Callao Salvaje is a small self contained residential town and holiday resort, that is part of the municipal district of Adeje on the west coast of Tenerife. Looking at a map of the west coast, it is very easy to miss the town altogether, although if you look closely enough you should find it hidden away between the resorts of Playa Paraiso and Playa de La Arena, approximately 12km north west of the infamous resort of Playa de las Americas.

For those visitors arriving at the Reina Sofia International Airport in the south of the island, the 26km or 16 mile journey into the resort is a fairly short one, and should usually take no more than around 40 - 45 minutes along the main TF-1 motorway.

As with the other resorts on the island, we have put together the basic route for this journey, complete with links to maps where appropriate, and this is available from the Route Map link on the left hand frame of this page.

Being one of Tenerife's newest resort destinations that does not as yet feature in any of the major tour operators brochures, most visitors to Callao Salvaje will undoubtedly be independent travellers who will make this transfer either by pre-booked hire car, or alternatively by one of the many taxis from the ranks outside of the arrivals hall.

Although these taxis do all operate on a fixed price basis, this "fixed price" can, and often does, vary slightly depending upon the number of suitcases, the time of day or night of the journey, and of course the number of passengers carried. It's also worthwhile mentioning that as a rule, taxis do not normally carry child seats, so very small children will have to sit on their parent's knee for the journey.

If this is a cause for concern, we strongly recommend that you make arrangements for a pre-booked taxi to be waiting for you, and clearly specify at the time of booking that a child seat is needed for the journey. Pre-booked taxis are often a little more expensive, although as with all things in life, you only get what you pay for.

Once you are in the resort, and have settled in to your accommodation, you will very quickly realise that Callao Salvaje was originally a small village that has over the past few years undergone a very rapid transformation.

This development was carried out at a phenomenal pace to meet the ever increasing demand for both residential and holiday homes, which unfortunately at times during the construction gave some areas of the town the feeling of being nothing more than a building site.

One of the last projects to be addressed was the lack of a beach in the resort, which for many years was quite small, and which was described in the few guides that have been written about Callao Salvaje, as being "a mixture of sand and pebbles".

However, after almost 10 years of bureaucratic wrangling, this issue has now been finally remedied, at a cost of almost €2 million, with the opening of the magnificent new Playa Ajabo beach. Inspired by this success, the Local Authorities are now understood to also have funds available to construct a pedestrian promenade south towards the nearby resort of Playa Pairiso.

For those visitors on self catering breaks the resort has a couple of fair sized SPAR type supermarkets, which in recognition of the high numbers of British visitors in the area, do stock many recognisable UK branded goods, although in most cases the prices charged may be considerably higher than those you would expect to pay at home.

However, the underlying principle of consumer choice was once explained to me by a local shopkeeper as "if you don't like the price, you don't have to buy". The reality in Callao Salvaje is that unless you are prepared to travel out of the resort "you do have to buy", of which the shopkeepers are only too fully aware of.

On a more positive note, the resort does have a fair selection of good quality, and reasonably priced, restaurants which supplement those provided "in house" at many of the apartment and aparthotel complexes in the area. For a wider selection, also worth considering is that Playa de las Americas is only 10 minutes away by taxi from the resort centre.

For most visitors to Tenerife, the resort of Callao Salvaje is a convenient base from which to explore more of the island. Its close proximity to the Tenerife motorway system makes getting about fairly easy, whether it's heading north into the Tiede National Park or south towards to more lively resort areas, few destinations are more than a 45 minute drive away.