THE QUIETER SIDE OF TENERIFE
MARC BURROW enjoys a Canary Island break which feels a world away from the bright lights of its commercial resorts
IHADN’T even heard of Los Abrigos before this trip. Roughly translated, I’m told it means “The Overcoats” – a name perhaps more apt for a British suburb than a Canarian one.
If you’ve ever flown into the island’s southern airport, you’ve been within touching distance of this authentic little fishing village because it’s less than 10 minutes from there by car.
My first foray coincided with the weekly market. I say market, it was only a handful of stalls, but it brought just enough life to the hushed streets on a balmy August evening, with the swish of the ocean beyond providing a soothing soundtrack.
Los Abrigos’s small, functional harbour is home to the tiniest flotilla of fishing craft, where a smattering of sea-front fish restaurants sit only a stone’s throw from the waves.
Each one pitched for our custom, but unlike the reps of the bars and clubs in notorious Playa de las Americas, these felt like local business owners, genuinely proud of the fare they had to offer.
The most appealing thing was that not one of them was slick – most seemed to be truly family concerns, largely reliant on tourism. In fact, as we decided which eatery to give our custom, we passed a group of local children shelling what looked like the limpets that featured on the menus.
Reassuringly, each restaurant was stocked with similarly fresh fish, and though we eventually plumped for Vista Mar, I suspect each was capable of serving up a similarly mouthwatering meal. Pretty sure the dorada I watched the chef prepare had been flapping about in the sea only minutes before I ate it.
Los Abrigos is only a five-minute taxi ride from our base for the week: CLC World’s luxurious Sunningdale Village at Golf del Sur. CLC World do tend to focus on higher end destinations – have a look at instagram.com/ clcworld and you’ll see what I mean – but the Signature Suite that we stayed in was particularly opulent. It’s only available to CLC members, but to me it was worth the membership alone.
The roomy two-bedroom villa style accommodation was spread spaciously over two floors. At ground level, there’s a twin bedroom with bathroom, plus a huge open-plan kitchen/diner/lounge which has the feel of a high-spec city centre apartment with added luxuries like a huge TV and sound system, washing machine and dishwasher.
Outside, there’s a good sized patio space with a large dining table and the ultimate outdoor symbol of VIP life – the hot-tub. On the first floor, there’s another en suite bedroom which opens out onto an amazing roof terrace, complete with a double bed sun lounger and a cracking view out over the resort.
What I really noticed from up on this veranda though, was the serenity. It feels like a world away from the bright lights of the commercial resorts.
The silence is only occasionally punctured by a passing jet but you quickly get used to that.
Our most energetic day was a trip to Siam Park in nearby Costa Adeje. If you’re happy to spend half your day queueing, it boasts plenty of whiteknuckle rides and a lovely (if a little tightly-packed) beach, where the man-made waves are addictively terrifying!
If you do like to be active there’s plenty to explore in Tenerife, including numerous golf courses, Loro Park zoo, all manner of water-based activities and some amazing scenery in places like the hillside Masca if you’re happy to drive on the wrong side of the road.
Being a little out of the way, Los Abrigos is best experienced with a hire car. If you want to go full-on VIP, book yourself a convertible for getting around.
We plumped for a tasty BMW 2 Series from Sixt and unlike soft-top owners in the UK, there wasn’t a day when rain stopped our open-air fun. My experience of car hire is that it’s better to get everything agreed and paid for up-front before you land on foreign soil and Sixt were a joy to deal with. With a little persuasion, we managed to fit three cases and four people in and we had the freedom of the island.
Fantastic though it was to explore Tenerife’s volcanic scenery by car, I maintain that if your home life is lived at 100mph then there’s nothing better than doing absolutely nothing and Sunningdale Village, with its tropical gardens and the majestic Mount Teide as a backdrop, is the ideal place for R&R.
Best of all, there’s more than enough sunbeds to go around.