First time abroad - how much spending money for 1 week in tenerife?

lynne1985

Hi im wondering if anyone can help me by giving me a rough idea how much spending money i will need, me and my partner are going to Tenerife at the end of august it will be my first time going abroad, hotel is half board. we are taking our own spending money but im not quite sure how much i will need? we are going for the week, and wont be doing anything out of the ordianry lol any guides as to how much daily people think i would need is appreciated
Thanks
Lynne

humancoin

How long is a piece of string!! Really, it all depends what you are planning doing? If its half board then you will be eating at the hotel most of the time? Are you just going to be at the beach the rest of the time, or planning going to water parks... etc! At nights are you going to go out to bars or clubs...!?! How much to bring completely depends on what you plan to do. Either way, take too much rather than too little. If you have a credit or debit card you can use that over there, so you won't be stuck.

lynne1985

is there certain bank cards than you can use abroad? or can you use any? i wont be going out clubbing maybe once in the whole week and i wont be drinking much either, jus enjoying the beach, swimming pool etc. I know its a hard one to answer but as i dont know prices or what there is to do in tenerife etc i thought maybe someone would be able to give me an insight as to how much money the took to tenerife and what they spent it on etc.

Dr.Lou

If you use the Nationwide Flexaccount card you don't get charged for its use.

Where are you staying; last year we stayed between Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos and there are plenty of cash machines to use in these areas.

Last year (from my memory) we spent about £300 - £400 for 2 adults.

This covered: Lunch and Evening Meals (in various restaurants and cafes, ranging from a quick sandwich to a 3 course with wine)
Taxi transfers between the hotel and airport each way
Entry to the aqua park
2 hour cruise whale watching
Trip to Mount Teide and other parts of the Island
Drinks/ cocktails out some evenings
Snacks and bottles of water/drinks from the Supermarket
Walked mostly everywhere so saved on taxis etc.
Stayed B&B so your food costs are going to be cheaper than mine.

GlennTheBaker

My parents have an apartment in Los Cristianos so I've been there a number of times. There is a wide selection of restaurants, cafes and bars and it is possible to eat well yet cheaply. As with anywhere, places that are obviously tourist traps tend to be more expensive, with smaller backstreet ones less so.

I haven't been for about 4 years so cannot remember how much spending money I've taken there - sorry.

lynne1985

thanks for the replys my partner said to take about £500 each but i thought that was a bit much, so ill take about £350 and take a back up card with me just incase, we are staying at hotel sol tenerife can anyone recommend anything worthwhile doing while over there? I like a variety of things so any recommendations are appreciated
Thanks Lynne

Kitikat

We take about £100 a day for a family of four s/c but we also take our credit cards for any trips or for 'just in case' but we rarely need much more than the £100 a day. We do drink but don't smoke and we always have our evening meal out.

GlennTheBaker

Taking a boat trip to see the whales and dolphins is really nice. There was a choice of a 1, 2 or 3 hour trip. The bloke at the kiosk recommended the 2 hour one and it was bang on. We even got a plate full of paella! There's also zoos, water parks, go-karting and you can go on a trip up Teide, the volcano in the middle of the island - whatever takes your fancy really.

I had a restaurant recommended to me by a friend who lives out there. It is called Los Angeles and is in a small village in the hills called Cabo Blanco. It is frankly superb - the service, the food and the atmosphere were all perfect. There is a web page here with the address and phone number. I would advise to call and make a reservation. The owner speaks perfect English and is an absolute gent.

If you're not hiring a car, just get a cab up there and the owner will call you one to get you home again.

BTW, if you do go, don't be put off by the rather 'ordinary' exterior!

lynne1985

The boat trip sounds good enjoyable, sounds like theres quite a lot of things to keep us busy, the restraunt looks lovely hopefully we manage a trip to it
Thanks very much, yous have been most helpful
Lynne

black-saturn

When going on holiday I usually allow for £50 per person per day. If I spend less than that it goes back in the bank towards my next holiday.

Dr.Lou

Would very much recommend the trip to Mount Teide. It is nice to get away from the tourist resorts and see the rest of the Island which is really beautiful compared to the resorts. Your hotel should have a desk or a room where you can book these type of trips. Again the whale watching cruises were really enjoyable.

The location of Sol Tenerife Hotel (my friends stayed there last year and liked it) is in the centre of Playa de las Americas, right next to a strip of bars called Veronicas. Outside all the bars are touts giving out leaflets for deals on drinks. They can be quite annoying and drag you into 'their' bars. I didn't really enjoy the bars along there although depending on your age you may like it.

If you exit your hotel and head toward the path along the beach. If you turn left you will be heading toward Los Cristianos (< 2miles), which is a little harbourside resort which is quieter than Las Americas although quite busy with little restaurants and bars. To the left is Costa Adeje which is also quiet.

The Aqua park is quite fun and there is usually a bus leaving from the main hotels fairly early in the morning. Although a taxi up there is not too expensive and it is not too far to walk really. I think it is aprox £10 pp.

I really liked a place called Harrys Bar http://www.tenerife.com/en/harrys.asp, which sell really nice cocktails and quiter than the bars in Veronicas. It is opposite a hotel called the Mare Nostrum resort (with pyramids) a short way from the beach path (Approx 1/2 way between Los Cristianos and Las Americas. Outside there is a fountain which dances and changes colour at approx 8-9pm (check out the times I am not 100% sure)

In Tenerife nearly everyone speaks English, so there is nothing to worry about in that department. Food is also to British tastes, but be sure to try the local food too. Papas arragudas (salty wrinkly potatoes) and Mojo sauce is good.

Beware of Time Share Scams and the like, there are loads about, usually give you a scratch card and you win a big prize;- do not touch with a bargepole.

There is a sunday market next to the Hotel Arona Gran, at the far end of Los Cristianos (9am-2pm)

Hope you find this useful and enjoy your hols.