El Médano & the South-East: Windsurfing, Red Mountain and Quiet Beaches

Most visitors to Tenerife head to the big southern resorts — but the south-eastern corner, anchored by the little town of El Médano, offers something rarer: a proper Canarian town that happens to sit on the best windsurfing and kitesurfing coast in Europe — our windsurfing guide and kitesurfing guide dig into both. Add a red volcanic mountain, wild beaches and one of the island's quietest coastlines, and you have a base that repays slow travel.

El Médano: the town

El Médano is Tenerife's original windsurfing town, and it still has the relaxed feel of a fishing village that grew up around its sport. The long main beach is the town's living room — shallow, warm water, a promenade of cafés and bars, and (from spring to autumn) a colourful fleet of kites and sails bobbing offshore. On breezy days the waves roll in; on calm days it's as gentle a swim as the south offers.

Red Mountain and the wild coast

The landmark that dominates the horizon is Montaña Roja, a 171-metre volcano of red volcanic cinder left over from the last eruption. The climb to its crater is easy and gives huge views over the whole coast. At its foot, the long wild stretch of Playa de la Tejita is the most natural beach on the island's south — a wide band of sand with no development behind it, backed by the mountain. For swimming and sunbathing away from the wind, the sheltered little Playa de Montaña Roja sits right below the volcano, and further north the gentle cove of Playa de Abades is a favourite with families. A little further south, the fishing village of Abades hides the calm, fine-sand Playa de los Abriguitos, a favourite with scuba divers for its easy shore entry and clear water.

Golf and resorts to the west

Heading west from El Médano you enter the gentler, sunnier resort belt around Golf del Sur, which shares the same wide bay. The area's two big hotels — the Wyndham Residences Golf del Sur (4★, from €200) and the peaceful Vincci Tenerife Golf (4★, from €88) — sit right on the golf courses, a short drive from the beaches.

Practical notes

El Médano is about 15 minutes from Tenerife South airport by car or TITSA bus — you'll often be at your hotel before the luggage carousel crowds at the main resorts. The Teide National Park is around an hour's drive inland, and the area works well as a relaxed base if you want to split your stay between beach and mountains. For where it sits among the island's other bases, see our where-to-stay guide; for getting here, the airport transfers guide covers your options.

For a table close to the wind, neighbouring Golf del Sur has its own local favourite: Tapas Pata de Oro, serving traditional Spanish tapas since 2005.

Need somewhere to sleep between sessions? Hotel Ventus, 250m from the beach, is a firm favourite with windsurfers for that very reason.