The sun is at a Canary Islands beach right now
Stop checking beach by beach. We tell you where the sun is.
Grey sky, rain, you lose all motivation for a swim (or as they say in some parts of the Canary Islands, a chuzo). Classic. But here the microclimates do their thing. While you stare at clouds, half an hour away the sun is blazing.
While you hesitate, someone else is already at the beach in the sun. Open PlaYa! and see it instantly: green pin, decision made. Five seconds.
Three steps to the sun
Open
You open PlaYa! and the map fills with colors. Each pin is a beach. The color tells you if it's worth it, instantly.
Slide
Move the slider hour by hour, or stretch a window with the second thumb and see which beach holds up for your whole plan. Find the exact moment the sun reaches your beach.
Go
Green pin = go. Nothing else to think about. Tap 'Get directions', Google Maps opens and off to the beach.
You can also tap any pin, set up an alert and PlaYa! will notify you when conditions match what you're looking for.
Pick your window. PlaYa! picks the beach.
Tomorrow, 10 to 4? Stretch the slider's second thumb and every pin scores your whole plan, not a single moment. One bad hour drags the score down even if the rest is perfect: if the pin stays green, your entire plan is green.
- Dual-thumb slider: set the start and end of your plan
- Pins change color and grow with your window's score
- "Let's hit the beach": Today, Tomorrow or the day after, one tap
- Search ranks every beach by your window, favorites first
- Share the plan: window score, ranges and a rain heads-up when due
What about three hours from now? Slide and see.
Slide hour by hour through the next 48 hours and watch the whole map change. Pins shift color as you move through time: the exact moment the sun reaches your beach, in plain sight.
- Time bar with sunrise-to-sunset gradient
- Pins change color as you slide
- Real-time vs. forecast data indicator
- Active AEMET weather alert notifications
Tap a pin. Know everything.
Every beach has its full profile: weather conditions, waves, tides, water temperature, facilities and the nota de la PlaYa!. Your comfort index from 0 to 100, all in one place.
- Temperature, wind, clouds, rain and UV index
- Waves, period, direction and swell data
- Tides: high and low tide worked out for each island
- Air quality: alerts for calima (Saharan dust)
- Official bathing-water quality (NÁYADE)
- Facilities: parking, showers, lifeguard, accessibility
- With a window active: honest ranges (22-27 °C) and your window marked on the tide curve
We'll let you know when the sun shows up.
Set your minimum score or fine-tune the exact conditions you want: temperature, wind, waves, facilities. PlaYa! keeps watch and alerts you when any beach meets your criteria. So you don't have to keep checking.
- Alert by minimum score or weather filters
- Rain filter: only notifies if it's dry
- Beach filters: sand, parking, lifeguard and more
- Frequency: once, several times or always
One color. One decision.
Every beach has a score from 0 to 100 that combines temperature, wind, clouds, waves, rain and air quality. The pin color tells you everything. You don't even need to read numbers.
Stay home
There are better options
Worth the trip
Really good day
Drop everything and go
The worst beach for a swim can be the best wave on the island.
What are you here to do?
PlaYa! now asks before scoring. Pick your plan and the map changes with your answer: new score, new pins, new best hour.
Here to surf?
The map changes skin: 21 real surf breaks across 4 islands, each with its wave quality and best hour.
Or to dive?
11 real dive sites across 5 islands, El Bajón included. And on every beach, who takes you: schools for a lesson, shops for the gear.
Just here for a swim? Black sand, tide pools, kid-friendly, wheelchair access. And the nota de la PlaYa! sorting the map.
The score describes the sea, it never decides for you.
Say what you're here for. PlaYa! does the rest.
All eight islands. Every place to swim.
Switch islands with a tap. Beaches, charcos and natural pools with real-time data across the archipelago, including La Graciosa.
I'm Marcos. I live in Tenerife.
Tired of losing weekends checking radars and switching between five weather apps. PlaYa! is the app I wanted to have: one screen, every beach, decision made in five seconds.
Three days, three beaches, zero doubts.
1pm. North overcast, south green. Twelve beaches scoring above 80. Best one: 94. PlaYa! shows it before you grab the keys.
Tomorrow 10 to 4 in search: Radazul holds at 84 for the whole window. Plan locked before bed. No mid-morning surprises.
Calima rolling into the south. PlaYa! warns you before you leave. You change plans, you save the morning.
Got questions?
Is PlaYa! free? Do I need to create an account?
Yes, PlaYa! is 100% free. No account, no subscription, no ads. Just download the app and start using it.
Which islands does PlaYa! cover? All of the Canary Islands?
Yes. PlaYa! covers all eight islands: Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa. 221 beaches, charcos and natural pools with real-time data, plus 21 surf breaks and 11 dive sites.
What is the nota de la PlaYa! and how is it calculated?
It's a comfort index from 0 to 100 that combines temperature, wind, cloud cover, waves, rain and air quality (including Saharan dust / calima). The higher the score, the better the beach day. The pin color tells you instantly: green = perfect, amber = decent, grey = better to stay home.
What's the best beach in Tenerife today?
It changes every hour. PlaYa! analyzes real-time conditions at every beach and ranks them by their nota de la PlaYa!. Open the app, look at the map and the beach with the greenest pin is your answer.
Can I plan tomorrow's beach day, or the day after?
Yes. Tap "Let's hit the beach" on the map and pick Today, Tomorrow or the day after: the slider marks that day's sunlight window and every pin shows its score for that window. You can also stretch the window by hand with the slider's second thumb, or search and see every beach ranked by your window, favorites first.
How is the score calculated when I pick a window of hours?
We combine the daytime hours of your window so that one bad hour drags the score down even if the rest is perfect: the same weakest-link principle the single-hour nota de la PlaYa! already uses. A beach that's great from 10 to 1 but rainy at 4 doesn't tie with one that holds up all afternoon.
Does PlaYa! have tide and wave data?
Yes. We show wave height, period, swell direction, tides (high and low tide worked out for each island) and water temperature. Waves and water temperature come from each beach's own coordinates, not an island-wide average.
Is it better than a regular weather app?
With a regular weather app you end up checking town by town, beach by beach, trying to guess where the sun is. It's tedious and you almost never get it right. PlaYa! makes it easy: a map with all beaches at once, each one color-coded by real conditions. Plus it includes waves, tides, water temperature and facilities. Everything at a glance, no app-hopping.
Where does PlaYa! get its weather and wave data?
We use Open-Meteo for weather and sea conditions, with water temperature and Saharan dust from the European Copernicus programme; we work out the tides for each island, and we show the official weather warnings from AEMET and the Government of the Canary Islands.
Does PlaYa! alert me when there's good weather at my beach?
Yes. Set an alert with your minimum score or fine-tune the exact conditions (temperature, wind, waves). PlaYa! keeps watch and notifies you when any beach meets your criteria.
Do I need an internet connection to use PlaYa!?
Yes. PlaYa! shows real-time conditions, so it needs a connection to keep the data up to date.
Does PlaYa! work for surfing, diving, paddle boarding or kayaking?
Yes. Pick your plan in the filters and the map changes: 21 surf breaks across 4 islands and 11 dive sites across 5, El Bajón included, each with its own sport score and best hour. Paddle and kayak score calm seas. The score describes sea conditions, it never decides for you: checking the water in person is still on you.
Where can I find surf schools or dive centers in the Canary Islands?
In the app itself. With a sport plan active, every beach shows who takes you: schools for a lesson and shops to rent or buy gear, grouped by beach. Over 100 operators across the eight islands.
Does PlaYa! show bathing water quality?
Yes. We show the official rating from Spain's NÁYADE health program at 120 beaches, charcos and natural pools, refreshed daily, alongside the rest of each beach's conditions.
Don't let the sun catch you at home
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