Enjoying the beaches in Tenerife

When Robert was a toddler we took him to Ireland and he was entranced by the sea. He stood at the side of the water just watching and then started to pick up some pebbles and throw them in. He has loved the sea and the beach, wherever they may be, ever since.

So, when we decided to go to Tenerife over Christmas, we knew that the sea would be a popular destination. However, we didn't know how impressive it would be and how we would all be happy just to sit and watch the remarkable waves, crashing onto the shore.

We stayed in an apartment near the San Miguel golf course, about five to ten minutes from the shore. This was not a beachside location - the terrain near the water was coarse and pebbly. It was also wonderful and a magnificent place for walking.

[caption id="attachment_1024" align="aligncenter" width="940"] We had a lovely walk above the sea, and them made our way down to the water's edge[/caption]

We love walking with the kids, especially when there's no rush and no particular destination! Instead we just traipse along for the fun of it, enjoying the views and the chat. Obviously this has become easier since the children got older, but it really is a great part of family time, and something we don't often get to do together at home in busy London.

So, on the first day, we walked along to the marina and watched the waves crashing as we did so. We had competitions to see who could throw their stones the furthest and enjoyed the sun on our faces.


Another day we walked in the other direction, which was even more impressive. I hadn't expected Tenerife to be so beautiful and we were overwhelmed by the extremely clear water, the endless views and the huge numbers of differently shaped rocks.

Of course we also we couldn't holiday in Tenerife without visiting some "proper" beaches and we loved these too. We'd also recommend both the ones we tried out.

[caption id="attachment_1026" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Robert loved bungee jumping at Los Cristianos[/caption]

We spent one gorgeous hot day in Los Cristianos, about 15 minutes from our apartment. It was a beautiful sea front, with loads of sun loungers and sand. It was also extremely busy, packed with tourists (as you'd expect), but it was all nice and clean and had a fun atmosphere.

That was fine for us. Robert built some sandcastles, we all paddled and Jess and I enjoyed lying in the sun (not something we'd be doing back home in December!). Robert also enjoyed trying out some bungee jumping and the assistants there were incredibly friendly, showing him how to do turns and tricks.

[caption id="attachment_1027" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The beautiful beach at Playa del Bobo[/caption]

The second beach was one we visited by chance, as Jess told you in her blog post on when things go wrong on holiday. The Playa del Bobo, on the Costa Adeje was utterly gorgeous. We loved paddling in the waves and the beach was enormous. It was less busy than Los Cristianos, but also surrounded by some lovely shops, restaurants and ice-cream bars. It also featured the most marvellous views and was a real treat.

So, Tenerife went beyond our expectations, despite missing Mount Teide! We thought it was a great place for a family holiday, easy to eat out, with lots to do for all ages and breathtaking natural beauty. It was also so lovely and hot! We'd love to go back.

More on Tenerife:

Robert tells you about Siam Park Waterpark

Jess explains how a trip to Mount Teide went wrong...

We've joined up with the lovely Country Kids this week - pop over there to see more outdoor fun.



 

When Things go Wrong on Holiday: a supposed trip to Mount Teide, Tenerife...

[caption id="attachment_959" align="aligncenter" width="753"] This was where we were supposed to be going...(pic courtesy of the Tenerife Tourist Board)[/caption]

Jess writes:

Our family visited Tenerife over Christmas, and had a wonderful time. We had been looking forward to the trip for four reasons - the sunny beaches, the opportunity to relax, Siam Park (which has to be one of the best waterparks anywhere) and Mount Teide, which is supposed to have phenomenal views and is a world-famous national park.

We worked out that we should be able to fit all of these in, but sometimes things don't go to plan....

[caption id="attachment_960" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The coach journey didn't start well and it got worse![/caption]

Our trip to Mount Teide was to be a guided tour, which seemed sensible as we had never been to Tenerife before and had heard that the drive itself to the summit was special. If someone else was driving, then we could all enjoy it and mum and dad wouldn't have to worry about navigating!

We found out a little bit about the mountain beforehand and packed all our winter clothes as it sometimes snows at the top. What happened next was unexpected.

We drove to our meeting point where we spent over twenty minutes waiting for our very late coach to show up (no apology was given) before spending over an hour driving in circles to collect the rest of the group.  We later discovered that others had been waiting outside for well over an hour and when the coach finally arrived, they couldn't believe that everyone got off for a toilet break!

Being as British as we are, we were not too impressed when the lady running the trip did not apologise for being late, and instead shouted at us for talking while she was explaining what was happening in French. Everyone was talking quietly, and we all found this very rude and off- putting. Mum said she had never been told off on a coach trip before.

But that was only the start. Our guide then told us the trip, billed as a half-day outing of between three to five hours, was actually far longer than that. She casually dropped into the conversation that we would be unlikely to return for around six hours, and we could see that some of our fellow travellers were concerned. Many had already booked activities for the afternoon.

Our trip certainly wasn't going brilliantly, but we were pleased with our guide's local knowledge and the information she gave us (did you know Winston Churchill used to holiday in Tenerife?). We were also excited when she told us that we were going to stop at Vilaflor, the highest village in Tenerife, so that we could adjust to the higher altitude and changed air pressure. It sounded gorgeous and also necessary, as she said if we didn't stop, we would get terrible headaches when we reached our final destination. Mount Teide is over 3,700 metres high.

[caption id="attachment_961" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Unfortunately, the coach broke down just before a roundabout![/caption]

Things were looking up, but not for much longer. Just as we reached a busy junction, the coach broke down. We weren't given much information, but eventually we worked out that it would be better if we all got off. A replacement coach was called and we were told that it would arrive in half an hour, but this wasn't the case. We kept waiting. Eventually, our tour guide told us that when the coach arrived, we would skip Vilaflor and just take the coach to the top of Teide without stopping.

"Won't we get headaches then?" we asked.

"Yes, but only small ones; it doesn't matter." she responded.

By this point, most of other fellow travellers had already departed, and were waiting for a bus back to their hotels. After some more waiting, we decided that we didn't want to visit the top if we were to get headaches and have a bad-mannered tour guide accompanying us the whole time, so we decided to leave.

"What's the point of doing the trip now?" she exclaimed, when we told her we were leaving. I think she might need to work on her manners....

We had pretty much no idea where we were, but luckily, the bus that we got on went directly to the area where we had left our car and met the coach originally. We felt a bit overdressed as we walked back to the car (I probably didn't need to be wearing thermal socks, but I had been expecting snow!) put our warm clothes away and went to the beach. It was a strange day all round.

[caption id="attachment_962" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Fortunately we ended up at the lovely Playa del Bobo and had a great time[/caption]

Mind you, the beach we visited, (the Playa del Bobo) was the best one we visited in the whole holiday, and we really loved running into the waves and eating delicious ice cream. It was definitely a warmer, and perhaps better, day than it would have been if we continued up Teide! But unfortunately we didn't have time to find out.....

Read about our visit to Siam Park in Tenerife

Do you like winter sun? Read about our trip to Negril in Jamaica

Super Siam Park in Tenerife

We recently returned from Tenerife where we visited a fantastic water park. Robert, who's 9, absolutely loved it - here he explains why...

Siam Park, also known as the Water Kingdom, is said to be the best tourist attraction in the whole of Tenerife and it is also the best park I've ever been to. We went there on Christmas day so I thought it would be quite calm with not a lot of people there, but it was swarming with adults and children. While Jess and Mum relaxed on the beach or on the lazy river, dad and I decided to get some action and go on some proper rides.

Mekong Rapids

The Mekong rapids were one of my favourite rides. Throughout the course of the day we went on it four times and each time it became better and better. We climbed onto a yellow dinghy very high up from the ground and entered a pool of water, then off we went! We were zooming through the tunnels and bumping down the drops - it was brilliant. My favourite bit was at the end when there was a big drop, resulting in a very big splash. The first time we went on it dad was screaming like a little baby as he was going backwards, so if you go on the Mekong Rapids ask your child to go backwards instead of you!

The Giant



For me the Giant was the best looking water slide as it was in the shape of a giant face. Two tunnels came out around where the mouth was and the fun began as soon as you got in. One of the things I liked about The Water Kingdom was that for most rides you could pick if you wanted to go on a one or two person dinghy, and we usually decided to go on a two seater. You could go on the right or the left tunnel, we went on both and personally I preferred the right. The ride started by plummeting us down, then it was like we were being sucked into a plug hole, spinning and spinning then finally being gobbled up by the darkness. After that it was another drop then a soft, wet landing in the pool.

The Volcano and Naga Racer

The volcano was basically the Giant just with a few more drops and turns and a bigger plughole. The only unique thing about it was that it was mainly in the dark and I was a bit disappointed with it. However, the Naga Racer was great.

When you got to the front of the queue the staff member gave you a lane. We lay down on our mats at the lane then when the instructor said "go" we pushed off. It was very fast and very cool as some of the time you were lying on the mat in mid air. The person who got to the bottom of their slide first won the race. It wasn't me or dad any of the times we went on.

Jungle Snakes

[caption id="attachment_935" align="aligncenter" width="940"] All of the Jungle Snake slides[/caption]

The jungle snake slides were all different rides but along the same lines. There were four of them, Boa, Viper, Python and Cobra. For me these were the calmest rides of the park (not including the Mai Thai River) as they were not as quick as the other attractions and had fewer drops. My favourite was the viper as it was the most thrilling of the four. So if you don't think you want to do all of them do that one and if you want a long ride don't go on the Boa it is very short.

At Siam Park all of the staff were really very good at keeping us safe - for every ride there were new rules like if I should be at the front or if dad should. It was forever changing so it was good to know they were looking out for our safety.

Mai Thai River

The Mai Thai River was very relaxing as all you do is sit back and let the water carry you through; well that's what I did. I couldn't really steer so I let the water control me, maybe that's why I was going the wrong way half the time. At one point in the lazy river there was a set of mini rapids, it wasn't so lazy then. I liked going through the aquarium as you were underneath sharks and exotic fish. I enjoyed it but kept feeling like I was going to fall through the hole in the dinghy as I was so small.

Siam Beach

Siam Beach was great. It had real sand and it didn't stick to your feet, just that was amazing. It also had a giant pool of water which wasn't salty, so it felt much nicer than the sea.

[caption id="attachment_928" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Siam Beach, before and after it becomes a wave machine...[/caption]

Siam Park has the record for the highest man-made wave ever and it is four metres high and the pool turned into a wave pool every hour at 40 minutes past. Mum and dad loved the waves, but personally I hated the big waves as I felt like I was going to drown or die. Even standing right at the edge of the pool 30 metres away from the wave it still managed to push me over into the water. The impact was so big after the wave crashed down and after it went past me that instead of standing up, my head was touching the bottom of the pool. Everyone else seemed to love it so I would say if you are under 10 only go on it a few times.

Kinnaree

The Kinnaree was the scariest ride we went on by far. It went so fast and had the biggest drops. We went up a massive wall and then plummeted back down - it felt like we were going to go upside down. It was the the most cleverly made ride of all.

[caption id="attachment_925" align="aligncenter" width="760"] In front of the Tower of Power[/caption]

There were two rides that we didn't go on - the Tower Of Power the one with the 28 metre drop and the Dragon in which the whole ride is spinning and falling.

I thought Siam Park was amazing and the rides were great. The only bad thing was the tiring trek up hundreds of stairs to get to the attractions. I really hurt my feet climbing up all the rough rocks but it was worth it when we shot off down the tunnels for the slide.

There are also mini versions of rides for little kids like the Lost City and The Sinnaree.

It was a brilliant but very wet day out. We all loved it and mum wants to point out that it was also extremely clean which matters to her!

Here is a video of the park.

[kad_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gae1cngJTA" width=500 height=650]

Disclosure: We were offered free tickets to Siam Park in order to write about it for the blog. However, all our opinions are, of course are own. Tickets cost:  €34 (around £26.60) for adults (which includes 12+) and  €23 (around £18) for 3-11s.


There is an awful lot to do in Tenerife (we have more posts coming!) and for more information on this gorgeous island and things to do with the family visit the tourist board website.

We've teamed up with the lovely Fiona at Coombe Mill this week in her Country Kids link-up. There you can read lots of wonderful posts about the outdoors!

 

 

Travelling Times: Our Top Places to visit in 2014

 

[caption id="attachment_904" align="aligncenter" width="940"] On holiday in Tenerife[/caption]

Welcome to the second annual Family Travel Times Travel Awards! Once again, we have been lucky enough to visit some brilliant places, but which ones were our favourites? Welcome to the 2014 award ceremony and our top places to visit...

Best Day Out

Jess says: I definitely think that the "Art of the Brick" LEGO exhibition was our best day out this year. The exhibition, which is travelling worldwide, is composed of over 85 LEGO sculptures and all of them are fantastic. These sculptures ranged from 3D paintings such as The Kiss and The Scream to a giant dinosaur, and from the solar system to the Venus de Milo! We had a brilliant time looking at the sculptures, watching videos and even had a chance to create our own sculptures at the end!

Alternatively, Burghley house in Lincolnshire is a brilliant place to visit - we visited it over the summer and had a wonderful time. The house, which was built by William Cecil (Lord Burghley) is extremely impressive both inside and outside, as we found out when following the Beastly Boring Burghley tour. This tour was probably the best tour aimed at kids I've been to, and it was full of interesting facts. Afterwards, we loads of fun exploring the gardens, which consisted of a maze, Poseidon’s Grotto, sculptures and lots of fountains to run into.

Robert says:  The alligator tours in Florida was my favourite day out in 2014. It's not every day you get to see real life alligators and hold one too! It was a brilliant experience and I learnt many things like how to tell a crocodile from an alligator or how to spot if it is a male or female. I absolutely loved it and could do it again and again.

Brian (dad) says: I loved my visit to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I particularly enjoyed the Rocket Garden, seeing the Space Shuttle Atlantis up close, hearing a veteran astronaut giving a talk, and walking underneath the enormous Saturn V rocket.

Best Overall Holiday

Robert says: My favourite holiday of the year was when dad and I went to Florida as I won a competition to go to Space Camp. Everything was great, from the inventive and exciting activities of space camp to the wonderful warm weather - not mentioning the cups and cups of free drinks. I loved learning all about space at Kennedy Space Center and the rides at Universal Studios were brilliant too.

Sarah says: For me, Austria was a perfect holiday. We all tried something different - cycling - and enjoyed the food, the scenery and the many things to do. I was genuinely overwhelmed by how beautiful it was and don't think it gets better than riding alongside Lake Wolfgang with the wind in my hair. It was magnificent.

Best in London

Robert says: We have been to some truly amazing things in London this year and my favourite has got to be ClueQuest. We had one hour to find a way to get out of a locked room. Everything was a clue from books to bottles, playing cards to tables. It was so fun and exciting but a bit stressful when we only had a few minutes left. It was an amazing day out that really pushed our minds to the limit.

Best View 

Jess says: The views at the top of the Schafbergbahn in Saint Wolfgang, Austria have to be the best I've ever seen. The summit of the mountain was 1,783m high and there were 360º beautiful views over the lakes Wolfgangsee, Irrsee, Mondsee and Fuschlsee. It truly was phenomenal.

[caption id="attachment_903" align="aligncenter" width="940"] The waves in Tenerife were captivating[/caption]

Sarah says: Obviously I loved the views in Austria, but I could also have watched the waves crashing onto the shore near our apartment in San Miguel, Tenerife, for hours. There were hardly any people around and we just sat and enjoyed the spectacle. They were just so dramatic, such an illustration of nature, that they were incredibly special. We have just come back from Tenerife - posts to come...

Best Place to Stay

[caption id="attachment_513" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Outside the House of Correction[/caption]

Jess says: The House of Correction in Folkingham, Lincolnshire was probably my favourite place to have ever stayed, and I would love to go back. The house belongs to the Landmark Trust and is built on the site of a big medieval castle. The house was a small prison for minor offenders and was initially built in 1611, but replaced in 1808 and enlarged in 1825. It was then closed in 1878. It is absolutely magnificent and only one family can stay at a time, making the experience even more special.

Best Ride

Robert says: I have been to two amazing parks this year which have both been full to the top with amazing attractions, so it was very hard to pick the winner for best ride. Instead I decided to pick three! The first is from Universal Studios in Florida and is the fast paced, scary indoor roller coaster Return of the Mummy. Most of the ride is in pitch black so it added extra suspense as you didn't know when there was going to be a drop. The first time I went on it I was scared out of my skin when we plummeted down into the red steaming smoke.



The next two winners of this category are from Siam Park, the Water Kingdom in Tenerife (post coming soon). Everything there was wonderful but I decided my first pick would be the Mekong Rapids that dad and I went on four times throughout the day. After a long tiring walk up hundreds of stairs we got to a small pool of water where inside we climbed into a yellow dinghy and then zoomed off down the tunnel. It was so fast and very wet. Dad was screaming like a baby the first time as there were so many drops. I loved the next ride, the Kinnaree the scariest ride we went on, but dad definitely didn't. However, it was still loads of fun. Of all the rides we went on this had the biggest drops and at some points we felt like we were going to go upside down. The ride was so cleverly made and I loved it but I don't think the guy next to me who was swearing the whole time did though.

Best Beach

Jess says: We travelled to Tenerife over Christmas, and the weather was lovely and the beaches superb. Although we had a lovely time at Los Cristianos, my favourite was the Playa del Bobo in Adeje. Not only was the sand lovely and soft, but the waves were brilliant and it was perfect for swimming and paddling. It wasn't too busy and was the perfect spot for a walk. There was also a delicious ice cream store nearby!

Best Educational Day Out

[caption id="attachment_171" align="aligncenter" width="504"] The actors at the Drake Fun Day[/caption]

Robert says: As we have been learning about World War II at school as a class we went to the Churchill War Cabinets and Churchill Museum. The audio tours were very detailed and informative. I learnt a lot about where the prime Minister of England stayed during WWII. I preferred the Churchill museum to the war cabinets as it was much more interactive. There was a table that told you what event happened on your birthday during the war, I got to hold Winston Churchill's teddy bears from when he was younger (they were so cute) and I even got to use a typewriter. It was a very interesting and fun day out.

Jess says: We also thought that the Drake Fun Day atop the Golden Hinde II (a replica of the ship which Sir Francis Drake used to sail all round the world) was fantastic. We played games and learned facts from the Captain and his strange assistant, Fart - this was lots of fun and very interesting! The event was two hours long and consisted of firing guns, learning a code and exploring the ship. I would recommend it to children aged 6+.

Best Hidden Gem

[caption id="attachment_151" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Robert at Groombridge Place's Mystic Pool[/caption]

Sarah says: Groombridge was gorgeous - and a surprise! We had gone to Kent for the weekend to visit Hever Castle where Anne Bolyen had lived, and as a Tudor aficionado, that was intended to be the main event. However, we decided we should visit another "attraction" too and that turned out to be Groombridge. We were so pleased we went as it was perfect for families, with gorgeous grounds and in particular many hidden treasures inside the woods. We'd highly recommend it.

Best Food

Robert says: For me the best food in 2014 came from VegFest, the big market where all the food was vegan. I had so many tasters of all the sweets, crackers, dips and drinks and I even had a go at using an electrical massage machine. I ate stuff that I had never seen before like bread crisps and I had salt and vinegar flavoured bread. Everyone was so nice and insisted that I should have more - how could I resist? It was a delicious day and I'll be coming back for more next year.

Thanks for reading Family Travel Times this year and enjoy 2015!

Read our Travelling Times awards for 2013 and let us know your favourites too!