San Pedro Viewpoint

Come up in the late afternoon and the crowd on the platform is mostly local, settling in to watch the sun go down over the coast. Some carry a drink from the bar, some bring their own.

The platform looks out along Tenerife's north coast, over green slopes and palms running down to the Atlantic, and the restaurant terrace takes in the same view from a table. The kitchen is a proper one: octopus and beef come out of it, and the window tables face the sea.

Below lies Rambla de Castro, a protected stretch of palm-covered coast, and the viewpoint is one of the ways into it. The feast of St Peter is celebrated here as well.

• There are no public toilets and no drinking water at the viewpoint, and none nearby. The bar-restaurant is the place for a drink.
• The free parking goes quickly around sunset. Leave time to find a space.
• The restaurant takes table bookings. Ask for a window table if the view matters to you.
• The viewpoint is an entry point to Rambla de Castro, so it works as the start or end of a visit to the protected coast below.

By car, the free car park sits about 130 m from the viewpoint, and there is free street parking as well. A second parking area lies about 380 m away. At sunset the spaces fill, so arrive with time to spare.

By bus, the nearest stops are La Tropicana, about 270 m away in a straight line, and San Agustín, about 300 m away. From either stop, the rest is on foot. Once you are there, the viewing platform and the restaurant stand side by side.

Best: late afternoon through sunset. The light warms along the coast, and this is the hour the platform fills with local people who come up for it.

Avoid: arriving by car in the last minutes before sunset, and days when cloud sits low over the north coast. The free parking is gone by then, and low cloud cuts the view along the shore.