When people think of holidays in Tenerife, Los Gigantes isn’t one of the first places that crosses their minds. A world away from the buzzing resorts of Playa de Las Americas and Los Cristianos, Los Gigantes is a place to take it easy and enjoy the sunshine whilst watching the world go by.
The resort is situated on the western coast of the island and has a mixture of Spanish locals, international residents and holidaymakers. Most of the accommodation is staggered on a steep hill and although the apartments at the top must have amazing views, I certainly didn’t fancy the walk up there several times each day.
Luckily the complex I was staying in – El Sombrero – was about half way down the hill, so I wasn’t too out of breath each time I walked up from the centre of the resort. I was fortunate enough to get a one-bedroom apartment with fabulous sea views – on a clear day I could even see over to the neighbouring island of La Gomera. Although there was a small swimming pool with plenty of sun loungers at El Sombrero, I’m more of a beach person and made my way down to the coast on my first day.
Due to the resort being built on a slope, it was quite easy to get lost amidst the hotels and restaurants, but as long as I was heading downwards, I knew I was going in the right direction. After wandering around a few winding streets, I came face to face with the harbour and knew I was on the right track. I walked behind the complex facing the harbour, past a number of souvenir shops, small cafes and ice cream parlours until I came to the black sandy bay that I was looking for.
Because of its small size, there were no real facilities but that didn’t matter. I lay my towel down on the soft sand and breathed in the sea air as the warm sunshine slowly tanned my skin. As well as being able to do a spot of people watching, I also had a chance to take a look at all the different boats that sailed by as they left the harbour – everything from tiny wooden fishing boats to grand luxury yachts. It was then that I got the idea for the second day of my holiday – a boat trip.
After enjoying breakfast on my balcony the next morning, I retraced my steps and headed down to the port again. In between the cafes, bars and restaurants there was an excursions kiosk which listed all the boat trips and water sports on offer from Los Gigantes. After a quick chat with the person running the kiosk, I opted for a whales and dolphins trip. The boat didn’t leave for another 30 minutes, so I took a leisurely stroll around the harbour.
As well as loads of fancy speedboats and yachts, the harbour was also full of huge fish! There was a young boy throwing his crisps into the water to feed them and I peaked over the edge expecting to see tiny guppy-like things, but these fish were at least 30cm long and were gobbling the crisps up. I checked my watch and noticed it was time for my excursion where I would have the opportunity to see even bigger creatures.
I’d never been on a whales and dolphins trip before and was surprised by how great it was. The price of the ticket included unlimited drinks and a buffet lunch, which everyone on board thoroughly enjoyed. The man at the kiosk had warned me that sightings weren’t guaranteed, which is why I was pleasantly surprised by the number of marine mammals we saw. There were pilot whales swimming alongside our boat and we even saw the odd flying fish. The boat’s captain took us to the nearby fish farms, explaining that’s where the bottle-nosed dolphins usually collected and he was right. We saw a huge pod of dolphins catching fish and jumping out of the water – it was such an emotional experience that I’ll never forget.
Although I really enjoyed spending time at the beach in Los Gigantes, I’d heard good things about the resort’s lido and decided to visit one afternoon. Located next to the harbour, it was easy to find and only cost a few Euros to get in. There was one main pool which curved around in a lagoon-style and loads of sun beds surrounding it. The lido was fairly quiet when I visited, so I managed to get a prime location, grabbing a sun lounger on the little island in the centre of the pool. After I’d had enough of sunbathing, I took a walk to the other end of the lido to see how big it was and discovered there was a whole separate area I didn’t even know about. There were two staircases leading down to two more sun terraces facing the sea. Underneath the terraces was a beautiful natural rock pool which looked incredibly inviting. I grabbed my bag and towel and spent the rest of the afternoon soaking up the sun in this section of the lido, listening to the waves lap against the rocks.
What struck me most about my time in Los Gigantes was the beauty of the area. In English, the resort’s name means ‘The Giants’, which is what the surrounding cliffs are called. There are three viewpoints throughout the resort, which provide amazing views of the cliffs, so on my way out of Los Gigantes on my last day, I made sure to stop off at the highest point to snap a few photos.
I thought the views of the cliffs from the bottom of the resort were amazing, but they were nothing compared to what I saw from the top. Huge, intimidating rock faces plunged dramatically into the sea before me in what is one of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen and made for a great final memory of my time in Los Gigantes.
Katie is a rookie travel blogger who has recently returned home from exploring southern Europe. You can catch-up with her on twitter at @delightsomeblog
