SHOPPING 

Day Markets Torviscas, Los Cristianos, Alcala, Garachico.

African Market (Santa Cruz) The famous Mercado Nuestra Senora de Africa is a dazzling bazaar of over 300 stalls selling fresh local produce. A short walk from bus station, look out for pink clock tower, get there as early as possible for the best of the fruits and veg. On Sundays surrounding the African Market you will find EL RASTRO FLEA MARKET look out for some high quality leather, hardware and crafts at bargain prices.

Tenerife Pearl (Armenime, south Tenerife) At Armenime in the south, Tenerife's Palace of Pearls, where thousands of square feet are devoted to pearls and pearl jewellery. Open 7 days a week. 09.00 till late. Free entrance,

House of Wines Casa del Vi�o, El Sauzal, Exit 21 Autopista del Norte. Housed in traditional country house in north of Tenerife. Lovingly restored this is a museum and visitors centre. Sample excellent quality wines of Tenerife. Authentic cuisine and impeccably run restaurant. Museum hours Tues - Sat. 11.00 - 20.00 Sundays 11.00 - 18.00 - Restaurant hours Tues - Sat. 13.00 - 23.30 Bar hours 11.00 - 23.30

Duty Free Tenerife is not strictly in Europe so your home country's limits apply. e.g., for an EEC country Tobacco - either 200 cigarettes, 250 gm tobacco, 50 cigars or 100 cigarillos. ALCOHOL - 1 litre. spirits or liqueurs over 38% proof OR 2 litres of fortified wine. (sherry, vermouth etc), plus 2 litres of still table wine &50 litres of beer. PERFUME - 50 grams perfume or 250 cc/ml toilet water. GIFTS - 32 pounds sterling of gifts per person traveling and 25 lighters per person.

Money - Banks Currency in Tenerife is the Spanish Peseta. (abbreviated pts or pts) Banks, pts cheques Spanish Peseta. Take Travellers cheques in your own currency - If you take Pesetas Travellers cheques, then expect to pay commission (at banks and Exchange Bureau's), between 600 and 1000 PTAs per transaction. Our advice is to take travellers cheques in your own currency as most Exchange Bureau's do not charge on foreign currency cheques or cash . Peseta banknotes come in denominations of 10,000 pts, 5000 pts, 2000 pts, 1000 pts. Coins of 500 - 200 - 100 - 50 - 25 - 10 - 5. You can use credit cards to withdraw PTAs via cash machines, if of course, you have remembered your PIN number. Personal cheques and Direct Debit Cards (Switch etc) are not accepted in Tenerife as neither can be 'cleared' in Spain. EuroCheques can be used, with a 25,000 pts limit per cheque. Transfers from another country to a Tenerife Bank will usually take a week, yes, even if it is a wire transfer. If you are in Tenerife and need emergency money, you can try contacting the nearest Western Union branch or agent. You can then arrange someone to put the funds in a remote bank, and collect locally within hours.

Supermarkets such as Mercadonna (Playa Americas), Trebol (Los Cristianos), Al Campo and Continente (Santa Cruz) are considerably cheaper that the smaller local shops.
Extra Beds, TV, Video players can be hired from The Laundry, San Marino, Los Cristianos
Clothes in Tenerife tend to be very casual and often cheaper than your home country

Loss and Theft guide If you loose or have stolen any bags, expensive items or especially your passport you MUST first report this to the police. They will issue you with a 'denuncia' to show you have reported its loss. You then take the 'Denuncia' to your consulate in Santa Cruz. They will issue you with a temporary passport, which will allow you to leave Tenerife and travel home. Note that when making a claim, Insurance companies usually demand a Denuncia as proof that the items were lost or stolen and then reported. If your passport expires in Tenerife, you can renew from Tenerife.

Swindled If while you are visiting here and you find you have been grossly overcharged or deliberately cheated, you can go to the police and make a complaint. All shops must have on the premises a book called the 'Ojos de Reclamaciones' (ohoss deh rekla-massee-owe-nez) which you can ask for to record your complaint. You need to write in details of your complaint, fill in your personal details ie: Passport Number, Holiday and Home Address and then sign it. You take the top copy and send it to the inspectors address on the top of the form. The inspectors will investigate your complaint inform you of the outcome. This is a very serious situation for a shop owner, so do not take this course of action lightly. If the shop or business say they do not have any Ojos de reclamaciones you can go to the Consumer Protection Office, Tourist Authorities, or if a serious offence the police, and they will take matters up for you. Usually the threat will open a way to a solution. Whenever you have a problem in Tenerife which relates to tourism matters you should contact the police or Spanish Tourist Office.