List Of The Best Surf Spots In Tenerife 2024

What Are The best Surf Spots in Tenerife in 2024?

The best surf spots in Tenerife are:

La Punta de Hidalgo in the North. This is the best and biggest surf spot with the most space for surfers.

Playa de Las Americas in the South. This spot works very well, plus it is offshore winds when the North is too/very big.

Playa de Punta Blanca, this works well with Western Swells when the North is big. Shallow, good for body boarding on slabs.

Playa de El Medano. This surf spot works well with Southern swells, keep an eye out!

El Puerto de la Cruz. This is a protected bay that works well when the nearby Punta de Hidalgo is too big. It is located in the centre of Puerto de la Cruz in the North.

Playa de El Socorro. This place is a less crowded, good alternative to Punto de Hidalgo. Careful with the currents here, they can get very rippy and strong.

Playa de Almaciga. Difficult to access, does not work well or often.

Playa de El Poris. South swell only, similar to El Medano but a little more protected from the wind.

Let's get pitted bro! So here is the deal, if the waves are small, head north, if the waves are big, head south to get barrelled! Barelled because the south coast is almost always offshore winds.

What Are The best Surf Spots in Tenerife in 2024? Here is the map:

All the surf spots, all the glory of the shred. Bring your Go Pro son. Now, the bad news about surfing in Tenerife:

So let's start with the bad news and get it out of the way. Both the main surf spots on the island (Hidalgo and Las Americas) are absolutely rammed everyday with hundreds of surfers. Sometimes you get lucky. If you are truly dedicated to the sport, your best bet in both places, is to be entering the water just before the sun rises. Guaranteeing yourself at least a 40 minute shesh alone on a lucky day. Furthermore, the waves are all difficult to access. I am talking slimy green exposed volcanic reef slabs, super slippery. A good tip is to take smaller steps, and bend your knees to lower your centre of gravity when creeping over the Marginot line into the canon fodder. If you do not you risk a nasty fall on the sharp rocks and dings to your board, look out for the white dotted mollusks as these are very slip proof, therefore an excellent footing. Taking your time is the key.

Localism in the surf spots of Tenerife in general.

Localism is getting worse than before here, as the crowds get bigger in the north and the south. As I am not Canarian or Spanish, if I make a mistake that is dangerous, or on the opposite scale, if someone is being rude, I just walk away. If I bash someones board accidentally I will pay too. Being square and fair is always the best policy. There are some good board repairs scattered throughout, I use Underground Surf Shop for board repairs from the reef. There is localism in the south and there is localism in the north, so don't get too excited yet.

More localism issues.

Mainly because I don't want any bad vibes with the locals, because I love it here. Mistakes do happen, it can be frustrating to be overtaken all the time by everyone going around you straight to the peak through the crowds. Especially if you know they are not locals. Arguing is just not worth the hassle though. Having surfed in Las americas fervently for over 3 years, my advice is to take your time to observe review the spots in this list if you visit them and ask the locals if you have any doubts about the dangers. This ishould be surf mantra, after all it can be dangerous. They are only 2 minutes walk from 1 to the other. Try and find a more secluded spot, knowledge of the reef is essential.

Be valiant to avoid localism.

Be on your best behaviour in and around the water, that is my motto, because I don't want to get a bad rep at the spots. I live here full time in Los Cristianos, and I would be devastated to fallout with the local gang of surfers of Las Americas. I forgive when I get cut off, though sometimes it is hard, sure. If someone's leash breaks I will be the first to retrieve their board before it hits the reef.

When is the surf season?

October to March only. There are also occasional south swells during the Summer months but they are rare. If you want to do water sports in the summer here, your best bet is kite surfing and foil boarding in El Medano (more on that surf and kite spot soon) in the south.

Interpreting the charts is complicated.

Let's start with how complicated the charts are to read, as the island is in the centre of the Canarian cluster of islands, swell can come from almost any direction, but also, sometimes get intercepted by the other islands in the way, on almost all sides of Tenerife. Complicated charts sometimes mean nice surprises!

Where is the surf on the island of Tenerife?

There are 2 main really good surf spots on the island:

Surf spots on the island.

• Punta de Hidalgo in the North, these are the biggest waves on the island. It is open to the Northern Swell in the Winter months.
• Las Americas in the South. This surf spot is amazing when it is working and will be covered in depth in this article.

Driving around to surf:

The two main surf spots are 1h20 minutes apart, when driving on the motorway.

What you should bring to surf in Tenerife.

What you will need to pack or buy here (probably cheaper to buy here!):

• Bring strong sunscreen, it is flipping hot all year round, you will burn.
• Reef boots, bring the boots. I shred one pair every few months.
• Summer wetsuit, nothing above 3/2 is largely sufficient. This is a tropical island! Don't bring your Winter suit. I have high resistance to cold, but I can surf in January in the North without a wetsuit... IN THE RAIN.

Incredible fact about surfing in Tenerife.

One thing that is quite incredible about surfing Tenerife, is the wave frequency. This place likes to turn into a lake for 10 minutes, inviting all the noobs to think that it ain't that big, then suddenly a massive unexpected set will appear out of the blue to really shake up the line up. I have found myself once thinking it was manageable only to receive 5 huge waves land on my face with no intervals for breathing, and getting washed up on the rocks like a crushed urchin. Take 10 minutes to wait and see the big sets to be sure your level of surfing is good enough for the conditions. Furthermore, life guards don't seem very strict here. The island does have drownings every year so please be careful. Remember 'If you are not sure, don't go.'

The water quality can be bad here.

Tenerife has a problem with sewage. There is nowhere to put it. Therefore sadly, there are pipes that go out onto the reef all over the island, especially Las Americas. You will find one ot these pipes opposite Mac Donalds at the Bunker surf spot. If you notice any toilet paper on the slabs, it means they have been releasing recently. Consider not going. Do not swallow the water. No open cuts. You risk serious problems like mushrooms or septisemia. Unfortunately this is also very bad for the reef because cleaning maniacs and hotels release lots of bleach and cleaning products which destroys the wild life. There is conservation action on the island around this but where can it go?

What do you use to check the surf reports?

Check out the North spot, live free Punta de Hidalgo webcam here.

Check out the Surfline chart for the Las Americas surf spots here (they call it El Medio and have 1 chart for all 5 spots there).

Check out the Surfline Surf report for the North spot, Punta de Hidalgo here.

Check out the Surfline Surf report for the South Eastern swell spot, El Medano here.

Conclusion about the introduction to surfing in Tenerife.

Surfing Tenerife in the North and in the South will blow your mind. The crystal clear blue waters and temperate climates are amazing. If you want to beat the annoying crowds, go early, at sunrise. Remember to take your time walking over reef. Don't panic and keep surfing!

Next up, read another article on this website about all the surf spots in the sunny south, Las Americas and Playa San Juan to understand where to surf in the south of the island.

Or you can read about the bigger waves in the north of the island, called Hidalgo.