Los Gigantes is built at the foot of the cliffs that gave it its name, sheer basalt walls rising 300 to 600 metres straight out of the Atlantic. Most days here start and end with them: they frame the harbour, the beach and every sunset.
On the water: the boats guests rate highest
The channel between Tenerife and La Gomera is home to resident pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins all year, and these waters form one of Europe’s first certified Whale Heritage Sites. Look for the blue-and-yellow “Barco Azul” flag — the government permit for responsible cetacean watching. Ratings and prices below are as listed at the time of writing (July 2026); check each operator for current details.
- Flipper Uno, a traditional handmade wooden boat and a local fixture, runs two-hour whale, cliff and swim-stop trips from about €28 (children €18). Around 2,100 TripAdvisor reviews and a Travellers’ Choice award.
- Nature Watch: the famous little M/S Katrin has been retired; the same family now runs the 17-metre Carolin Sophie with a maximum of twelve passengers (about €40, weekday departures). Small-group watching at its calmest.
- Teno Activo — kayak beneath the cliffs in the morning, then return by whale-watching boat (about €60, children €35). Ranked first among Los Gigantes nature activities on TripAdvisor at the time of writing.
- The Los Gigantes Diving Centre is a PADI centre in the harbour itself; volcanic reefs and rays lie minutes from the mooring, with courses for first-timers.
Beaches and pools
Playa de los Guíos is the black-sand beach right under the cliffs, a short walk from the marina. Two kilometres south, Playa de la Arena is a compact volcanic beach with cafés above it — beautiful, with a shore break that deserves respect for the flags. Between them lies the Charco Isla Cangrejo (“Crab Island”) sea pool, lovely on a flat day but fenced off whenever swell alerts are active; in December 2025 a wave overtopped it with fatal results. Swim only on calm days when it is open, and never past a barrier; our natural-pools guide explains how to judge conditions.
Masca and Teide
The hamlet of Masca, twenty minutes up the mountain road, is Tenerife’s most photographed village, and its gorge walk is now strictly regulated. Under the rules in force at the time of writing, places are booked exclusively through the official site (from €40.66 for non-resident adults), hikers arrive by the dedicated Santiago del Teide shuttle bus, and a boat ticket out of the gorge mouth back to Los Gigantes is compulsory for one-way walkers. Book well ahead and check caminobarrancodemasca.com for the current calendar. Mount Teide and its lunar national park remain a comfortable seventy-five-minute drive for a half-day trip.
Photo: Tony Hisgett, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons