The largest of the Canary Islands that lie in the Atlantic Ocean not far from the west Africancoast, Tenerife is great for October holidays and is also one of the most popular all-year round holiday destinationsin Europe.  One reason for this is thatTenerife is actually on about the same latitude as that occupied by the SaharaDesert, and actually this leads me on to one of the most fascinating factsabout Tenerife’s beaches... the natural colour of the beaches here is actuallyblack!  And yet many of the resorts -particularly at the south coast of the island - have lovely golden sands...well, this sand is imported!  If you’veever sunbathed on a golden beach during your Tenerife holidays thenyou’ve actually been lying on Sahara Desert sand! 

 

The island iscrowned by an impressive mountain peak called Mount Teide which is technicallyan active volcano - and although it hasn’t erupted since 1909 (at the time ofwriting!) its volcanic outpourings are ultimately the source of the fine blacksand that you can see, particularly if you visit the northern beach resortssuch as Puerto De La Cruz.

 

Puerto De La Cruz

It can be astrange sight, a beach with black sand. It looks like coal dust, which you might associate with being dirty, butit’s really just like sand of the golden variety except a differentcolour!  Holidays to Puerto De La Cruzmeans having a quiet laidback time in a lovely traditional Spanish beach resort- in other words you don’t come to this resort looking for a raucousnightlife.  But Tenerife does cater forparty animals, in the form of one of its most infamous southern resorts...

 

Playas De Las Americas

During daylighthours, Playas De Las Americas can be a quiet beach resort with a quiteexquisite golden sandy beach.  But don’tbe misled, because as light fades and dusk approaches the bright neon stripsstart buzzing and the bars begin the serious business of providingholidaymakers with one of the craziest wild nightlife experiences in theworld.  Bars, clubs and superclubsnoisily suck in and spew out hedonists from midnight til morning, when PlayasDe Las Americas once again resumes its day as a sleepy and beautiful beachresort.

 

Los Cristianos

A popular beachresort with people who are looking for a laid-back holiday experience withquite a few good nightlife options, from lovely local restaurants & bars tomore in-your-face British-style pubs & nightclubs.  The large sweeping twin bays are separated bya stopoff point for very occasional Canary Islands ferry services, but the twomain crescent beaches are golden & clean so don’t let this put you off.

 

Mount Teide

No trip toTenerife is complete without an excursion to Mount Teide, Tenerife’s imposingcentral volcanic peak.  The coach slowlywends its way upwards through pine forests and round impossibly tight curves,then suddenly beyond the treeline you’re confronted with an other-worldly starkrocky volcanic landscape.  A directresult of the often-violent eruptions that Teide has experienced throughouthistory, this landscape hasn’t escaped the attention of Hollywood, who have,amazingly, filmed scenes here for The Ten Commandments, Planet Of The Apes, andmany more!

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