Playa De Las Americas

Playa De Las Americas is without doubt a 'Marmite' resort –you either love it or hate it. It’s a home-from-home for the inveterately British: if you want fish and chips, Irish pubs and Brit pop without having to speak a word of Spanish, this is the place for you…

The resort itself is very young, created from scratch in the 60’s during the genesis of package holidays. Accordingly, it caters for a young crowd and there’s little in the way of culture or character. This is not to say families aren’t welcome here, but if you’re looking for somewhere peaceful and/or culturally rich, look elsewhere on the island.

Attractions

If Tenerife is the Party Island of the Canaries, Las Americas is surely the party capital. Las Americas is the darling of 18-30’s style holiday tours, and most of the resort’s visitors will come here with one intention – party, party, party…

There is also an abundance of daytime activities. The two wide, clean beaches make a good first port of call. They both have black volcanic sand, which can get very hot, so there is also an artificial beach made from yellow sand shipped in from the Sahara. This gets very busy during peak times.

The sea is bath-water warm for the majority of the year and a beautiful turquoise colour. There are various water sports you can try, including paragliding, jet-skiing, banana-boating and water ‘donuting’.

If you want to get out of the resort there’s a good 18 hole golf course located just south of Las Americas. There are also two others about five miles in the direction of the Airport, in a resort called Golf del Sur, also crazy golf in Parqe Santiago.

If the family want some entertainment visit Loro Parque, the island’s animal park, to see killer whales, tigers, penguins, monkeys and loads more. For bigger kids, go to Pleasure Island, and brave the famous bungee rocket…if you dare.

Alternatively, hop on board a Freebird Catamaran for a lazy afternoon sailing around the Canarian coast. You will see bottle nosed dolphins and humpback whales if you’re lucky, with free bar and lunch provided.

Take a car or quad bike up Mount Tiede for spectacular panoramic views across the island, or for those speed demons, challenge your mates to a few laps round the go-kart circuit. If you need to cool down, visit Aqualand, Las Americas’ salt water waterpark. There are loads of water slides and a dolphin show, even a free bus there from Veronicas.

Shopping

There is a lovely market on the harbour of Los Cristianos, the neighbouring resort, every Sunday morning.

Las Americas town has three decent shopping centres too, selling all the usual tourist gifts and souvenirs, but also clothes you’d find in the UK at discounted prices. They are: CC Oasis, CC Safari (which are both near the Mediterranean Palace Hotel) and further down town is Parque Santiago Shopping centre.

There is also a small precinct in Veronicas which sells cheap clothes.

Nightlife and Eating Out

One thing Las Americas really does not lack is nightlife. Row upon row of bars, clubs, restaurants, casinos, cabaret, you name it, Las Americas has it.

The nightlife is divided into three main areas: the Patch, Veronica’s Strip, and Starco Commercial Centre.

The Patch is very family orientated, with lots of children-friendly cabaret restaurants and karaoke bars. Entertainment continues until about three in the morning, and most places in the Patch open during the day to serve food too.

Veronica’s Strip and Starco CC are fairly close in style, reputation and proximity. Veronica’s is the more famous, or infamous of the two areas as cheap, cheerful and tacky as you like. The most popular clubs in Starco are Rags and Tramps, the latter hosting famous DJ’s like Judge Jules and Lisa Lashes.

And if you’re feeling organised there’s various nocturnal excursions available, like the 'Bubblicious Foam Party' at Castle San Miguelle, or 'Decades', a musical journey through the 60’s, 70’s 80’s and 90’s, hosted by Miss Kitty, the local Drag Queen. And if you fancy a bit of a tour of the local hotspots, drunken bar crawls are virtually mandatory in Las Americas.

Slightly tamer is the internationally famous and TV broadcasted 'Pirate Attacks'. This family entertainment is much like a glorified treasure hunt, involving fire-eaters, competitions, acrobats, dancing and an eclectic range of music. A sure-fire with for all ages.

Tourist Information

Playa De Las Americas Tourism Office (Adeje)Avenida del LitoralTenerife.(Near City Shopping Centre)Tel: +34 922 797668/922 750633

Airport

The nearest airport to Las Americas is Reina Sofia (or Tenerife South) which is about a thirty minute drive away.

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