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Surfing on Tenerife: Spotcheck

The island of Tenerife, situated in the heart of the canary islands, not only offers a great variety in breathtaking landscapes, but also provides surfers – beginners to advanced – with a wide selection of good quality surf spots to choose from. This article is supposed to give you a brief overview to help you prepare your next surf trip

Tenerife can generally be distinguished into the northern and the southern part. Other than most of the rest of the canary islands, even the southern part of the island is treated with a fair amount of swell all year long.

The North

In terms of swells the northern part of the island shows more consistency than the south. Especially the urban beaches Martiánez and Playa Jardín in Puerto de la Cruz are very beginner friendly. If you are looking for nature, you should head over to Taganana on the north-eastern tip of the island, though. The drive over the mountains is a long one, but the views are spectacular and at the end of it quiet little towns and close to empty line-ups are lying ahead. Although the breaks in this area are easily accessible over the beaches and are on small days even suited for beginners, some experience with currents should be present as these should not be taken easily on this far out corner of the island.

Another very popular spot with beginners as well as advanced surfers is El Socorro. Situated just west out of Puerto de la Cruz it is very easily reachable from the city. When the conditions are good, it tends to get very crowded, however. Advanced surfers and good intermediates looking for some a little more challenging waves will most likely find these around the towns of Bajamar and Punta del Hidalgo. In Bajamar access to the beach can be found just below the old Hotel Neptuno.

The South

The southern part of Tenerife is located quite nicely when it comes to swell directions. In the winter it is treated with the same strong northwest swells, that also prevail in the north during that time. The summer usually brings lighter, beginner friendly southern swells. Probably the best known hot spot in the south is the tourist center Playa de las Américas. Along the beachfront, that is lined with surfshops and just about invites you to go longboarding, one peak can be found next to the other. One thing that cannot be seen from the beach, but should be considered is, that the waves here are breaking over a lava reef. If you are a bit sensitive to cuts on your feet you should therefore consider bringing a pair of booties. When contemplating where to enter the water, better leave the well known Spanish Left or La Izquierda to the locals. You will find plenty of good breaks around it. Especially La Fitenia and La Derecha del Cartel are even suited for beginners on smaller days.

I hope I was able to provide you with a good overview. You don’t feel confident enough on the surfboard yet to check out the surf spots of the island on your own or you still want to learn how to surf? Check out the website of our mobile surf school based in Puerto de la Cruz!

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