What is there to do in Los Cristianos: an overview for visitors?
With 15,945 residents in the 2020 census, Los Cristianos is the most populous town in the municipality of Arona, says Wikipedia. The tourism portal webtenerife.co.uk says the town has kept its seaside charm.
Most of the area’s shopping and cultural life happens here, and the harbour is full of boats, the portal says. The town grew out of a small fishing village.
Wikipedia dates the start of the settlement to the 1860s. It gives 1914 as the year water infrastructure allowed farming to expand, while webtenerife points to the tourism boom of the 1960s.
Since then the economy has shifted from farming to tourism, says Wikipedia. Together with Playa de las Américas and Costa Adeje, the area draws around 5 million visitors a year, according to the same source.
The source gives no year, and there are no figures for Los Cristianos alone. Las Américas is a pure holiday resort, whereas Los Cristianos has an established town centre.
The Wikivoyage community is a freely editable travel wiki, not a primary source. It lists the Playa de Los Cristianos in the centre, the Playa de Las Vistas by the harbour, a seafront promenade and a small church.
None of the sources we reviewed records a museum in the town. We could not confirm the name of the church.
Which beaches are there in Los Cristianos?
Wikipedia counts four beaches in Los Cristianos. Two are named: the Playa de Los Cristianos, with pale imported sand, and the Playa de Las Vistas.
Both lie in the town centre near the harbour. Diario de Avisos reported in 2023 that the Playa de Los Cristianos had regained its Blue Flag (Bandera Azul).
That took Arona from two to three beaches with the award. We have no confirmation for the 2026 season.
The environmental organisation ADEAC keeps the current Bandera Azul list. Swimmers should check it before they travel.
Travel portals also mention sunloungers, parasols, showers, toilets and a lifeguard station at the Playa de Las Vistas. We could not check this against an official page of the Arona council.
Prices for loungers or parking are not documented. Other coves such as Los Tarajales, El Callao or El Camisón appear only on travel sites, with no official details.
According to webtenerife, Arona has 15 kilometres of coastline. The source does not say how much of it belongs to Los Cristianos.
Anyone looking for quieter stretches of coast will therefore need to check the municipality’s beach information. It was not available for our research.
Where can you hike: Chayofita and Montaña de Guaza?
According to Wikivoyage, the Montaña Chayofita is a hiking option right by the town. The sources give no length, duration or path condition.
Anyone climbing it should check the route on the spot.
It was declared protected under Canary Islands law 12/94, and Decreto Legislativo 1/2000 on Canary land-use planning later took it over. The conservation rules were approved in the BOC (the Canary Islands official gazette).
We could not establish which of the two references, BOC 2008/208 or BOC 2005/125, is the final one. According to the Cabildo de Tenerife (island government) and the portal tenerifeon.es, there are no officially approved hiking trails, only an informal network of paths.
Access is via the TF-655, which leaves the TF-1 at the Los Cristianos exit. From El Palm-Mar you continue on foot, and because the area is protected, visitors do best to stay on existing paths.
A hotel blog gives the mountain’s height as 430 metres. No authority has issued this figure, so we leave it open.
The Cabildo and the Gobierno de Canarias confirm route, distance and protection rules. In the sources we reviewed, they published no route description.
What can you do in Los Cristianos with ferries and boats?
The port of Los Cristianos handled around 2.5 million passengers in 2025, Diario de Avisos reported in May 2026. The paper calls it the main scheduled-service port of the archipelago.
Ferries run to La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma, as Wikivoyage lists. The link to La Gomera has existed since 1975, according to Wikipedia.
Fred. Olsen Express and Naviera Armas sail to San Sebastián de La Gomera, and the crossing takes about 50 minutes. The comparison service Ferryscanner quotes 2026 prices from 27.59 euros for one adult.
Two adults pay from 47.82 euros, and two adults with a car from 55 euros, says Ferryscanner. These are comparison-site prices, and binding timetables and fares are with the shipping lines.
Excursion boats run along the coast to Los Gigantes, according to Wikivoyage. Whale-watching trips start from Los Cristianos, Puerto Colón and Los Gigantes.
Decreto 178/2000 of 6 September 2000 governs them in the Canary Islands, says the Juriscan database. We did not review the content of the decree.
Visitors should book only licensed operators. Prices, departure times and trip lengths are not confirmed.
When are the market and the fiesta in Los Cristianos?
Wikivoyage lists a large Sunday market in Los Cristianos. Barceló and asest.es give Tuesday and Sunday from 09:00 to 14:00, along the avenue beside the beach near the Arona Gran Hotel.
The Ayuntamiento (town council) of Arona has not confirmed this. Changes for 2026 are not documented.
The fiesta of the Virgen del Carmen is the best-known festival in the town. Diario de Avisos reported on the edition of 5 September 2022, the first after two pandemic years.
Thousands of people took part. The statue travelled from the parish church to the beach, where a Mass was held for it.
A boat then carried it to the Palm-Mar headland and back to the altar at the Muelle Viejo (old jetty). The programme included fireworks in the harbour, the cucaña (climbing a pole on the jetty to reach a flag) and foam parties for children.
There were also bouncy castles, a ring-tossing game from a boat (sortija de barco) and traditional dances. The date of 5 September applies to the 2022 edition.
Whether the 2026 programme was the same is not documented, as the council’s programme for next year was not available. The 2026 fiesta has in any case already passed.
How do you get to Los Cristianos, and what is still open?
According to Wikivoyage, Los Cristianos lies 20 kilometres from the southern airport, on the TF-1 motorway. Bus lines (guagua) 110 and 111 run to Santa Cruz, but fares and journey times are not in the sources we reviewed.
Wikivoyage gives the town more than 21,000 residents, which differs from the census figure of 15,945. The source does not explain the difference.
In April 2026 the provincial gazette carried a notice about a 1,100 square metre floating landing stage at the Muelle Viejo. It is meant to host excursion boats and the sea rescue service.
Arona mayor Fátima Lemes (PP) said, according to Diario de Avisos, that the town cannot bear more pressure, traffic and port activity. The council announced objections.
The citizens’ group “Gorras Rojas” organised a meeting for 22 May 2026 under the motto “Beach yes, jetty no”. Diario de Avisos headlines from June 2026 mention a port strike and a demonstration against the landing stage.
How the matter ended is not confirmed. Entry prices, parking fees, excursion prices and an official tourism page for the town from Arona or the Cabildo also remain open.
We have also not confirmed the status of the current Bandera Azul, the name of the church or any new offers for 2026. Current weather readings are at CITA-Wetter (cita.news/de/wetter.html) and AEMET.