With babies and young children, Loro Parque: everything is within their reach and the shows are included in the ticket. With kids who already swim on their own, or teenagers, Siam Park. If you have a week, do both with the Twin Ticket: with the bus to Loro from the south it costs €99 per adult and €74 per child, €10 and €7 less than buying them separately.
It's the question families ask us most before they come, and the short answer is that the two parks aren't really competing. One is a water park and the other is a zoo with shows. What decides which one suits you is how old your children are, which end of the island you're sleeping in and how many days you have.
In this article we go step by step: what each park really is, which one fits each age, how to get there from where you're staying, what a full day costs and when it pays to do both with the Twin Ticket.
What really sets them apart
Siam Park is a water park in Costa Adeje, in the south. The architecture is Thai-inspired, and the whole day revolves around water: the Tower of Power, the Dragon, the 3-metre giant wave, the white-water river and several calm areas designed for families. It opens every day at 10:00 and closes at 17:00 from November to April and at 18:00 from May to October. For a proper day out, count on five to six hours inside.
Loro Parque is in Puerto de la Cruz, in the north. It's a day of animals and shows: it's home to more than 4,000 animals, including orcas, gorillas, white tigers and a large penguin colony, and the dolphin, sea lion and bird of prey shows are included in the ticket. To make it worth it, plan on at least five hours inside.
Siam is for getting wet; Loro is for watching. That's half the decision made.
There's one more difference people forget: the pace. At Siam Park the kids set the rhythm, going from slide to slide and from the pool to the sun lounger. At Loro Parque the show times set the rhythm, and it's best to plan your route around them. Neither is better, but they tire you out in different ways.
By your children's ages
At both parks, children under 3 go free and children aged 3 to 11 pay the child rate. So far, a draw.
The difference is in what they can do once inside. At Siam Park some rides have a minimum height, and they're exactly the ones that made the park famous. If your children are small, they will spend a good part of the day in the calm areas, watching others drop down the Tower of Power. At Loro Parque, a four-year-old enjoys the shows just as much as an adult.
With babies and children under 5
Loro Parque. Everything inside is within their reach, nobody needs to be able to swim and the shows are made to be watched sitting down.
With kids who already swim on their own
Siam Park. Once they can get around in the water by themselves, it will probably be the day they remember most from the whole trip: the big slides and the wave are exactly what they're after at that age.
With teenagers
Siam Park, no question. A teenager struggles with a full day of scheduled shows, whereas at a water park they can do their own thing.
With siblings of very different ages
This is the tricky one: a 3-year-old and a 10-year-old want opposite things. If you have a week, the best option is to do both, each on its own day. If there's only room for one, Loro usually comes out ahead, because the older one enjoys the shows and the little one isn't left watching everyone else go down the slides.
By where you're staying
This matters more than it seems. If you're staying in the south (Costa Adeje, Las Américas, Los Cristianos), Siam Park is right next door and you can go on your own. From El Médano, Golf del Sur or Ten-Bel there's a bus on Mondays only, at 09:00.
Loro, on the other hand, is in the north, so from the south it's a full-day trip. That's why we sell it with the transfer included. The transfer doesn't run every day from every area:
- El Médano and Costa del Silencio: Tuesdays.
- Golf del Sur: Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- From Playa Paraíso to Los Gigantes: Mondays and Wednesdays.
Before you decide, check which day the bus picks up in your area. If you already had plans for that day, the choice gets harder.
If you're staying in the north, it works the other way round: Loro is right there in Puerto de la Cruz and Siam becomes the long trip. In that case, if you're only doing one, Loro wins on convenience.
What each one costs
- Siam Park: €44 per adult and €32 per child aged 3 to 11. With the Monday bus from El Médano, Golf del Sur or Ten-Bel, €48 and €33.50.
- Loro Parque with transfer from the south: €65 per adult and €49 per child aged 3 to 11.
Neither includes food or drinks. At Siam Park, sun loungers and parasols are also extra: if you're going as a family, factor that into the day's budget. Souvenirs aren't included either, and with kids they tend to end up on the bill.
An example with numbers
A family of two adults and two children aged 3 to 11, staying in Costa Adeje and going to Siam Park on their own, pays €152 in tickets (2 × €44 + 2 × €32). The same family, staying in Golf del Sur and going to Loro with the transfer, pays €228 (2 × €65 + 2 × €49), but with the return journey taken care of. Food, in both cases, is extra.
What if we want to do both?
That's what the Twin Ticket is for: it combines the two tickets for €78 per adult and €57 per child. If you also need the bus to Loro from the south, the version with transfer costs €99 and €74.
The maths, with the prices in our catalogue: buying Siam Park (€44) and Loro with transfer (€65) separately comes to €109 per adult. The Twin Ticket with bus is €99. You save €10 per adult and €7 per child, and you only book once. For the family of four in the example, that's €34 less.
One thing, though: don't put them on consecutive days. They're two long days, and with kids you feel the second one. What works best is one early in the week and the other towards the end, with beach days or short trips in between.
How to make the most of the day
- Go on a weekday and arrive at opening time. The big rides at Siam fill up by mid-morning, and the first hour is when you get the most done.
- At Loro, check the show times as you walk in and plan your route around them. That's how you avoid missing the dolphins because you were at the other end of the park.
- Don't leave it for your last day. If the weather turns or someone gets ill, you'll want some leeway to move it.
- At Siam, sun cream and something for your feet. You spend the whole day in the sun, barefoot on hot ground.
- At Loro, comfortable shoes. There's far more walking between one show and the next than you would think.
If they still want more animals or more water
If Loro left you wanting more and the kids want to see animals in the wild, whale watching from Los Gigantes is the next step: the pilot whales live there all year round, and babies aged 0 to 1 go free. And if what they loved about Siam was the water, from age 6 they can do kayaking and snorkelling in Los Cristianos, looking for turtles. We cover it all, age by age, in Tenerife excursions with kids.
Questions we get asked a lot
Do children under 3 pay?
No. They go free at both parks. Children aged 3 to 11 pay the child rate.
Can we bring our own food?
Food and drinks aren't included at either park. What each park allows at the entrance we confirm when you book, because those are their rules and they can change.
Is there a transfer to Siam Park from everywhere in the south?
The bus we sell runs on Mondays at 09:00 from El Médano, Golf del Sur and Ten-Bel. If you're staying in Costa Adeje, Las Américas or Los Cristianos, the park is close by and you won't need it.
Which day is best to go?
A weekday, arriving at opening time. For Loro, the day also depends on where you're staying, because the transfer picks up on set days.
Tell us how old your children are, where you're staying and which days you have free, and we'll tell you which park fits best and on which day.
