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Family Winter sun in Tenerife!
In December 2023 my family and I took a seven day holiday to sunny Tenerife. Please find below an account of our family's travels!
When did we travel?
16th December - 23rd of December 2023. We had never travelled at Christmas time before but I can highly recommend it! It had been so grey in the UK throughout November and December that we craved some bright skies and sunny days. I wanted to make sure we were back for Christmas, firstly as I wanted to be with the pets at Christmas and secondly in case it made it a little tricky for Santa if we were away from home at Christmas!
How did we travel?
We travelled via Birmingham airport, taking a flight with Jet2 and parked in the airport car park. This meant we only had a 5 minute walk to the terminal. Perfect for the children. We had checked in online so all we needed to do was our bag drop which was simple, efficient and took only about 10 minutes (really!). Security at Birmingham was also very efficient with no queue.
TOP TIP! If travelling with children remember there is a hand luggage liquid allowance. Make sure you check this at both departing and returning airports as they may vary from country to country. You can get sachets of antipyretic medication which I found really useful to take as saved more space than big bottles and I have children that are in different age groups so needed two sets. If someone you are travelling with has allergies (like my son) I recommend having a clear container with liquid antihistamine (for children) / tablet antihistamine (for adults) as well as any EpiPen's etc. I was also able to take my routine tablet medication through with my hand luggage also.
My son is allergic to nuts and dairy and so we always need to be careful when eating out / buying food. We ate at Factory Bar and Kitchen who had an extensive allergy list and were very helpful. Boarding was smooth and our plane journey took 4.5 hours. There is no in flight entertainment so I took our children's tablets (with pre-downloaded episodes of their favourite shows!) as well as colouring/ activity books and of course lots of snacks!
On our arrival to Tenerife (South), security and baggage collection was swift and efficient and our private transfer was waiting for us. Our transfer time was just 20 minutes.
Where did we stay?
We stayed in a Family Villa at the Green Garden Eco Resort, Playa de la Américas , Tenerife on a bed and breakfast basis. All inclusive is available but we like to go out for dinner and explore the island.
This hotel is one of the top hotels for families in Spain. Our check in was really simple and they have free Wi-Fi and an App to keep you updated of all the timings for food, activities, kids club and entertainment.
What did I like about this hotel?
The room! Our family Villa had a separate children's bedrooms with two full single beds, a large wardrobe, shelving for toys and a TV (with Cbeebies!). There was a good sized bathroom (with shower), a good kitchen with a microwave, an oven, 2 ring hob, sink, fridge and freezer, a large bed in the main living area for the parents, sofa, another TV, a large play area WITH TOYS and this opened out to a shaded garden with outdoor seating and large round cuddle chair. The outdoor flooring was covered in fake grass so soft on the feet.
The room was cleaned everyday.
They were very family friendly. The resort was a good size and felt safe for us and the children.
There was a "Treehouse" climbing frame for the children to play in as well as two sandpits and a pirate ship with giant stacking bricks.
There was a small freshwater baby pool, a heated freshwater larger pool and a cold freshwater larger pool.
There was a lifeguard always on duty
There was a mini market selling the basics (including sunglasses and sun cream etc!) and also somewhere to buy ice cream.
There was a Spa (unfortunately I didn't get a chance to check this out but it looked good) and they also offered mini manicures, mini pedicures and mini massages for children too.
The breakfast buffet was great. Lots of choice from cereal to full English, Churros, pancakes, fruit, ham, cheese, you get the picture! Everything was also allergy labelled which was brilliant for us.
The resort was quite a walk from the centre of Playa de la Américas/ the beach (about 30 mins). I knew this before we booked and actually it is one of the reasons I chose this hotel. Firstly because we are used to walking as a family (we have 2 dogs) and I cannot just sit by a pool all day, so it gave us some exercise and something to do. Secondly, I liked that it was quieter in that part of town and, to me, felt safer for the children. Thirdly, my kids do not really like seawater! A taxi ride back to the hotel was about 6 Euros (about £5.20)
What could of been better?
To be brutally honest, it would of been lovely if the pool was just slightly warmer (the heated one) as it was still cool.
A play area with some swings and other "park" equipment would of been great.
Some people might not like how far it was from the centre of town/beach, but we liked it (see above).
What did we do whilst in Tenerife?
As a family we spent time in and around the pool and the children enjoyed the mini discos at the hotel. We also explored the seafront walking along the promenade which extends from Los Cristianos to Costa Adeje. This is great to walk along and watch the sunset but equally as good for those with reduced mobility as it is either flat or has ramps making it accessible for all.
We took a trip to Siam Mall, a new large clothing shopping mall with local eateries and a large supermarket. This was only 5 minutes taxi ride from the hotel and very useful picking up food essentials for the family (Oreos, Haribo and ham according to our children!)
My family likes mini golf and so we played two rounds at ViVO Mini Golf Treasure Island. This was great because when purchasing two rounds (on two different courses) they allowed us to come back to play the second round on a different day! Perfect when one round makes little legs tired! I also have to say they had the cleanest public toilets I have seen in a very long time!
We also took a day trip to Loro Parque which we all enjoyed. There was a coach pick up outside the hotel which took us directly to the parque (about 1.5 hours) and returned at the end of the day. The total cost for 2 adults and two children (one age 7 years and one age 4 years) was 180 Euros (about £156). Initially I thought this was quite expensive then I realised what we saw and thought it was excellent value. The parque promotes the welfare of endangered species and has rescued, from the brink of extinction, 12 different species of Parrots. It has over 240 conservation and research projects around the world and on average publishes over 20 scientific papers a year. We spent a whole 6 hours really looking around the parque only stopping for 30 minutes to eat some Canarian chicken and potatoes (again, safe for our son!) and only just managed to see everything, There are dolphin shows, sea lion shows, orca whale shows and parrot shows. These shows were excellent and the animals were very well cared for.
Where did we eat?
As previously mentioned, eating out with someone with allergies can be tricky. Thankfully, we managed to have successful dinners, as detailed below!
The Green Garden Hotel Buffet restaurant (great when the kids were tired but a little pricy- about 30 Euros per adult).
Flo's Tenerife (health food restaurant). C.Mexico, Nr3, 38660, Tenerife . All food was freshly prepared and tasted great. We felt this was an excellent place for those with allergies and the husband and wife team really knew exactly what was in the food.
Hard Rock Cafe Piramide de Arona, Av.las Americas, s/n, 38660 Playa de las Americas. Classic american food but excellent with allergies again.
Bora Bora Restaurante Urbanizacion Americas, 43, 38660, Costa Adeje. This was a traditioinal spanish restaurant with Canarian chicken and Paella. The team were really helpful with our son's allergies and were very attentive.
Luuma 37M7+JQ, 38660 Costa Adeje. We called in here as the kids were really hungry one day and it was great. Good size portions and a great place to watch the sunset over the beach.
One night we made our own food in the room as the kids were really tired!
How was our return flight?
Check out was straight forward and not until 12 noon. Our private transfer was on time. We had checked in online and again just needed to check our hold luggage. Security was smooth and efficient. Food choices were a little more limited for our son at Tenerife airport but the pub called O'Learrys were brilliant and made our son something specific and individual to make sure there was no cross contamination. Our return flight was with Jet2 and was on time and the staff were fantastic.
Would I recommend Tenerife as a family holiday destination?
YES!
This holiday for us was a much needed hit of winter sunshine and relaxation. It ticked all the boxes. On my previous visits to Tenerife (before I had a family) I have rented a car and driven around the island with my husband which is a great way to see the "real" Tenerife and Mount Teide, There is ample opportunity for water sports and evening entertainment (flamenco dancing etc) and a huge water park, Siam Park, if water is your "thing!"
Please let me know if I can be of any help planning your next winter sun escape!
I would be delighted to help.
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