Punta del Hidalgo Natural Pool

Every so often a wave clears the wall and the Atlantic pours straight into the pool, spray and all. You get the feel of swimming in the open sea with no sharp rocks to clamber over.

At low tide the water settles enough for anything from a gentle float to steady lengths. Bring goggles: little fish come in with the waves and move around the pool. A rail runs round the edge to hold on to, and the fountain in the middle has a ledge where you can sit and rest.

Walk on past the first spot you reach. The crowd thins, and the ridges of the Anaga mountains rise behind the village.

• Shade is scarce. Arrive early if you want some, and bring sun protection.
• Fresh-water showers by the pool rinse off the salt.
• Toilets are about 260 m away in a straight line. There is no drinking water nearby, so bring your own.
• The water ranges from clean to littered with rubbish washed in from the ocean, and the structure is showing wear.
• Conditions follow the tide: calm at low water, rough at high water.

Two car parks lie close to the pool. The nearer one, about 180 m away in a straight line, is for customers; the second sits about 290 m away. Two bus stops, Oceano Artico and Altagay, are about 235 m and 255 m away.

Whichever way you arrive, the rest is a walk of a couple of hundred metres to the water's edge. An information board stands right by the pool.

Best: low tide, early in the day. The water lies calm at low tide, and an early start gives you a chance at what little shade there is.

Avoid: high tide unless you are a strong swimmer, and the middle of the day in full sun. At high water the waves come over the wall hard enough to push you around, and in winter this north-facing coast takes the heavier Atlantic swell.