If you’re heading to Tenerife this year with your family the South of the Island is the perfect place to stay. From Playa de la Americas, Los Cristianos to Adeje there’s a sprawling mass of hotels, apartments and villas.
My Grandparents had rented a two bedroom apartment in Adeje. A thirty-second walk from Aqualand, for 7 weeks. Arriving mid-January to avoid the dreary weather of The Lake District they went in search of sunshine. Their apartment was perfectly sized for both them and for when the three of us (myself and my two younger cousins) arrived.
Waterparks in Tenerife
We visited Aqualand on a Monday of our week long stay. The older of the two water parks which are located within 5 minutes of each other. The other being Siam Park (we’ll talk about that further down the post), we had decided to go here first.
The sunshine was beating down and the ground was hot to touch. We made our entrance to the warmer of the pools. That had jets and jacuzzi bubbles before heading on the Lava River. We know now why they haven’t called it the lazy river, as there’s no current to push you along and instead you have to push yourself around the trail. Fortunately, I shared a double float with my youngest cousin so he did all the work.
After our disappointment from the Lava River. We headed to the wave pool where the waves were about to begin. They were high and strong and my cousins were like fish in the water catching the waves and swimming.
Plenty of slides
There were multiple large slides which all were great to go down in pairs. They were extremely bumpy and had us flying around. These kind of slides are possibly my favourite. As they allow you both to experience the slide together and laugh about it more so than as a single rider. There were loops and turns and big splashes.
Heading to Aqualand with my Grandma who hates water she positioned herself in the sunshine on a sunbed. Having to pay €2 per bed after entry to the park we all agreed that not necessarily the price was the issue. But it was more principle that these beds should be free to lie on.
There were other slides for single riders and my youngest cousin absolutely loved the slide that he referred to as the ‘Plug-hole’. Where you go down the slide, into a dish. Spin around a couple of times and then drop through a hole like a plug-hole. He must have gone on this four or five times.
There were slides and water playgrounds for babies and toddlers and smaller slides for younger children. My 8-year-old cousin tested these out. Which are great for those who aren’t tall enough to go on the larger slides.
Dolphin Show at Aqualand
The best part of the day was the dolphin show which my Grandma knew started at 15:30. As daily when sunbathing in their apartment’s garden she hears the tannoy announcing this. We all headed to the newly built dolphin arena with a 127m deep tank. Three pools for the dolphins to swim in and a sophisticated disinfectant system to ensure optimum hygiene for the dolphins.
The show began and the auditorium was full of excited families watching the dolphins flip, wave, talk and save their trainers. As far as animals kept in parks go these dolphins were immaculately kept. They looked extremely happy and you could see the mutual love for their trainers. And the love the trainers had for these highly intelligent animals.
We thoroughly enjoyed Aqualand as a whole and although the ground is extremely rough (take cheap flip-flops for walking around). You can see with the addition of Siam Park they are continually trying to improve. There’s building work going on behind the dolphin arena to build new slides.
Our only qualms about the park are that we didn’t agree that you had to pay extra for sun loungers and to enter the tanks below the dolphin arena (they call it the dolphin museum). This is €2.50 per person and again not astronomically priced but when a family of 5 pays around €100 for a ticket. Then an additional €12.50 to go to the dolphin museum is a little steep.
We since found if you book directly on the Aqualand site you receive €2 off your ticket. Alternatively, we found cheaper Aqualand tickets here
All in all, we had a good day. Both my 14-year-old and 8-year-old cousin enjoyed their visit.
Siam Park in Tenerife
On the Wednesday we planned to head to Siam Park. Having already purchased our tickets after looking to find the best Siam Park Discount Tickets. We could we were able to attend at any time within the next 10 days from the tickets being issued. The sky was very grey when we woke up on Wednesday. And there was a brown/yellow weather warning (according to the locals).
We were all ready to go when the heavens opened. What else would we be able to do on this wet and dreary day? After all, we would be soaked anyways going on the water slides? So clambering into our rental car we drove the two minutes along the road to Siam Park.
Of course, there were no queues and we managed to get in before two bus loads of people arrived. Heading through the gates we were treated by a family of Californian sea lions. These beautiful creatures swam around as a diver scrubbed the bottom of their tank and their trainer fed them and picked up fallen leaves and any further rubbish.
The Thai-themed water park was extremely Americanised and if you’ve ever been to the theme parks in Florida or California you’ll know what I’m talking about. Siam Park’s owner Mr Wolfgang Kiessling spent many years working in America and Canada and gained a bounty of knowledge.
As best practice in the parks and this really shows. The park is immaculately kept and whilst the rain was beating down the workers were ensuring that the paths were swept, the litter was picked up. The tables in the beach club were kept clean and rubbish was disposed of. There was staff absolutely everywhere manning the rides and ensuring that the park operations ran as smoothly as possible.
Man-made beaches
We headed straight to the man-made beach which is the home of the waves which reach heights of 40ft! The golden sands and shallow water’s edge lead to an extremely deep pool.
My cousins swam about enjoying the pool as the rain bounced off the water before the waves began. Seeing the size of them and knowing I’m not a fan of strong currents I headed to sit with my Grandma and Granda. Who were making the most of the shelter underneath the complimentary parasol and sun loungers.
They later headed to take cover underneath the shelter of the beach club which served an array of food from around the world including pizza, noodles, fajitas and more all at great holiday park prices. My Grandma & Granda each had a coffee and a muffin at the cost of €2.95 which was exceptional value for a park.
After the kids had swum in and under the waves, we headed to the first slides. With double floats everywhere we could tell that this park, the secondary addition to the island renowned Loro Parque, was all about the experience together.
Grabbing our floats we headed up the stairs. Where the ground surface had been well thought out, smooth and pebble-free. Unlike Aqualand. I and my youngest cousin headed down the slide first as he squealed in terror and enjoyment. Shortly followed down by my other cousin.
Thrill-seeking
This pool was home to four different slides which twisted and turned, went dark, then exposed you to the elements of outside before hitting the water. My older cousin of the two then braved the tables single rider slide of the park.
This death drop named The Tower of Power which is 28m high and reaches speeds of 60km/h. This is not suitable for anybody under the age of 14, so alongside my 8-year-old cousin. We waited to watch her at the bottom as she went from the highest point of the park. Through the shoot in the shark tank and out into the warm heated pool all within 6 seconds!
This hair-raising slide was thoroughly enjoyed by the thrill seeker so we headed to the next ride on their list, The Dragon. This four-person float headed down a slide and into a large dish shape where you were, as a group, flung about.
From side to side before heading back down a slide and out at the other end. It’s worth noting at this point that the water at Siam Park is heated and the use of chlorine is used. Unlike Aqualand which is freezing cold with the use of salt-water for disinfectant.
Back up the steps, we went in the pouring rain to take on The Vulcano. A similar concept to the dragon and again a float for four this time a laser show and hot steam was our fate. Giggling and laughing, after screaming his head off on The Dragon my younger cousin absolutely loved this ride.
More than just waterparks
We headed back for the waves at the beach which happen hourly at twenty to the hour and then grabbed a spot of lunch where my youngest cousin was treated to a Siam Park baseball cap priced at only €1! Although the more expensive park of the two water parks once inside the cost of your day is well thought through.
If you’re visiting Tenerife and looking for things to do you can buy a multi-park ticket for Loro Parque and Siam Park together. Which saves you a little bit of money. Loro Parque has been voted the best park in Europe and the second best in the world.
Back to the rides, we headed to the other side of the park where we headed down white water rafts. Again in a four, a rather wet and fierce log flume and another ride for four very similar to The Dragon and The Vulcano.
These rides were exhilarating and great fun for the three of us, especially as my youngest cousin was able to enjoy them too, as well as us being able to enjoy them all together.
Whilst at this part of the park we noticed they were further building new rides and expanding which is only positive for the future. We went back on all of the slides in which we loved again as the rain got much heavier and the park started to clear. Typically it was only the British walking around in the rain enjoying the park towards the end of the day.
Siam Park vs Aqualand
We headed back and got dried before making the short trip home to get a warm shower. All in all, we all were glad to have visited Aqualand first and then Siam Park as the five of us agreed that Siam Park was our favourite park. It was great in the rain and the weather didn’t detract from the enjoyment of the day.
But could imagine the heat and a bit of sunshine making the end of the rides all that bit better when getting wet. Although the more expensive of the two parks. We thought it was much better value for money and once inside the park the prices for food, drinks and merchandise wasn’t ridiculous.
We all agreed we would head back to Siam Park next year when our Grandparents return to Tenerife and we visit them for a week as we enjoyed it so much. Knowing how fantastic this park was we also would look at getting tickets for Loro Parque too!
Looking for more tips for Tenerife you might be interested in our related posts;
- Oliver’s out of Town – the best meal in Tenerife
- Winter Sun in Tenerife
- What to do in Tenerife if the weather isn’t great
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