Where is Palm Mar in Tenerife?

Palm Mar is a residential village in the municipality of Arona on the south coast of Tenerife, about 3 km from Los Cristianos. It sits between Montaña de Guaza and the Malpaís de Rasca nature reserve, at the end of its own access road, and is roughly 15 minutes from Tenerife South airport.

Is Palm Mar or Callao Salvaje quieter than Los Cristianos and Las Américas?

Yes. Both are residential villages with no nightlife strip, no through traffic and no large hotels, while Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas are the busiest part of the coast. You still have supermarkets, cafés and restaurants on foot, and the resorts are a short drive away.

Do I need a car in Palm Mar or Callao Salvaje?

Not for daily life — shops, restaurants and the sea are within walking distance in both villages, and TITSA buses serve them. A car is worth having for the resort beaches, Teide National Park and the north of the island, because buses run less often here than on the main resort strip.

Are Palm Mar and Callao Salvaje good for long stays?

They are among the best bases in south Tenerife for a month or a winter: residential, quiet in the evening, with supermarkets on foot and the same 21–23 °C winter highs as the resorts. Both of our apartments there are set up for long stays.

Palm Mar and Callao Salvaje: a guide to south Tenerife's quiet coast

The south-west coast of Tenerife is one long resort strip — Los Cristianos, Playa de las Américas and Costa Adeje run into each other for about 12 km. At each end of that strip sits a small residential village that most visitors drive past: Palm Mar at the southern end, below Montaña de Guaza, and Callao Salvaje at the northern end, beyond La Caleta. Both have the same sun as the resorts and a fraction of the noise. This guide explains what each is like, how they differ, and who they suit. For the resort strip itself, see our Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas guide and the Costa Adeje guide.

Palm Mar

Palm Mar is a modern residential development in the municipality of Arona, built on the coast between Montaña de Guaza, the volcanic mountain that rises about 400 m behind Los Cristianos, and the Malpaís de Rasca, a protected nature reserve of old lava flows, cardón cactus and tabaiba scrub. It is reached by a single road and goes nowhere else, which is the reason it stays quiet: there is no through traffic, no nightlife strip and no large hotels.

What it does have is everything for daily life within a few minutes on foot — supermarkets, cafés, bars and restaurants clustered around the centre — plus a seafront walk with rock pools and a small beach. Los Cristianos is about 3 km away, a few minutes by car or taxi, for the harbour, the big beaches and the ferry to La Gomera.

The walking is the real draw. A flat, well-marked trail leaves Palm Mar through the Malpaís de Rasca to the Rasca lighthouse and on towards the fishing village of Las Galletas, with open views of the Atlantic the whole way. The harder option is the climb up Montaña de Guaza, a protected natural monument, for a view over Los Cristianos, Las Américas and the Rasca headland. Both start from the edge of the village.

Callao Salvaje

Callao Salvaje is a low-rise village in the municipality of Adeje, a few kilometres north of the Costa Adeje resorts on the road towards Playa Paraíso. It grew up as holiday apartments and has settled into a mixed community of long-stay visitors and residents, with a small commercial centre, supermarkets, bars and restaurants.

A small beach lies below the village, a few minutes' walk from most complexes. The coast here faces west, towards La Gomera, which makes Callao Salvaje one of the better places on the island for sunsets. Costa Adeje, Siam Park and the Fañabé and Duque beaches are about ten minutes away by car, and the Los Gigantes cliffs are around twenty minutes further north.

Palm Mar or Callao Salvaje?

For the airport and Los Cristianos: Palm Mar. It is the closer of the two to Tenerife South and to the Los Cristianos harbour.
For walking straight from the door: Palm Mar, with the Rasca trail and Montaña de Guaza on the village edge.
For sunsets and the west coast: Callao Salvaje, facing La Gomera and closer to Los Gigantes and the Teno side of the island.
For Costa Adeje's beaches and Siam Park: Callao Salvaje, a short drive from the resort's northern end.
For long stays and working remotely: either. Both are residential, with supermarkets on foot and quiet evenings, which is what matters over a month.

Getting there and getting around

Both villages are served from Tenerife South (TFS), the airport most flights from northern Europe use. Palm Mar is roughly 15 minutes away by taxi; Callao Salvaje, at the other end of the strip, takes around half an hour along the TF-1. Tenerife North (TFN) is over an hour from either, so check which airport your flight uses before booking a transfer.

TITSA buses serve both villages, but less often than they serve the resort strip. For day-to-day life you can manage on foot; for beaches along the coast, Teide National Park or the north of the island, a hire car makes the stay much easier.

Weather and when to come

Both villages share south Tenerife's climate: daytime highs of around 21–23 °C from December to March, rare rain, and a sea at about 19–20 °C in winter and 23–24 °C in September and October. Winter is the high season, when northern Europeans come for the sun, and the best-value months are April to June. The exposed southern tip around Rasca can be breezier than the sheltered resort bays, so a pool is worth having on the windier days.

Where to stay

Our Quiet Coast collection gathers the apartments in both villages: a one-bedroom in Palm Mar with an ocean-view rooftop terrace, and a two-bedroom in Callao Salvaje in a complex with a heated pool. Both are set up for longer stays — see Long Stays in South Tenerife — and both appear in Sea-View Stays in Tenerife. For everything on the island, browse Tenerife Island Retreats.