Tenerife Uncovered

How much spending money will I need?
This will of course depend on what you want to do and how expensive your tastes are etc. At the end of summer 2005 members took part in a small survey to establish how much money they spent PER WEEK, on holiday in Tenerife. The majority were in one of the following ranges, approximately one third spent £200-£300 (€280-€420) and the other third £300-£400 (€420-€560) That's an average sample, some would have gone on excursions and done a lot of shopping etc, some wouldn't. It is easily possible to get by on less and enjoy a good night out every night and you can just as easily spend much more than £400 in a week and some do.

Where are the bars and clubs?
Most visitors to this site go on holiday to Playa de las Americas. While it's in no way the be all and end all, most people will agree the centre of town for bars and nightlife is the area known as Veronicas and Starco but there are countless good bars all over the resort as well as other 'centres' like the Patch. Veronicas is a 200metre long strip of road on which there are four buildings, Veronica 1,2,3,4 and there is a fifth building at the far end too, packed with bars on basement, ground and first floor level. Across the road, at one end of Veronicas is C.C. Starco, this commercial centre or block is also full of bars and take aways. This very compact centre makes moving from bar to bar very easy and keeps everyone close together instead of being spread out all over the place when going from one bar to the next. Take a look at our bar map for a rough idea of which bars are where. Click HERE for the map.
The legal age for entry into bars, in Tenerife, is 18. This is not strictly enforced. The latest bars close at 6am and since there is only a handful of them like Tramps, Rags, Bobbys, Busbies people crowd to them. None of the central bars/clubs charge for entry.

What are the best bars?
Ask this to 10 different people and you will get 10 different answers! Its all down to a matter of taste and what you prefer. Tenerife has a variety of bars suiting all tastes across most of the resorts, our best advice would be to try the ones you like the look of and if you dont like them don't go there again. You can find reviews of the main bars in our 'Nightlife Guide' on the man site navigation.

What are the drink prices like?
Just like most places in the UK, bar prices in the city/town centre are the most expensive. This applies to Playa de las Americas too.
Prices vary anywhere between €3 and €7 (sometimes more) for the same drink at different bars, that maybe right next door to each other. There can be seasonal variations in price too.
PR's will invite you into the bar they work for and will give you some kind of drink offer, two for one being the usual. While letting a PR take you into a bar is a great way to make your money go further be aware that, two for one, doesn't always mean the drinks are half the normal bar price. eg. At the bar a drink may be €4, when the PR takes you in with a two for one offer you may find you pay €5.

What about eating out?
The resort towns have a huge selection of restaurants, café bars and take aways to suit just about every taste and budget. Familiar fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, and Subway are present too. In the day time there seems to be strong competition amongst cafés doing English breakfasts which can be had from around €4. An evening meal is much harder to pin a typical price on, because there are so many options and choices. Most people will probably find €20 to be plenty but depending on what you have and where you go you could easily pay more or less.
If you want to eat in, which is a good way to make your money go that bit further, the resort supermarkets have all the basics you'll need. You may not always see the brand name products you will be familiar with and if you do, expect to pay more for them. Within the resort of Playa de las Americas the Mercadona supermarket at San Eugenio shopping centre is widely regarded as the biggest and cheapest in town.

What will the weather be like?
We would like to be able to totally predict the weather as much as anyone else, luckily the south of Tenerife can be depended on for pleasantly warm to blazing hot weather virtually all year round. Day time temperatures are typically 20C - 30C depending on the time of year. We're not saying it won't get cool or rain at some point though!
For a summery take a look at our main weather page by clicking here. There you will see a link to the very good Weather Underground which gives very comprehensive weather information. You can safely add at least two or three degrees to the temperatures given for real world temperatures in the southern resort towns. If you look at other sources for Tenerife's weather be aware that there can be significant differences in weather between the north and south of the island, the south generally being warmer and drier. We say this because the capitol, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, is in the north of the island and you may find it is the weather there being quoted for Tenerife as a whole.

What can i expect from the taxis?
Playa de las Americas is a big town, over three miles along the coast. Especially when heading out for the night and home afterwards you might want to use a taxi. Taxis are very plentiful and can be either flagged down or you can wait at the many ranks dotted about, if you want to be really different you can even phone but there are so many driving about you should rarely need to. They are easy to spot, most being white Mercedes or other large white cars. The taxi fares can be a cause for complaint. It's been said that you can make the same journey every night of a two week holiday and never pay the same fare twice. Despite that the fares are not particularly expensive. Upto €6 - €7 should get you to most places in and around Playa de las Americas and €17 - €22 is a typical fare from TFS airport to various parts of Playa de las Americas. A full taxi Price list can be found HERE.

Is there cockroaches in Tenerife?
Cockroaches are a natural part of Tenerife's wildlife but an unwelcome one in our apartments. While it is likely that you can spend your entire stay on the island without seeing a single one it also remains possible that you may find one or two in your apartment. You're most likely to find them when you return after a night out. As ugly as they are don't freak out, just kick them out, with a shoe or magazine etc. Insecticide sprays are available from the shops, if you feel you need them. Most importantly keep the apartment clean and clean up properly, don't leave food or crumbs around otherwise you might as well just invite the cockroaches in.
Mosquito's aren't much of a problem in the southern resorts.

Can I get duty free when in Tenerife?
From the UK customs website;

When travelling from a non-EU country (including the Canary Islands, the Channel islands and Gibraltar) you can bring the following into the UK for your own use without paying UK tax or duty:

* 200 cigarettes; or 100 cigarillos; or 50 cigars; or 250g of tobacco
* 60cc of perfume
* 2 litres of still table wine
* 250cc of eau de toilette
* 1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22 per cent volume; or 2 litres of fortified wine*, sparkling wine or other liqueurs *such as port or sherry and
* £145 worth of all other goods including gifts and souvenirs.

The limits are the same for Ireland but the monetary value of other goods and gifts is €175.

How can I save money in Tenerife?
There's a few ways in which you can save a lot of money while out and about in Tenerife. Firstly, buy a Green Banana Card/Guide. This gets you discounted prices at a wide variety of bars and restaurants etc. The cumulative savings over a week or two's holiday can be significant. Click here for more information on the Green Banana Guide.

Another great way to save some money is to take the extra time to buy your excursions from a reputable independent company. While your holiday rep will no doubt be a more convenient place to buy your excursions from, there are big savings to be had if you take the time to hunt out the best deals elsewhere. To help you on your way we've also teamed up with Tenerife Sunshine Excursions to get you 10% off all their listed excursions! Simply visit one of their offices and mention Tenerife Uncovered to get your discount. For more info see the 'Save Money in Tenerife' section.