Puerto de la Cruz is located on the north coast of Tenerife, in the Orotava Valley. It is located 4 km West of La Orotava , and is about 37 km NE of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and about 25 km to Tenerife North Airport both on the TF5 Motorway. The inhabitants are known as portuense The municipality is the smallest in Tenerife.
The population is 31,830 (ISTAC, 2003), its density is 3,646.05/km² and the area is 8.73 km². The elevation is 9 meters. The lowest point is the coastal Atlantic zone, the highest is Las Arenas, a volcanic cone with an elevation of 249 meters. Farmland is in tucked into the valley areas and within the Atlantic coastal zone; urbanisation covers much of the area and the terrain rises rapidly to the south.
Prior to the development of hotels and buildings, much of the area consisted of agricultural land. Considerable fiscal pressure led to the land being developed and the population shifted from rural to urban and tourism. The population is mainly urban today.
Tourism is an important industry in Puerto de la Cruz, as evidenced by the number of large hotels on the skyline.
Puerto is frequented by the Northern European during the winter months, due to its mild climate, and is particularly popular over Christmas and the new year periods.
The Western European tourist contingent to Puerto tends towards more mature couples, in comparison to resorts such as Playa de las Americas Puerto also has a modest gay scene centred around La Avenida del Generalisimo.
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