"Volcanic, all year round resort, for... " a Isla de Tenerife Travel Page by shizzler

I stayed in Playa de las Americas, the liveliest of the resorts in Tenerife. Very Brittish and caters for the young through to the elderly. Great nightlife in the veronicas strip, the main place to be seen on a night out. Not too many big clubs but endless bars staying open 'till the early hours, if not dawn.

Some people come to Tenerife and moan about the black sand beaches. The sand is this way due to it being a volcanic island. It didn't bother me in the slightest and was quite nice to see something different. There are normal sandy beaches around which are man made with sands imported over from the Sahara desert. You've also got mount Teide, which you can't miss as it's the centre of the island. I found that due to this the sun wouldn't break through the clouds that hang around in the morning until about noon. When the sun did come through though it was out all afternoon and was about 29 degrees everyday in october. The scenery of the island was great too. Playa de las Americas was on a slope edging towards the sea. But if you took a trip to the other parts of the island(north) the scenery changes from arid and rocky to green and lush plant and vegitation. There are lots of high rise buildings everywhere, but also lots of more villa type buildings and pretty looking places too.

I didn't have a problem with mosquitos, but then again i hardly ever do. There were quite a few different birds and things flying around, but not many stray cats and dogs unlike Turkey. One thing there is tons of in Tenerife is insects and cockroaches. If you're like me you will hate these creepy crawlies. My mates were winding me up about it before i went and i thought they were exagerating just to make me paranoid, but they weren't. After about 2200-2300 at night they come out in force and are everywhere. Not near the beach, and i didn't have any in our room, but out in the streets and on the pavement and in any grass patches. Up to about 3 inches or so long they can get quite big. I HATE cockroaches and when i first arrived i was a bit put off by this, but after the first day i was already used to them and just accepted them. I ended up having a good holiday and would go back, so it can't be too bad if i'm willing to go back. The reason for so many roaches is the all year round climate making for a great breeding ground.