If you feel you’ve had enough of Gran Canaria and are starting to find the Yumbo and dunes just a little bit too much, then Tenerife offers a gentler alternative but still with the same great weather and easy flight accessibility.
The university town of La Laguna and the principal city Santa Cruz both have a selection of gay bars and clubs which are well worth visiting on a night out but the main concentration that are on the gay traveller’s trail are in Puerto de la Cruz and Playa de las Americas.
Puerto was the original Tenerife resort and still has a somewhat established early 20th century feel where the hotels cling to the surrounding hills created when the volcano of Mt Teide erupted many centuries ago. So it tends to attract a more mature crowd who prefer intimate bars rather than all-night clubs. But there are still two gay saunas (Laurent and Sauna Puerto), a gay sex shop and several bars, restaurants and clubs around the Avenida Generalissimo. Being volcanic, there aren’t miles of golden sands so the place to go is the Lido Martinez but there are also several naturist coves with Playa Bollullo and a little further Los Patos being the popular gay ones and where the dark sand adds a certain difference.
Playa de las Americas has an altogether different feel having been developed since the 1980’s as a purpose built resort that merges into Los Christianos and along the Costa Adeje. In recent years its popularity with gay travellers from both Spain and across Europe has led to emergence of several gay bars and clubs around Salytien Shopping Centre. We liked Gemini’s but there are three or four to chose from and more opening as demand grows and most local bars can be incredibly gay friendly. There is an outdoor terrace and pool at Playaflor which offers complimentary entry to visitors. There is a gay beach at Los Callados in Los Christianos and a second rather larger at El Medano but why not check out the Siam Water Park and its gay corner too.
Getting around Tenerife is easy and with a greater variety of things to do and places to visit including Mt Teide and its national park, the Loro Parque zoo plus many quaint and interesting unspoilt villages, you might prefer to rent a car which often costs little more than a return airport taxi transfer.
Plus if you really can't miss Gran Canaria, why not check out our fabulous Two Centre Gay Holiday to Tenerife and Gran Canaria.