Where to stay in Tenerife with a large group is, for most British families, a question about the south coast. The island is large enough to have two climates, and the resorts run into each other. If you want one house, a private pool and a short transfer after the flight, stay in the south, and look at Costa Adeje.
North or south Tenerife
Teide sits in the middle of the island and splits the weather. The south is the dry, sunny side. The north is greener, and cloud sits on that side more often. A clear afternoon in Costa Adeje and a grey one in Puerto de la Cruz can be the same day. They are two different holidays.
The south is the beach holiday: sheltered sand, a promenade, and the resorts built for families. The north is a town holiday, with Puerto de la Cruz as the main resort, greener hills behind it, and fewer of the long pale beaches the south is known for. Swimming in the north is often a dark-sand cove or a seawater pool in town.
The airport, and the drive
Holiday flights for this coast use Tenerife South. Costa Adeje and Las Américas are about fifteen minutes from the airport, which is why a group with children and a heap of bags starts here. The north coast is a longer drive, over an hour from Tenerife South, and a different climate. Tenerife North is the airport on that other side of the island. Check which airport is on the ticket before you choose the house.
Quieter or livelier
Playa de las Américas is the lively resort. The seafront, and the strip around Verónicas, is the reason some groups book it and others avoid it. The residential streets above that strip are quiet after dinner. Costa Adeje is calmer: prices are higher, the hotels are newer, and the evenings are easier with children and grandparents in the same house. Los Cristianos is quieter again, a harbour town with an older crowd. La Caleta, at the far end of the coast, is quieter still. Puerto de la Cruz has a town's evenings. It is not the Las Américas strip.
Los Cristianos
Los Cristianos is the harbour town, and the oldest of the three main southern resorts. Ferries to La Gomera leave from here. The promenade is flat, the beaches are sheltered and the water is calm, which suits small children and anyone who wants to walk. Nights are quieter than Las Américas. What you rent here is mostly apartments and hotels. A house large enough for a big group is hard to find.
Playa de las Américas
Playa de las Américas sits between Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje, and it is the busiest of the three. The beaches are long and lively. Down on the strip the evenings are loud. A group that wants the beach, restaurants and a bit of life nearby will like it. A group that wants to sleep looks above the strip, in the residential streets, or next door in Costa Adeje. Our Las Américas guide says which of our houses is in the centre of the resort.
Costa Adeje
Costa Adeje is the upmarket end of the same coast. Prices are higher, the crowd is calmer, and the pieces families ask for are here: Playa del Duque and its imported sand, the marina at Puerto Colón, Siam Park and Siam Mall. It is also where there is room for a large licensed house. The Surf Villa is in Costa Adeje, about a two-minute walk from Siam Park and Siam Mall.
La Caleta and San Eugenio
La Caleta is the old fishing village at the far end of the Costa Adeje coast. A small harbour, restaurants, and a quieter night than the strip. It is a good dinner, and a peaceful base when a large house is not what you need. It is not where you look for a seven-bedroom villa with its own pool.
San Eugenio is the Las Américas end of Costa Adeje, by the marina at Puerto Colón. The seafront there is hotels and apartments, with a promenade and more bustle than Playa del Duque or La Caleta. It is a fair base for a group in an apartment. A large house with its own pool is a villa, not a room on that marina front.
What a big group needs
One house. The point of going together is one kitchen, one pool and a table everyone can sit at. Several apartments means several keys, and a group chat about where dinner is. An apartment on the seafront can be right for a smaller family that wants to walk to the sand. A group that wants to stay in one place wants the house.
Our houses are booked one at a time. The largest, The Surf Villa, sleeps 17. A bigger party does not fit in it.
A private pool. Shared hotel sunbeds turn the first hour of the day into a queue. Each of the four houses has its own pool. At The Surf Villa the pool is 32ft and heated, with a jacuzzi, a sauna and an ice bath beside it. What the other houses have is on each villa page.
Room to eat together. Ask whether one table seats the group, and whether it is outside. At The Surf Villa the dining terrace seats sixteen, and there is seating for all 17.
Parking, or a plan from the airport. A group of this size does not fit in one taxi. People split across taxis, arrange a transfer, or hire a car. The houses have street parking. How that works from Tenerife South is in our airport guide.
Tenerife and the other Canary Islands
Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, and the south has a long resort coast with licensed houses big enough for one party. Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura have resorts and villas too. On the smaller islands, a single house for eight to seventeen people is harder to find, and the flight or the ferry is a different plan. For a British group that wants one villa, a private pool and a short transfer from the airport the holiday flights use, Tenerife is the straightforward island. That is a general picture.
Where to stay in Tenerife with family
Where to stay in Tenerife with family is a simple apartment holiday while the party is small: a flat walk, a beach, and no pool of your own to think about. It changes once grandparents, cousins and three households are in the same week. Then you want bedrooms with doors, a pool that is yours, and a table for every evening. That is a villa, and the villas of that size on this coast are in Costa Adeje and Las Américas.
The best area in Tenerife for families
For most British families, the best area in Tenerife for families is the south. More sun, the resort beaches, and about fifteen minutes from Tenerife South.
Within the south, it depends on the week. Costa Adeje if you want calmer evenings, Playa del Duque, and a house that holds everyone, with Siam Park and Siam Mall about a two-minute walk from The Surf Villa. Playa de las Américas if you want the livelier beach resort and you are content with the noise on the strip. Los Cristianos if you want the harbour, the flat promenade and calm water, and you do not need a large villa. The north, around Puerto de la Cruz, if the green side is the point of the trip and you will take the cloud and the longer drive.
For a family of eight or more in one house, Costa Adeje is the area that fits. The three resorts are compared properly in Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos or Las Américas.
A Costa Adeje villa for a group of 8 to 17
A Costa Adeje villa works for a group of 8 to 17 because the south coast, the airport and a private house land in the same week. You are about fifteen minutes from Tenerife South. The evenings are calmer than the Las Américas strip. The Surf Villa is about a two-minute walk from Siam Park and Siam Mall, so a day at the water park stays simple. The house itself has seven en-suite bedrooms, seating for all 17, a dining terrace for sixteen, and a 32ft heated pool. You rent the house from the owners. Surf is the name of the house. Food and drink are not packaged into the nightly price.
Four houses cover the range. They are booked one at a time, direct with the family that owns them. There is no platform guest fee. The nightly price is the price on the calendar.
| Villa | Bedrooms | Sleeps | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Surf Villa | 7 | 17 | Costa Adeje. About a two-minute walk to Siam Park and Siam Mall |
| The Surf Villa 3 | 6 | 15 | Costa Adeje |
| The Surf Villa 2 | 5 | 12 | Centre of Las Américas, next to Siam Park and Siam Mall |
| Villa Black | 4 | 8 | Costa Adeje |
A group of 16 needs The Surf Villa, which sleeps 17. The six-bedroom house sleeps 15, so 16 people do not fit there. Which house matches the group is set out in large villas in Tenerife for 8 to 17 guests. All four are on the villas page.
The Surf Villa is the reunion house: seven bedrooms, an upstairs penthouse one family can take, and the pool to yourselves. How three families share it is the multi-generational guide. There are no parties, and no loud noise after 22:00.
If you are still choosing the resort, read the Las Américas guide beside the resort comparison. When the dates are known, check the live calendar, or send the group and the week and a person will answer the same day. Booking direct, the licence on each page, and what you pay are in book a Costa Adeje group villa direct with the owners.
Questions
Is north or south Tenerife better for families?
For most British families, the south. It is the sunny side, the resort beaches are there, and Costa Adeje and Las Américas are about fifteen minutes from Tenerife South. The north, around Puerto de la Cruz, is greener and cloudier more often, and it is over an hour from that airport. Choose the north when the green coast is the holiday. Choose the south for the sun, the beach and the short transfer. For a large family in one house, choose the south, and Costa Adeje.
Where should a big group stay in Tenerife?
In one house in the south that sleeps the whole group. The larger villas are in Costa Adeje and Las Américas. Ours sleep 8, 12, 15 and 17, and each house is booked on its own. The Surf Villa sleeps 17 and is about a two-minute walk from Siam Park and Siam Mall. Large villas in Tenerife for 8 to 17 guests matches the number of people to the house.
Is Tenerife good for a family reunion?
Yes, when the reunion wants one private house. The south has the sun and the short transfer from Tenerife South. The Surf Villa sleeps 17 in seven en-suite bedrooms, with a dining terrace for sixteen, seating for all 17, a 32ft heated pool, and about a two-minute walk to Siam Park and Siam Mall. The multi-generational guide describes how three families share that house. There are no parties, and no loud noise after 22:00.
What is the best area in Tenerife for families?
The south, for the sun, the beaches and the airport. Within the south, Costa Adeje is the best fit for a big family that wants one house and a calmer evening, with Siam Park and Siam Mall about a two-minute walk from The Surf Villa. Las Américas suits a group that wants the livelier resort. Los Cristianos suits a family that wants a flat harbour town and does not need a large villa. Puerto de la Cruz suits a family set on the green north.
Is Costa Adeje or Los Cristianos better for a large family?
Costa Adeje, when the family wants one villa with a private pool. Los Cristianos is a sound family resort: a harbour, calm water, a flat promenade, quieter nights, and mostly apartments and hotels. A large family that wants one table for the week is better in a house in Costa Adeje.
Should a large group book one house or several apartments?
One house, when the point is one kitchen, one pool and a table for everyone. Several apartments means several keys and dinner sorted by message. Our houses are booked one at a time. The largest sleeps 17.
How does a big group get from Tenerife South airport?
Costa Adeje and Las Américas are about fifteen minutes from Tenerife South. A group this size does not fit in one taxi, so people split across taxis, arrange a transfer, or hire a car. The houses have street parking. The airport guide goes through those choices.
Is The Surf Villa close to Siam Park?
Yes. The Surf Villa is in Costa Adeje, about a two-minute walk from Siam Park and Siam Mall. It has seven bedrooms and sleeps 17.