7.4 Million Tourists in Tenerife in 2024. What the Brochures Don't Tell You About the South.

Tenerife reached 7.38 million visitors in 2024, more than the entire island of Sardinia in twelve months. The majority were British (over 40%), followed by Germans and Spaniards. And almost all of them end up in the south of the island, between Playa de Las Americas and Costa Adeje. Which is exactly where we operate.

We've been working here since Makà opened in 2024, and the question our clients ask us most often at the end of an excursion is always the same: "Why didn't you tell us this before?" So we're trying to do exactly that now.

The sunshine isn't a coincidence

Northern Tenerife is green, humid, full of laurisilva forests and villages that seem from another century. The south is arid and sunny almost year-round. This isn't geographical luck. It's the same trade winds that create Teide's sea of clouds that carry moisture to the north face and leave the south dry. Mass tourism developed here from 1986 precisely for this reason. Sun in the south is almost guaranteed even in winter.

Costa Adeje and Playa de Las Americas are not the same thing

They're adjacent, you can walk from one to the other, but the atmosphere is completely different. Adeje is the quiet side: luxury hotels, Playa del Duque, slow pace, families. Las Americas is the lively side: nightlife, beginner surfing, bars, clubs. Many guests book without knowing the distinction and figure it out on day one. If you're unsure which area suits you, send us a message and we'll tell you in ten minutes.

What's actually worth doing

Siam Park is the most award-winning water park in Europe, and we don't say that for commercial reasons. We recommend it because it genuinely works for every type of visitor. Half a day there and half a day at sea, either on the catamaran for whale watching or kayaking toward Los Gigantes, is already a solid holiday even if you do nothing else.

Los Gigantes deserves a separate mention: cliffs that drop vertically 300 to 600 metres directly into the sea. Seen from the water, by kayak or boat, they have a scale that photographs simply don't convey. For snorkelling, the seabed around El Puertito and Punta de la Rasca hosts resident sea turtles with excellent visibility in summer.

And then there's Teide, which has its own article. In brief: anyone who comes to Tenerife and doesn't go up at least once has seen the cover of the book without opening it.

One honest note

Mass tourism has transformed a great deal of this part of the island. Some areas are almost unrecognisable compared to twenty years ago. But there are still corners: a small cove out of season, a ravine at dawn, the sea at six in the morning before the boats arrive, where you understand why Tenerife is the kind of place people don't visit just once.

Want to discover the best of South Tenerife? We're here.