Chica Beach

The fish come right into the shallows. The water is clear and calm, and at low tide you can swim out to the rocks at the edges of the beach, where fish hide in the gaps and crabs cling to the stone. Bring a snorkel.

Two rocky arms hold the sea back like breakwaters, so the water inside barely moves, and the bottom slopes gently away from the sand. That makes Playa Chica an easy place for a first dive: beginners walk in from the beach with the dive school, boats load from steps on the far side, and divers come and go all day. The water is warm. A restaurant stands on the pier above it all, and people jump off the pier into the clear water below.

• Rocks stick out of the shallows or lie just under a dusting of sand. Wear water shoes or sandals to go in.
• The beach is small and fills up; at weekends, Sundays above all, the pier crowds with locals.
• Divers walk in and out from the sand all day, and jet skis and parascending run off one side of the beach.
• Toilets stand right by the sand. There is no drinking-water tap nearby, so buy water at the bars.
• Sunbeds are for hire. Bring your own mask and snorkel.

Playa Chica lies on the seafront promenade of Puerto del Carmen. Two car parks sit close by, one about 110 m from the beach and the Playa Chica car park about 160 m away, and from either you walk straight down onto the sand.

By bus, the nearest stops are Apartamentos Caletón Blanco and Costa Volcán, both about 290 m away in a straight line. An information board and a map stand at the beach itself.

Best: A weekday at low tide.

Avoid: Weekends, Sunday most of all, and a rising tide if you plan to swim out to the rocks.

Low water makes the rocks at the edges easy to reach for snorkelling, and the beach and pier are at their quietest outside the weekend.