welcome too, if the family pet is coming.

Pick Playa Paraíso for the hotel rather than the beach; for a calm swimming beach, Las Vistas and Fañabé have the documented family credentials.

El Médano: Gentle Shore for Families, Wind for Watersports

El Médano, in Granadilla de Abona, is a Blue Flag beach of fine grey sand overlooked by the Montaña Roja volcanic cone. The official El Médano beach page splits it in two: the end nearest the town has gentler waves and suits families better, while the far end is the best spot for windsurfing and kitesurfing and has hosted world championships in both sports. Between the two, the promenade has surf shops, restaurants and cafés with a cosmopolitan feel.

It suits families with older children or a parent who wants to get on the water. If swimming with small children is the plan, stay close to the town end.

Puerto de la Cruz: A Traditional Northern Base for Families

Puerto de la Cruz sits on the coast of the Orotava Valley with Mount Teide behind it. The Canary Islands' first tourist destination, it keeps a fishing-village feel around its dock and Plaza del Charco, where ice-cream parlours ring the square. The official Puerto de la Cruz page says its flower gardens, black sandy beaches, seaside shops and cobbled streets offer plenty for the whole family, and gives the temperature range as 15 to 22 ºC.

For swimming, families can choose between the natural pools of San Telmo, the volcanic-sand beaches and the Lago Martiánez lagoons. The town's long hotel tradition accommodates over 20,000 tourists, so there is plenty of choice; if you want a higher-end family treat, our guide to 5-star hotels in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife covers the top tier.

How to Choose Between South and North With Kids

Choose the south if the holiday is built around the beach: Fañabé, Las Vistas and the town end of El Médano are where the tourism board points to gentle or calm water, and Siam Park and the Arona tourist train are both in the south.

Choose Puerto de la Cruz if a traditional town, gardens and lagoon pools matter more than pale sand. On a longer trip, splitting your nights between Costa Adeje and Puerto de la Cruz gets you both.

Plan Your Family Stay in Tenerife

Decide on the anchor of the trip first, then the base: calm water points to Los Cristianos and Las Vistas Beach in Arona, a water park and family beach to Costa Adeje, and a kids' club with entertainment to a family hotel such as Hotel Bitácora or Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife. Check pool and kids' club access for your dates when you book, since some of Bitácora's pools change rules by season.