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Written by Steve Andrews
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 Playa de San Marcos is a beautiful village and beach just down the hill
from Icod de los Vinos in the north of Tenerife. Just along the coast
from Playa de San Marcos you can spot El Roque of its neighbour
Garachico and looking back inland there are marvellous views of Mt
Teide.
Playa de San Marcos black sand beach is very popular with sunbathers
and swimmers too and is well worth visiting. Playa de San Marcos is
sheltered by cliffs and is a great place to relax with a range of very
reasonably priced bars and restaurants along the seafront.
At the restaurant Italia in Bocca in Playa de San Marcos, for example, you can choose from a wide range of pizza or pasta, fish or meat dishes, and they even do Boletus Edulis wild mushrooms.  You can enjoy a drink as you look out to sea, hearing the waves lapping on the shore and watching the sun go down over Playa de San Marcos.
Playa de San Marcos has the regular 362 bus service from Icod de los Vinos, which departs the bus station every hour on the half-hour past the hour until 8.25.
By car, Playa de San Marcos is clearly signposted at a roundabout below Icod with other roads to El Tanque, Buenavista and Garachico. There is a large car park in San Marcos within short walking distance of the beach but on fiesta days it gets really full. There is a square in the village of San Marcos where events are held and with a convenient bar.
 Playa de San Marcos is away from the bustle of the city and the resorts of Tenerife and has a strong Canarian feel to it. There are apartment blocks and also many residential houses in Playa de San Marcos but only two shops – a chemist down the front and the Supermercado Lourdes in Edificio Lourdes on the way into the village.
For those people interested in the flora and fauna of Tenerife there is plenty to see in Playa de San Marcos. A wide range of birds can be seen and heard with blackbirds, chiffchaff, swifts, seagulls, tits, pigeons, collared doves, and even the occasional heron that flies over San Marcos village.
Many wild flowers and medicinal herbs grow on the farmland and waste ground. Orobal or Canary Ginseng, Incienso or Canary Wormwood, Canary Island Lavender, Canary Island Sorrel and Fennel herbs can all be easily found in the area.
San Marcos also boasts its very own pyramid, which is equally impressive as any of the ones at Güímar, although this one is not so widely known about. The San Marcos pyramid is at the side of the road in a banana plantation and you can reach it by taking the first turning on the left after going under a bridge and past a roundabout on the only road into Playa de San Marcos.
Playa de San Marcos is very popular with local people who know of the attractions it boasts and the village and beach are very recommended for a day out in the north of Tenerife.
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Tenerife Island