Villarenters - 2011

Villarenters - 2011

Cheap Return Flight from Gatwick

I have just found a cheap return from Gatwick to Tenerife.  Airflights.co.uk has a return flight 22nd Nov 2009 returning on 5th Dec for just £73!!! There needs to be 2 of you for this price. I live near Doncaster and it costs me more than that to travel to London on the train if I want to get in before 9am. If you booked our apartment on the Sandclub, in Golf Del Sur it would be a 13 night night holiday for just £117 per person per week for a couple. Who says it is cheaper to holiday at home. Tell me where you can get sunshine and average temperatures in the 70's  in the UK in November!!  And get a self catering apartment near the sea and a golf course for this price.

Aqua Land

Whilst we were last over there we took the nieces to Aqua Land the first water park on the island. Although somewhat over shadowed by the newly built Siam Park - Aqua Land is still worth a visit. Now in these money tightening times - there are a few tips I will share with you. 

Firstly, you do not have to pay the full price for your party. There are various offers available. Such as the 15% off voucher you can print from the website.  Or when you arrive at the airport you will get a voucher giving you one free child admission per 2 adults, get one and keep it. If you are a party of 2 adults with 1 or 2 kids this latter voucher saves you slightly more. I will let you do the maths. Adults are 24.50 euros each whilst the children are 17 euros. Another tip is to bring your own food and drink - 5 euros for a coke is no joke, when a 2 litre bottle is only 1.55 from the supermarket. You can keep everything in a large locker which you can hire. Ignore the sign about the doughnuts that can be hired, they are free on the rides/slides where you have to use them. Also avoid the underwater viewing area for the Dolphins - it is a rip off - not much to see unless you count the attempted buggery by one dolphin with another. They were not mating as I found out later they were all males!!

The Dolphin show is free and you may be lucky - by getting there early and have a front row seat in the middle of the seating, you might get picked to be towed or pushed by the dolphins. see the picture above.   

Overall Aqua Land is not as new or exciting as Siam Park and is showing it's age, but it has some differences to Siam Park. It is cheaper as a day out than Siam Park. It has an excellent Dolphin show which is included in the price. 

And it has a slide far scarier than the Tower of Terror at Siam Park - the Boomerang. On the ground it does not look anything scary till you get to the top and look down! It looks like a straight drop. We saw quite a few  people turning around and coming back down. However, take a deep breath and push off you will be glad you did, the adrenalin rush is addictive, I went back twice.

The Pretenders are coming to Tenerife

Hot on the heels of Rod Stewart this month, Colin Kirby has announced in his Blog that the 80's group The Pretenders are coming to Tenerife on Monday 6 July the Santa Cruz Auditorium . However when I checked the Auditorium's web site they have not published their July events - so keep an eye out on the what's on section.

Siam Park

Last week I was over in Tenerife last week staying in our apartment on the Sand Club Golf Del Sur. Normally it is just myself and the wife, however this time we took our 2 young nieces.  They have been looking forward to coming back ever since we told them after Christmas that they would be coming with us - we flew from Doncaster via Flythomson. One of the place the wanted to visit was Siam Park - Europe's biggest water park and voted Europe's number one theme park by the Irish Indepedent. Having seen the website and seeing videos on UTube they were desperate to go.

All week we kept saying we need a good sunny day, in fact we had it all week. However, we left it till last. Their verdict - AWESOME - the best day they have ever had on holiday!!

Mind you it is not cheap - 28 euros for adults and 18 euros for kids up to 11. Tip - we were cheeky - the eldest niece was 13 and we still asked for 2 children and only got charged for 2 children - so saved 10 euros!

Whilst I am in the money saving advice mode - you can bring in your own food and drink.  So we packed up a cooler bag full of cola and brought our own sandwiches and crisps etc. This may sound tight but the price of food and drink (this is just soft drinks) made my eyes water. I had already only 8 euros change from a 100 Euro note out of the admission.   You can hire lockers - but we found 1 large one sufficient to keep the food clothes and towels in. You can hire towels at 3 euros a towel but bring your own - we saw quite a few hotel towels being used.

Another tip - there are plenty of sun loungers around the place - but you need to get there before 11 am or most will have gone by the placing of a towel on them. Yes the park is visited by the Germans, though it does not take long for the Brits to learn and copy. The loungers are in good sun traps - great for relaxing between bouts of water fun.  If you get there early if you are coming by car you can find an on street parking place otherwise  it is 3 euros  for the car park.

Our nieces - Grace and Abbi - are not tots but if you have them there is a great place for them - the Lost City.

The wife does not like getting her head under water, as a Scuba Instructor over the years I have tried, but she was well catered for with the Mai Thai River where you just sit on a float and drift around the complex. Make sure you have plenty of sun screen on as it is a great way to get or top up your tan. Topside only though!

Another tip leave your sunglasses, watches etc in the locker as most of the slides will not let you wear them for safety reasons. I saw a small pile of watches, glasses and caps at the top of the Tower of Terror waiting for their owners to climb all the way up just to climb all the way back down again. Although clearly signed  people must think they are there to keep the officials happy - no way the safety rules are taken seriously and strictly enforced. Spain is slowly catching up on this front. Just hope they do not go OTT - but that is another storey. 

For the nieces it was a close thing between the Volcano and the Dragon - with the Volcano just tipping  the ranking as the best. 

I am not going to reproduce their web site - just click on the link in the Title or here   to find out more.

We did n't do the the artificial beach or waves as you can get that on the beach at Vista Sur between Los Christianos & Las Americas.

Overall a great day was had by all. If you have to choose between Siam Park and the Aqua Park I say choose Siam Park it is worth paying that bit extra for as the slides are in a different league.

Cheap flight to Tenerife

Came across this today - Flythomson are doing a flight out to Tenerife from Manchester Airport to Tenerife South on 29th April for £39.48!!

New web site - Sandclub Apartments

I have just created a new web site for our apartment on the Sand Club Tenerife. It's URL is www.sandclubapartments.net and compliments www.sandclubapartments.com . Both are designed for advertising the privately owned apartments of the complex. If you are an owner who rents out their apartment and want your apartment to be advertised, you can contact us via leaving a comment with your contact details. As the comments are moderated before publishing your contact details will not be published.

Easyjet ups the ante

A couple of years ago British Airways sold their low cost budget arm GB Airways to Easyjet. GB Airways flew daily to Southern Tenerife (TFS) daily from Manchester and were serious competition to the likes of Monarch Airlines. At the time I doubted whether Easyjet would remain committed to the route as it did not fit in with their business model. They like short routes with quick turnaround times, so they can get 3 to 4 return flights per plane per day at airports with low landing fees (Manchester and Tenerife South are not cheap!). This tends to limit them to routes of about 2 hours flying time. Tenerife is about 4 hours so at best you will get 2 flights per day. However, to my surprise they have stuck to the route. Last week they announced they were expanding their operations at Manchester airport and increasing their flights to Tenerife. I am glad someone has faith in the Island as a holiday destination and it is good news unless you are the competition. Although, like everyone else I do not like to be wrong - on this occasion I am glad.

Top 20 stupid questions asked by tourists

Last week the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and Thomas Cook published a list of the top most 20 stupid questions asked by tourists and in case you missed them here they are. The nationality of the questioner is not revealed but you can make an educated guess with most of them.

"Are there any lakes in the Lake District?"

"In what month is the May Day demonstration?"

"What is the entry fee for Brighton?"

"Why on earth did they build Windsor Castle on the flight path of Heathrow?"

"Is this where Sharon and Ozzie actually live?"
Asked a visitor to Osborne House, Isle of Wight

"Is Wales closed during the winter?"

"Can you tell me who performs at the circus in Piccadilly?"

"Why did they build so many ruined castles and abbeys in England?"
Asked a tourist at Whitby Abbey, North Yorkshire

"What time do you switch the mist off?"
Asked a visitor to Dover Castle and the Secret Wartime Tunnels, in Kent

"Do you have any information on (former Page 3 girl) Samantha Fox?"

"Which bus do I get from the Orkney Islands to the Shetland Islands?"

"What time of night does the Loch Ness monster surface and who feeds it?"

"Is Edinburgh in Glasgow?"

"Can I wear high heels in Australia?"

"Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round?"

"I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks?"

"Which direction is North in Australia?"

"Was this man-made?"
Asked a tourist at the Grand Canyon National Park

"How much of the caves is underground?"
Asked a tourist at the Carlsbad Caverns National Park

"Do you know of any undiscovered ruins?"
Asked a tourist at the Mesa Verde National Park

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A very cheap holiday

I know this a bit of self publicity, but I am on the subscriber list for flythomson. Today, I get an email about cheap flights from our local airport Robin Hood Doncaster/Sheffield. Flythomson are doing an amazing deal for 17th to 24th April - £138 return including taxes. Combine this with the price of our apartment for the week (www.tenerife-holidays.biz) and if 4 of you share that's £188 each for a week in the sun! How about that for credit crunch buster!!

We have flown with flythomson before and the extra 4 inches of leg room they give makes a big difference.

Our site also has links to other apartments & villas on Tenerife as well links to insurance and carhire

Los Christianos Carnival - timetable

For those who cannot be bothered to get a translation I have done it for you. Although Santa Cruz has finished there is still Los Christianos. The Carnival runs from 6th to 16th March 2009.

Enjoy Tenerife Carnival its the third largest in the world.




Friday 6th.
20.00. Nomination of the Queen of Carnival 2009 in the centre (the old town) in Los Cristianos.
Saturday 7th.
19:00. Cabalgata Avenida Rafael Puig in Playa de las Americas, from Avenida Francisco Andrade Fumero (the entrance to the Hotel Conquistador) to CC Gala. At the end of big batucada all participating groups. (Sorry this does not translate well)
Thursday 12th.
20:30 Gala for choosing the Children's Carnival Queen 2009 at the fair opposite the Valdés Centre. Friday 13th.
18:30. Dance Carnival of the 3rd age (Senior Citizens) in the centre (Old Town) of Los Cristianos. 21.00. Grand Gala the selection of the Queen of Carnival 2009 at the fair opposite the Valdés Centre.
Saturday 14th.
19:00. Carnival Parade 23:00. Dancing with the Orchestra of the Carnival - Sensation Gomera, in the fairground (in front of the Valdés centre).
Sunday 15th.
17:00. Gran Coso Apoteósico Carnival 2009, the parade from Aptos. Paloma Beach, along the Avenida Juan Carlos I, to the fairground. At the end of the arena: Dance with the Carnival's Orchestra - Wamampy in front of the Valdés Center.
Monday 16th.
20.00. Burial of the Sardine, starting from the cultural center to the Playa (Beach) at Los Cristianos. For more information telephone Arona Town Hall on 922 761 600.

The Los Cristianos Carnival

For some reason this year the carnival in Los Cristianos is a week later than normal. It is usually the second Sunday after Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day for you heathens! However, this year it's all happening a week later, with the main parade 19 days after Shrove Tuesday.

The good news is that the format for this year will be the same as previous with the core 5 days being as follows:

Thursday 12^th March. Gala election of the Junior Carnival Queen.
Friday 13^th March Carnival Ball for the Senior Citizens and Grand Gala election of the Carnival Queen.
Saturday 14^th March. The Carnival Ball.
Sunday 15^th March around 5 pm The Main Parade
Monday 16^th March. Burial of the Sardine, followed by the Widow's Ball.

Some of the events leading up to it; such as the presentation of the candidates, opening parades, etc., which this year are happening on the weekend before the core events of carnival.

For further information check Arona town hall for the programme. You may need to use Google’s Translation services.

Its Carnival Time!!!

Whilst we celebrate lent in the UK with pancakes – the Canarians celebrate with carnival. Traditionally carnival was the day of finishing up meat (carne va or meat goes) before the period of lent so families would have a big feast and often neighbours would be invited and as usual in Tenerife it didn’t take much to turn this into a general get together and fiesta with everyone taking to the streets to celebrate. Its more fun than tossing pancakes!!!

During the run up there are carnival events somewhere on the island, but if Carnival itself isn't enough for you, this year the after party, After Carnival 2009, starts at 5 a.m. each morning at Discoteca Dreams in Santa Cruz, from Sunday, February 22nd through to Sunday, March 1st.

Following from the USA which now has its first black President and the Santa Cruz Carnival elected its first black Carnival Queen. The 18 year old Ana María Tavárez Mata, representing the newspaper El Día, with a costume entitled Embrujada (Bewitched) designed by Leo Martínez, was chosen from among the 18 candidates in an almost 3 hour long gala!!!

Feebird becomes a victim of the recession

Unfortunately, I have learned that Freebird Sailing has now become another victim of the world wide recession. They were well known in Tenerife for their Dolphin and Whale trip excursions and their commitment to helping Atlantic Whale Foundation. http://www.whalenation.org
Obviously this charity is now going to be receiving less income so if you do go on a whale watching trip when you are on the island please make a donation to this charity.
We used to include Freebird in our information booklet to our clients who booked our apartment on the island but alas no more.