A review of Los Cristianos, Tenerife

Jimbob1977

I've recently returned from a family holiday to Los Cristianos in Tenerife.

The flight is about 4 hours and 15 minutes from Dublin, so it's about twice the distance of Faro or Malaga.

The airport (Tenerife South) is modern, with numerous flights from Ireland, the UK and Germany. Our taxi to Los Cristianos took 15 minutes and cost €24 for five people and luggage. If we had taken a public bus (Route 40, 111 or 450), there would have been a tiny saving.. so a taxi made sense.

Los Cristianos in early June is off peak. I'd say the resort is operating around 40% capacity. July, August and winter is the peak season. The bars and restaurants are trying to entice people in for breakfast or drinks (usually the promoters are Cockney ex-pats). Meals in June are great value. A meal for two adults and three children should cost between €45 and €70, depending on how many courses.

Our self-catered apartment complex was on the fringes of Los Cristianos, just under Mount Gauza. It was 15 minutes to the heart of town, but there are convenience stores and supermarkets everywhere.

The three beaches are:

1. Los Tarajales.... A tiny and grubby afterthought of a beach

2. Los Cristianos..... nice sandy beach

3. Playa Las Vistas... bigger sandy beach that adjoins the famous resort of Playa De Las Americas.

Excursions undertaken:

o Siam Water Park - rated the best water park in Europe. Take the free blue bus from the Pasarella Shopping Centre. The bus runs every 30 minutes from 9.20am.

If your children are less than 1.25 metres, you are wasting your time. They won't be able to use most of the rides. Aqualand might be better.

Surprisingly, the quietest days are Saturday and Sunday, while it's busiest on weekdays. Queues were horrific on a Monday. You can buy a Fast Pass for an extra €15 and it's worth it. The Fast Pass wristband allows you to skip to the top of the queue for one ride each. It does not allow you to skip to the top of the queue all day long. Just one skip per ride. The employees on each ride will tick off your wristband after you've had your one free shot per ride.

If you don't have a chance to complete all the rides, you can buy a half-price ticket to return another day. The park is linked to Loro Parque (sister company).

o Loro Parque is about 1hr 10 minutes north of Los Cristianos. We had a rental car, so it was easy enough. There are also cheapish return buses. Loro Parque is effectively a top notch aquarium and zoo. The chief attractions are the orca show, the dolphin show and the sealion show. Apart from that, the park has a wide variety of monkeys, penguins, lemurs, parrots, etc.

Loro Parque is very money hungry. As you step in, employees are selling the €11 offer where they will take you to all the shows. As long as you have the map and showtimes, any fool can figure it out for themselves. The toilets also have attendants with tip baskets, like a Dublin pub.

o Mount Teide volcano. Mount Teide is about 1 hour drive from Los Cristianos. It is gigantic. There are a few options: rental car, bus tour or public bus. The public bus has just one service in the morning and a return in the afternoon. The drive involves dozens of hairpin bends that can induce travel sickness. The scenery is stunning. At 2,500 metres, you arrive at the cable car.

Options for the cable car are twofold. The easiest is to purchase the ticket online (€27 return adult; €13.50 return child). If you miss your timeslot, the ticket is voided. The alternative is to arrive at the cash desk and take your chances with the queues. Morning is busiest. Afternoon (2pm onwards) is quieter.

The cable car takes you to 3,500 metres. The air is thin. Have warm clothing in case of chilly weather topside. If you want to reach the summit at 3,700 metres, you will need to have acquired the free special permit in advance. Only 200 permits are issued daily. If the rangers catch you, the fines are huge.

As we didn't have the permit (fully booked for the entire summer), we chose one of the two public walks. It was amazing to look down on the valley and clouds below us.

o Monkey Park is right beside Los Cristianos. It's about 3km from town. The zoo is full of guinea pigs and lemurs that you can feed. €10 adults and €5 children.

Excursions we didn't take: Jungle Park and Aqualand.

Other information - car rental costs about €30 per day for 1-3 days and about €20 per day if you're taking the entire week. All of the companies seem to offer the super insurance as the base price, i.e. there is no excess and you are fully indemnified.

If you are on the beach or promenade, the 'looky looky men' will pass you every five minutes and try to sell sunglasses and towels. They are smily and jolly characters. A simple "no thanks" is perfect.

English is widely spoken and the taxis are metered.