Grande Beach

Fish swim right up to the waterline, visible through water clear enough to see the sand beneath them. Playa Grande is the heart of Puerto del Carmen, and there is room on it: the beach is long and broad, so even with the sunbed rows out there is space to spread a towel.

The sea here is calm, which makes for easy swimming, and the temperature runs from warm to chilly. The sand is soft and kept clean, with showers along the beach for rinsing off.

Behind it runs the promenade, and walking it end to end is an outing in its own right; the sand itself works just as well as a path. Bars, restaurants and shops line the whole stretch, so lunch, a drink or a forgotten pair of sunglasses is never far from your towel.

• When the wind gets up it blows sand across the beach. Hire an umbrella with your sunbed: it blocks some of it.
• The bare sand has no shade of its own, so bring a hat and sun cream for the middle of the day.
• Showers stand along the beach; the nearest public toilets are about 230 m away.
• The water is calm and the sand soft, which makes it an easy beach with small children.

Playa Grande lies in the middle of Puerto del Carmen, along the seafront avenue, and the promenade runs straight along the back of the sand. The bus stop C.C. Atlántico is about 270 m away in a straight line, and a tourist information office stands about 150 m away.

By car, on-street parking by the beach is very limited. Free spaces turn up in the streets behind the seafront, and the SoCo shopping centre nearby has a paid car park with plenty of room. From the promenade you step down onto the sand; on the way back you climb up to the main road.

Best: a still morning, or late afternoon once the sun is lower.

Avoid: a windy day, and the middle of the day without an umbrella.

Wind drives sand across the beach, and the open sand gives no shade when the sun is high.