From the air, Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas and Costa Adeje look like one long town along the south coast of Tenerife. On the ground they are three different holidays. If you are choosing where to put a group of ten or fifteen people for a week, the difference matters more than the star rating of anything you book.
Los Cristianos: the old port
The furthest west of the three and the oldest. A working harbour (ferries to La Gomera leave from here), a flat promenade, two sheltered beaches with calm water, and a slightly older crowd. Good for families with small children and anyone who wants to walk everywhere on the flat. Quieter at night. The villas here are fewer and smaller; it is mostly apartments and hotels.
Playa de las Américas: the noise and the beach
The middle resort and the busiest. The beaches (Playa de las Américas, Playa de Troya) are long and lively, the surf school is here, and the nightlife strip around Verónicas is the reason some groups come and other groups avoid it. The trick with Las Américas is altitude: the strip is at sea level, and the streets on the ridge above it are quiet, residential and five minutes from everything. The larger houses sit on that ridge. The exception, in the centre, is a villa in Las Américas: next to Siam Park and Siam Mall, with the beaches about a ten-minute walk.
Costa Adeje: the upmarket end
East of Las Américas and newer, with the better hotels, Playa del Duque's imported sand, the marina at Puerto Colón, Siam Park and Siam Mall. Prices are higher, the crowd is calmer, and it is the natural base for families who want the water park within reach. Costa Adeje is also where most of the large licensed villas are, because it is where the space is.
What a group actually needs
- One house, not four apartments, so the group eats together. See our guide to big-group villas.
- Quiet at night and life within reach. The ridge between Las Américas and Costa Adeje gives both: our villas sit on the quiet side, ten minutes by taxi from the strip, the beaches and the restaurants of La Caleta. The Surf Villa is about a two-minute walk to Siam Park and Siam Mall.
- A pool that is warm in winter. See why a heated pool matters.
- Fifteen minutes from the airport. All three resorts are close to Tenerife South; the north of the island is over an hour away and a different climate.
Where ours are
The Surf Villa (sleeps 17) and Surf Villa 3 (15) are in the residential streets above Las Américas, on the Costa Adeje side. The Surf Villa is about a two-minute walk to Siam Park and Siam Mall. Surf Villa 2 sleeps 12. It is a villa in Las Américas, in the centre next to Siam Park and Siam Mall, with the beaches about a ten-minute walk. Villa Black (8) is in Costa Adeje itself, ten minutes' walk from Siam Park. Each villa is booked on its own. Prices are live on each page and you book direct with the owner, with no platform fee. If you are not sure which resort suits your group, tell us who is coming and we will say honestly which villa fits.