Short holiday in Tenerife for a bit of warmth

moneylover

Hello, 3 of us have decided on spur of the moment to have a four day break in Tenerife at the end of January. We have flights but nothing else! Will have a good read of the forum but need to jump start with place to stay and car hire
Ideally we need a small self catering place not to fraying at the edges ; anywhere that is good for travelling around the island. Not in the centre of a town full of clubs although we like nice places to eat but also a market or small supermarket as we will do some self catering
In terms of car hire I just want one of the operators thats up front online about total charges, we got stung for the extra insurance when we went to Spain last year, somehow they managed to make it sound like it was all included when I booked!
Hoping the weather might be ok but guess we need a real mix of clothes?

[Deleted User]

moneylover wrote: »

Hello, 3 of us have decided on spur of the moment to have a four day break in Tenerife at the end of January. We have flights but nothing else! Will have a good read of the forum but need to jump start with place to stay and car hire
Ideally we need a small self catering place not to fraying at the edges ; anywhere that is good for travelling around the island. Not in the centre of a town full of clubs although we like nice places to eat but also a market or small supermarket as we will do some self catering
In terms of car hire I just want one of the operators thats up front online about total charges, we got stung for the extra insurance when we went to Spain last year, somehow they managed to make it sound like it was all included when I booked!
Hoping the weather might be ok but guess we need a real mix of clothes?

I'd highly recommend the small resort of Los Gigantes.
Very few tour operators,lots of privately-rented accomodation, nice restaurants and bars.
Just a nice place without the hassle.Use TA to find accomodation.

www.losgigantes.com

Obviously_the_best

Los Gigantes is a lovely resort, I stay within walking distance if it quite regularly, however it's not so great on the restaurants front, and the nearest supermarket is Supermercado Traansito in Playa de la Arena, which is up a long hill, and is pretty expensive unless you plan to live on wine.

I'd recommend trying to get a place near Costa Adeje, where there is a HiperDino Supermercado to shop in, and a slightly larger centre. Car hire wise I've found it easier than hiring at the airport to get a transfer with SunTransfers or Resort Hoppa and get CiCar to deliver a car to your accommodation, you can book them online and they offer some great prices.

[Deleted User]

Obviously_the_best wrote: »

Los Gigantes is a lovely resort, I stay within walking distance if it quite regularly, however it's not so great on the restaurants front, and the nearest supermarket is Supermercado Traansito in Playa de la Arena, which is up a long hill, and is pretty expensive unless you plan to live on wine.

I'd recommend trying to get a place near Costa Adeje, where there is a HiperDino Supermercado to shop in, and a slightly larger centre. Car hire wise I've found it easier than hiring at the airport to get a transfer with SunTransfers or Resort Hoppa and get CiCar to deliver a car to your accommodation, you can book them online and they offer some great prices.

I can think of half a dozen restaurants offering superb food at reasonable prices and some good bars both Spanish and English.

As they have a car any amount of supermarkets are within easy driving distance and even the local shops are perfectly adequate for every day things.

There's a great local public pool with a fantastic outdoor restaurant.

I've been all over Tenerife and it's the least tacky resort I've come across.

Obviously_the_best

Deleted_User wrote: »

I can think of half a dozen restaurants offering superb food at reasonable prices and some good bars both Spanish and English.

As they have a car any amount of supermarkets are within easy driving distance and even the local shops are perfectly adequate for every day things.

There's a great local public pool with a fantastic outdoor restaurant.

I've been all over Tenerife and it's the least tacky resort I've come across.

Apart from the restaurants, I entirely agree with you, I found the food there slightly naff, although the funky chicken down by the harbour is always nice to sit and have a drink in, and the guy who owns its a laugh. I always stay at the Luabay Costa Los Gigatnes, which is a fab hotel, but all inclusive only. The few things I've found with Los Gigantes though is most other places seem an effort to drive to, and it doesn't get as warm as other parts of the island either, it's regularly been 26*C when I've been there and 30*C down in Adeje and Las Americas. Therefore, as the OP has a short stay, I would have thought the better connected and warmer Costa Adeje would be a better resort. Unless they felt like staying in Santa Cruz, although that's more of a city break than a beach sun break?

moneylover

Oh, things to think about already thanks for quick replies and will hope for more tomorrow and then must make a decision by end of weekend!
MSE'ers never let me down!

[Deleted User]

Obviously_the_best wrote: »

Apart from the restaurants, I entirely agree with you, I found the food there slightly naff, although the funky chicken down by the harbour is always nice to sit and have a drink in, and the guy who owns its a laugh. I always stay at the Luabay Costa Los Gigatnes, which is a fab hotel, but all inclusive only. The few things I've found with Los Gigantes though is most other places seem an effort to drive to, and it doesn't get as warm as other parts of the island either, it's regularly been 26*C when I've been there and 30*C down in Adeje and Las Americas. Therefore, as the OP has a short stay, I would have thought the better connected and warmer Costa Adeje would be a better resort. Unless they felt like staying in Santa Cruz, although that's more of a city break than a beach sun break?

If you can predict which part of Tenerife is going to be three or four degrees hotter on any given day nearly a month from now never mind whether it will be raining or cloudy you're in the wrong job.
What are the lottery numbers for next week ?

mgdavid

we had a week in Costa Adeje last November and although the hotel and weather were OK we would certainly never consider going back there; it runs indistinguishably into Las Americas and the whole area is completely naff and full of English bars selling mega-cheap beer and therefore full of the sort of Brits who want to drink cheap beer all day... simply ghastly.

Obviously_the_best

@Tom

I'm not, I'm working on averages and my experiences, which say the farther south parts of the island are warmer

[Deleted User]

Obviously_the_best wrote: »

@Tom

I'm not, I'm working on averages and my experiences, which say the farther south parts of the island are warmer

Los Gigantes and Adeje are 20 kms apart - to suggest that the same piece of coastline that short distance apart can have a signficant difference in temperature that's predictable on any given day is nonsense.

Temperatures are solely determined by cloud cover and that varies not just day by day but hour by hour.

But mgdavid is right - the Costa Adeje is lagerland.Los Gigantes is much nicer.

@moneylover - Why not join the forum on www.losgigantes.com and ask your question about car hire and accomodation ? Many people who live in Los Gigantes are full-time residents and know chapter and verse about Tenerife - I'm sure someone will steer you in the right place.It's run by the lovely Dolly Diver.

joerugby

We're off to Golf del Sur next weekend for a couple of weeks. It's quiet, has reasonably priced accomodation and is convenient for touring (TF1 2km), large supermarkets (Las Chafiras 2km), beach (Tejita 4km) and restaurants (Los Abrigos 2km). Weather today is 21C and sunny. It suits us fine