Although I'm sure that at one point in the very recent past, the three resorts destinations of Playa la Arena, Puerto Santiago, and Los Gigantes were 3 individual villages in their own right, the ever increasing demand for holiday beds on Tenerife has seen their individual expansion to the point where, for all intents and purposes, they have now all merged into the single resort that is actively marketed by many tour operators under the generic name of Los Gigantes.

Overall the three resorts are now without doubt the largest coastal development of the municipal district of Santiago del Teide on the west coast of Tenerife, although technically parts of the ever expanding Playa la Arena do now cross the border into the district of Guia de Isora.

For most people arriving on Tenerife via the Reina Sofia International Airport in the south of the island, the journey over to Playa la Arena will necessitate one of the longest resort transfers on the island, and although the main TF-1 motorway practically takes you the entire route, the geographic nature of Tenerife dictates that it must follow within a few kilometres of the coast, resulting in a transfer time of around 1.1/4 to 1.1/2 hours from the time you leave the airport grounds.

This unscheduled "island tour", although very scenic I'm sure, is however forcing many visitors to actively consider making their own arrangements for the journey by either pre-booked hire car, or alternatively taking 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 parents knees 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.

Whatever method of transport you ultimately decide upon to make this transfer, and as with the other resorts on the island, we have put together the basic route for the 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.

Of the three resorts, Playa la Arena is probably the most modern, and visitors may still witness a small degree of continued building works, although certainly nothing on the same scale as the development that is currently going on elsewhere on the island.

The name Playa la Arena literally translates into English as "Beach of Sand", which reflects that the resort does have one of the few natural beaches along the west coast of Tenerife. Whilst its black volcanic sands may at first appear off putting to some, this beach has been awarded the internationally recognised Blue Flag for cleanliness, water quality and local amenities, every year since 1989.

At this point we would draw your attention to a fact sadly missed by many tour operators, that being a somewhat remote island in the middle of the Atlantic, the seas along the west coast of Tenerife do experience some very strong undercurrents, so particular care must be exercised with weak or inexperienced swimmers. A series of warning flags are in constant operation, and as a very general rule green means safe, yellow warns you to be careful, and red you mustn’t swim at all.

A point certainly worth mentioning here, is this area of Tenerife is very hilly, and therefore may not be suitable for visitors who experience any form of walking difficulty or equally for parents with very young children in push chairs. Having said that, for the majority of people moving around the resort, or further afield into either Puerto Santiago, which is little more than 1/2km away, or the somewhat larger Los Gigantes, is very easy and relaxed.

A beachfront promenade, that is backed by a varied selection of bars and restaurants, runs part of the way, which in turn follows the route of the Avenida Maritima the main arterial route between the various resort centres. If the very thought of walking between the two extremes of Playa la Arena and Los Gigantes fills you with dread, then don't worry too much as the Transportes Interurbanos de Tenerife also run a very reliable bus service, and even a taxi only costs around 3€ for the trip.