Loro Parque and Siam Park Twin Ticket Tenerife

Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz

Loro Parque opened in 1972 as a small parrot garden on the edge of Puerto de la Cruz, on the lush north coast of Tenerife, and has grown into one of the best-known zoological parks in Europe. Its name means Parrot Park, and it still keeps one of the largest and most varied parrot collections in the world, with breeding and conservation programmes for rare species.

Today the park covers wide tropical gardens with habitats for gorillas, chimpanzees, tigers, jaguars, flamingos and many birds, linked by shaded paths. Plan a full day: most families arrive at opening time and stay until the late afternoon, timing the day around the shows. Loro Parque tickets on this Twin Ticket give you one full-day visit, and the park is open every day of the year.

Shows, penguins and the aquarium at Loro Parque

The shows are the heart of a day at Loro Parque. In the large stadium by the sea pool you watch orcas, the park's biggest attraction, followed by presentations with dolphins and sea lions, and a lively parrot show where the birds fly over the audience. Show times are listed at the entrance, and arriving 15 minutes early gives you a better seat.

Between shows, step into Planet Penguin, a cold world of ice and snow where penguins dive and waddle a few metres from the glass. The aquarium has a long tunnel with sharks and rays overhead, and a jellyfish room glowing in the dark. Younger children love Kinderlandia, a play village of tree huts, hanging bridges and slides, which is a perfect place for a break.

Siam Park, the water kingdom of Costa Adeje

Siam Park opened in 2008 in Costa Adeje, in the dry and sunny south of Tenerife, and is regularly named among the best water parks in the world. Its design recalls an ancient Thai kingdom, with golden temple roofs, carved statues, tropical gardens and a palace-like entrance, so the setting is as memorable as the rides.

The most famous slide is the Tower of Power, an almost vertical drop that sends riders through a clear tube across a shark aquarium. Other favourites include big family raft rides, a twisting river with rapids and a calm lazy river that loops around the park. The wave pool creates some of the highest artificial waves anywhere, beside a beach of fine white sand. Siam Park tickets on this Twin Ticket give you a full day of unlimited rides.

Using the Twin Ticket and getting to each park

The Twin Ticket gives you one visit to each park on different days. When you use it for the first time, the park registers your fingerprint, and you then have 14 days to visit the second park. You can start with either one: many visitors choose a sunny day for Siam Park and a cloudier day for Loro Parque, where the shows and gardens are enjoyable in any weather.

The parks are at opposite ends of the island. From the southern resorts of Costa Adeje and Playa de las Américas, Siam Park is a short taxi or bus ride, while Loro Parque is about an hour by car on the motorway to the north. If you are planning things to do in Tenerife with kids, these two days are among the best, so leave rest days in between if your holiday allows.