Playa de Las Gaviotas — Attraction in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Review written mid-October - we visited the beach at 5 pm after spending the day on ‘Las Teresitas’.

Las Gaviotas is a complete different vibe - first, it is not an artificial beach, and the black sand is a testimony for that.

There were both nudist (20%) and fully dressed up people (80%) and everyone was really chill.

We came by car and indeed it is a steep hill to go down/up so make sure you are driving extra carefully. We found scarcely 1 parking spot at the time we went simply because the sun was going down.

We had lots of fun jumping the waves though.. as it is a natural beach, the ocean is quite untamed, so the current is really strong. I cannot swim myself and I felt the current pulling me towards the ocean - hence why i stayed very close to the edge.

The only downside of it in my opinion is the lack of public shower / toilet.. it is crazy for me how the authorities made a public big parking for this, but no public shower.. the sand being black gets on all your clothes and towels, so having this would definitely help.

There were also dogs running free on the beach, playing around with their families - something that I absolutely loved.

Overall, a joyful experience, but perhaps would not return as it is not very convenient from the...

Playa Gaviotas is one of the most beautiful beaches on the north-east coast of Tenerife. It features fine black sand and a relatively calm ocean. The beach is situated at the foot of the Anaga mountain range cliffs, offering a wild and natural environment.

The entrance to the water is gradual, but because of the black sand, it’s hard to see the bottom clearly. There are no protruding rocks in the water, making it a safe place for swimming. The waves here are usually pleasant—not too big, but just the right size for some fun in the water.

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A small, black sand beach at the end of a winding road. We arrived here expecting a naturist beach, but it is not. The beach was crowded on this weekday afternoon but only a few people at the far end were without bathing suits, all men. It is easy to get here by car, the road is well marked with signs. The last mile or so of the road is used for parking as the official car park is small, so only one narrow lane can be used for traffic. There were nice waves, not too big, just the right size for some fun. There is a bar here, but no showers...