Best Quiet Beaches in Tenerife

Quiet Beaches in Tenerife: Wild Atlantic Solitude Beyond the Resorts

The resort-dominated south coast is only one face of Tenerife — turn north or east and the island reveals a dramatically different personality: wild Atlantic coastlines, fishing villages untouched by mass tourism, and beaches of extraordinary volcanic character where the only other visitors are locals who have known these places all their lives. Tenerife's quietest beaches require a hire car and a willingness to navigate narrow roads that sometimes peter out entirely before the sea, but the reward is access to a raw, elemental coastline that puts the manufactured prettiness of the resort beaches in perspective. The real Tenerife exists in these places.

Top Quiet Beaches in Tenerife

Playa de Benijo

Playa de Benijo is the most dramatically beautiful beach on the north coast — a wide arc of dark volcanic sand at the foot of the Anaga mountains, facing directly into the Atlantic with nothing between it and the American continent. The waves here are not for swimming, but the experience of standing at the water's edge with the ocean spray on your face and the extraordinary rocky stacks of the Roques de Anaga visible offshore is one of the most memorable coastal moments in all of Spain. The small car park at the clifftop and the steep path down guarantee that the beach is never crowded, and the light in the late afternoon turns the volcanic sand from black to deep burnished copper.

Playa de Diego Hernández

Playa de Diego Hernández, also known as Playa del Camello, is a hidden naturist beach in the Costa Adeje area accessible via a coastal walking trail that branches off the promenade and traverses a dramatic volcanic headland. Despite its proximity to the resort zone, its awkward access has kept it genuinely uncrowded throughout the season, and its naturist designation gives it an additional layer of self-selection that keeps the atmosphere tranquil. The beach is a modest crescent of dark coarse sand in a sheltered cove with decent swimming conditions and excellent snorkelling over the rocky reef that extends from the eastern headland. Bring water and sun protection as there are no facilities.

Playa La Tejita

La Tejita, near Los Abrigos in the far south-east of the island, is one of Tenerife's largest natural beaches and, paradoxically, one of its least visited — separated from the resort strip by the extraordinary volcanic cone of Montaña Roja and accessible from a car park that most tourists never find. The beach stretches for nearly a kilometre, the sand is pale and fine by Canarian standards, and the water is clearer than the busy resort beaches to the west. Windsurfers use the southern section; the northern end, in the lee of Montaña Roja, is calm and quiet. The protected lagoon behind the beach is a remarkable bird habitat and a completely unexpected natural bonus.

Discover Tenerife Beyond the Resorts

Escape the crowds from a well-positioned base. Browse our selection of hotels in Tenerife, including rural options in the Anaga and Teno areas. For more of Spain's wild and unspoilt coastline, explore our guide to beaches in Spain.