With great weather all year round, Tenerife is pretty much the perfect holiday sport. Temperatures hover between 59ºF and 75ºF (15-24ºC), and there is only very occasional rain.

At first, you might be surprised to hear that you can see snow on Tenerife, and it is the only island in the Canaries with this claim to fame. Mount Teide stands at nearly four thousand metres (12,200 feet) and is a spectacular backdrop to many a view around the island. But that's where any thoughts of cold weather end, a few miles away you can be sunbathing on one of the many black sand beaches.

The island's capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, is an upbeat town geared for tourism.

Its port, where once the first shots of the Spanish Civil War were fired, is today a morass of ferries, jetfoils and freighters.

The resorts of Tenerife

Playa de las Americas is the largest resort in Tenerife and has rightly earned the reputation of a tourist playground. If small and quaint is your thing, then this is not the place for you - a purpose-built hedonistic haven for holidaymakers of all ages. The resort is situated in the south of the island near the Reina Sofia Airport. It has grown vastly during its 30 years of existence and has three natural beaches in the resort area and three man-made ones, all covered with dark volcanic sand and extremely crowded during the summer season.

The popular resort of Los Cristianos lies in a sheltered bay in the south-west corner of the island of Tenerife, merging into the more glitzy purpose-built resort of Playa de las Americas. Los Cristianos is no longer a sleepy Canarian fishing village, but has managed to retain some of its traditional feel. The main bit of the resort is the harbour area which is perfect for relaxing during your sunshine break.

Los Gigantes (The Giants) is set on the west coast of Tenerife and is essentially joined together with its neighbours, Playa la Arena and Puerto Santiago. However, every effort has been made not to ruin the local history and traditions and you won't find towering hotels here. A nice marina is a perfect location to enjoy a meal or drink at one of its bars or restaurants.