Not everyone wants to spend their holidays getting up at the crack of dawn to throw towels over a poolside sun lounger so they can pass the day travelling no further than the distance from the shallow end to the bar. For many of us, a trip to Tenerife simply wouldn’t be complete without a few days on the beach.
But the cost of hiring sun beds and that all important umbrella can quickly mount up over the course of a week or two’s holidays to Tenerife.

In order to ease the financial burden of all that soaking up Tenerife’s rays, I have undertaken extensive and exhaustive research on Tenerife’s beaches (no sniggering or comments of ‘nice work if you can get it’ please) in order to compare the price of hiring sun beds.
Now all you have to do is factor that cost into your holiday and decide if it’s worth re-mortgaging the house for a spot on the beach outside your hotel door, or saving up to 50% of your expenditure by moving a few deckchair spaces along the coast…

So here in the interests of best value for money is the cost of hiring a sun bed and parasol at ten of Tenerife’s most popular sun worshipping venues:

Joint 10th place. Coming in at least value for money on Tenerife at a staggering €10 for a sun bed and parasol are Playa Fañabe (above) and Playa Torviscas (green zone). Spend your whole fortnight on either of these Costa Adeje beaches and you’ll run up a holiday extra of €140!
8th place. Just 20 cents short of sharing the least value podium is Playa Del Duque at a whopping great €9.80. At least you have the on-beach entertainment here thrown in for free.
7th place. Proving that location, location, location really does make a difference, just a few yards further along the same sand, Playa Torviscas turns into a yellow zone and the prices drop by €2 to €8 for a sun bed and parasol.

Joint 6th place. Occupying the central ground at a fairly reasonable €6 for a day’s comfort and shade are three of Tenerife’s most popular beaches; Playa Camisón in Playa de Las Américas, Las Vistas (above) in Los Cristianos and Playa de la Arena on the West coast.
3rd place. Heading towards the top spot for canny sun-seekers is Playa Jardín in Puerto de la Cruz which stacks up at a very reasonable €5.50 for a day beside the sea.
Joint 1st place. Winners of Tenerife’s best value for money beach furniture at a very holiday budget-conscious €5 for a sun bed and parasol are the lovely Playas Troya 1 and 2 in Costa Adeje where two weeks in the sun will cost you precisely half of what it’ll cost you further along the same coast.
And special mention goes to the fabulous Lago Martiánez in Puerto de la Cruz where you get to feel like you’re on the set of a Bond movie for your €5 sun bed and parasol.

The sand takes me by surprise. It seems a strange thing to say, but my first reaction on stepping onto Playa del Duque, one of the most upmarket beaches on Tenerife, is one of confused surprise. The pale golden sand doesn’t feel like…well sand.

This is a new one on me. Tenerife’s black volcanic sands can burn like a branding iron and some man-made beaches such as Playa de las Teresitas feel like being at the centre of a Saharan sand storm at the first suggestion of a breeze, but they are usually soft on the soles. With every step, Del Duque’s harsh pale grains nip at my feet with the ferocity of miniscule terriers.

After being mugged by the sand, the next objective is to find a spot to lay out my beach mat. In front of me is a wall of straw umbrellas and beyond that, hugging the shoreline, is another wall of rainbow coloured parasols. It’s a sizzling hot Saturday morning in August and Spanish mainlanders are on the beach en masse occupying their favourite playa position right beside the water’s edge. They seem to instinctively know the surf’s limitations, their towels inches from where the waves teasingly lap the sand.

As a sufferer of beach claustrophobia, I stretch out on the empty expanse just behind the sunloungers and soak up the surroundings.

Lying at the western end of Costa Adeje, Playa del Duque is separated from the rest of the resort by a large rock formation jutting far out into the sea which acts as a natural curtain lending the beach an air of detached exclusivity. The Gran Hotel Bahía del Duque dominates the backdrop to the beach. Its palatial main buildings and mock Canarian beach-side architecture makes the area feel like one giant film set. Del Duque’s  St Tropez style beach huts and a white restaurant on stilts, straight out of the Caribbean add to the Hollywood feel of the place. With its movie star looks, golden sand and powder blue seas, it’s a beautiful looking beach for sure.

The feeling of being on a film set is enhanced by the fascinating beach opera being performed all around me – a beach opera starring Del Duque’s colourful hawkers. The score is provided by fruit vendors carrying baskets filled with melons, pineapples and coconuts who sing ‘Tooty fruiteee, veetameen, cocos-nuts’ as they parade between the bronzed audience.

The dancing comes courtesy of a couple of svelte, sarong sellers demonstrating their wares by weaving amongst the sun beds, swirling and twirling bright sarongs with the grace and sensuality of harem dancers. Finally, preparing the extras for the shoot, are the South East Asian masseurs; gently kneading sunbathers’ muscles that are, let’s face already pretty damned relaxed.

Then the villains of the piece appear in the form of a police car at the back of the beach; the singers fall quiet and the dancers, with practiced perfection, drop their sarongs to reveal bikinis. As the sarongs fall to the ground covering the rest of their stock the two girls follow suit, lying atop the bright cloths like any other sunbather…and Act 1 of ‘Scene at Playa del Duque’ comes to a close.

After broiling nicely for an hour and a half in 30C+ temperatures, my flesh feels cooked enough to slide easily onto a kebab skewer. Common sense dictates a change of scene. I make my way across the harsh sand to the cool shade and even cooler décor of the stylish beachfront bars at the rear of the playa, order a frosty beer and settle back to see what Act 2 brings.