Accommodation
Tenerife offers visitors a wide choice of hotels and apartments to suit all
tastes and budgets. The leading trade organisation on the island, which
represents the majority of these establishments, is the
Hotelier and Nonhotelier Association of Tenerife, La Palma,
La Gomera and El Hierro, which is thankfully abbreviated to ASHOTEL.
As with any holiday, it is certainly worth while checking the location of your
chosen accommodation before booking, which hopefully the resort map pages of
this site should be helpful. If your chosen accommodation is towards the rear of
a resort, it may also be worth checking if they provide a courtesy bus service
into the town centre.
Airport Transfers
Most UK tour operators now consider the transfer from the airport to your resort
accommodation to be an "optional extra", and will charge anything up to £20 per
person for the service. There is always a multitude of taxis waiting outside of
the arrivals hall of both the Reina Sofia and Los Rodeos airports, and although
in theory at least these taxis do all operate on a fixed price basis, this
"fixed price" can, and often does, vary slightly depending upon the number of
suitcases, the time of day or night of the journey, and of course the number of
passengers carried. It's also worthwhile mentioning that as a rule, taxis do not
normally carry child seats, so very small children will have to sit on their
parents knees for the journey. If this is a cause for concern, we strongly
recommend that you make arrangements for a
pre-booked taxi
to be waiting for you, and clearly specify at the time of booking that a child
seat is needed for the journey. Pre-booked taxis are often a little more
expensive, although as with all things in life, you only get what you pay for.
Banks
Most banks are open from 9am to 2pm Monday to Friday. Always remember when
exchanging any form of money to take along your passport, check the exchange
rate before dealing, and collect a receipt before leaving the premises. For
those who feel nervous about carrying large sums of money and their passport
around together, most hotels will also gladly exchange money at perhaps a
slightly lower rate. Most banks also have hole in the wall type cash machines
where you can withdraw money using either your credit or debit card. Don't
forget that the official currency of Spain is now the Euro.
Bars
There is a wide variety of bars throughout all resorts, most of which either
offer live music, karaoke, Sky Sports, or videos of films not yet released in UK
cinemas.
Buses
A very reliable bus service is operated by the
Transportes Interurbanos de Tenerife
throughout all of island.
Chemist
You can always spot a chemist shop by the green cross they all display. Outside
of normal opening hours, a notice on the door will always give the address of
the nearest duty chemist.
Disabled Access and Facilities
It's fair to say that not all hotels and apartments on the island are able to
offer full disabled access to their facilities.
Access Travel
are a UK based organisation who specialise in holidays for those people using
wheelchairs, and who include a number of suitable hotels and apartments on the
island in their brochures. For independent travellers who are looking to hire a
mobility scooter in the south of the island, we recommend the services of Jeremy
Mills at Orange Badge. Contact details are:
Orange Badge
Edificio Arco Iris
Cristian Sur No 9
Avenida Penetracion
Los Cristianos
38650
Arona
Tenerife
Tel: +34 922 797 355
Web site:
www.orangebadge.eu
Email:
info@orangebadge.eu
Electricity
The voltage in Tenerife is 220 volt. Most British items will work with the
correct adapter from the UK standard 3 pin to European 2 pin socket.
Euro
The Euro is the name of the common currency of the 12 countries forming the
European Monetary Union. Since January 1999 Spain has been a member, and the UK
has opted out at this time. Euro notes are issued in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and
500 denominations and are identical in all member countries of the EMU. The
designs symbolise European architectural heritage but not royal or national
monuments. The coins are issued as 1, 2 and 5 cents and are copper in colour,
10, 20 and 50 cents yellow in colour and finally 1 and 2 Euros white and yellow
in colour. Although all the coins have a common European face, each member state
is allowed to stamp their own motif on the reverse face.
European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
The European Health Insurance Card, which is often abbreviated to EHIC, replaced
the old E111 Form on 31 December 2005, and entitles British citizens to reduced
cost, or sometimes free, medical treatment that becomes necessary while you’re
in a European Economic Area country or Switzerland.
The EHIC is normally valid for three to five years and covers any medical
treatment that becomes necessary during your trip, because of either illness or
an accident. The card gives access to state-provided medical treatment only, and
you'll be treated on the same basis as an 'insured' person living in the country
you're visiting. Remember, this might not cover all the things you'd expect to
get free of charge from the NHS in the UK and you may have to make a
contribution to the cost of your care.
Although the EHIC also covers any treatment you need for a chronic disease or
pre-existing illness, it won't however cover you if getting medical treatment is
the main purpose of your trip.
If prior to 31 December 2005 you ticked the relevant box on the E111 application
form, an EHIC would have been automatically sent to you during January 2006,
however, for new applications they are also available from the
Department of Health web site,
by calling the EHIC Applications Line on 0845 606 2030, or alternatively by
completing an EHIC application pack from any local Post Office branch.
Food
Restaurants in Tenerife cater for a wide range of tastes. In the larger resorts
you can get anything from a traditional English breakfast to a Chinese take
away. Traditional local cuisine makes full use of the islands home grown
produce, pork, fish and vegetable dishes are very popular, flavoured with
garlic, tomato and herbs.
Getting Married in Tenerife
Getting married in Tenerife can be extremely complicated. In very simple terms,
if one of the partners has lived legally in either Tenerife or Spain for at
least two years, then the civil marriage can be carried out at the local town
hall, followed by a religious ceremony in church or other approved location if
required. However, if neither of the partners fulfil the above residence
requirements, then the civil marriage will have to take place in their country
of residency, followed by a religious ceremony in church. In practical terms for
UK citizens, this usually means a civil marriage taking place in the local
registry office in the UK, which can then be followed by the religious ceremony
on Tenerife. For further information on marriage in Tenerife our recommended
point of contact is:
Tenerife Celebrants
Web site:
www.tenerifecelebrants.com
Email:
info@tenerifecelebrants.com
Golf
Tenerife is famed for its excellent golf courses, offering visitors a choice of
five championship level courses that are open to the general public, all of
which pose a variety of different challenges, and have some spectacular sea
views. Probably the best known is of these is the course at Golf del Sur, as it
has hosted rounds of the European PGA Tour, although certainly worth a mention
are the stunning Costa Adeje and Las Americas courses and the new Buenavista
Golf Course situated on the north west coast. The other highly recommended
course is the 9 hole - par three Golf Los Palos. This beautiful and challenging
short course is ideal for beginners or for those wishing to perfect the short
game. Clubs, trolleys etc can be hired at most courses, and whilst shorts are
permitted, beachwear is generally frowned upon.
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This website was launched on 1 May 2002
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