As the largest of the Canaries, Tenerife’s coastline stretches out for 350km. The impressive shoreline is ideal for surfing, horse riding and, of course, sun bathing.

Tenerife Coastline, Spain by Jose Mesa

Put on your walking shoes

Further land inwards, a good pair of walking boots will come in handy as you’ll be tempted to foray into tropical-forest and volcanic lava. Almost 200 km² of the island is covered by the dramatic Teide National Park, which consists of 80% of the world’s volcanic formations. Over 37 marked walking tracks snake through rough badlands, past volcanic pipes, cones and smoothly twisted rock formations called pahoehoe and lajial lava. If you’re up for a climb, head to the northern end of Teide National Park where you’ll find the highest summit: Mount Teide. The park actually owes its name to this 3718m peak, which famously casts the biggest shadow on the sea worldwide. It’s a live volcano but don’t worry, it hasn’t erupted since 1909.

Unique species of Tenerife

Teide National Park is home to 14 plant species that don’t grow anywhere else on earth and 70 species of spiders, beetles and other invertebrates that have never been spotted anywhere else. But these rather wonderful little creatures aren’t the only endemic fauna of the island. The park also is the only home of the Canary Island Lizard, the Canary Island Wall Gecko and the Canary Island Skink.

If you’re into bird watching, keep an eye out for Blue Chaffinches, Bolle’s and Laurel Pigeons, tiny Tenerife Goldcrests, Crowned Cranes, Berthelot’s Pipits, Yellow Legged Gulls, Southern Grey Shrikes, Hoopoes and Canarian subspecies of Chiffchaffs, Blue Tits, Robins, Kestrels and Grey Wagtails as well as Atlantic Canaries.

Unexplored Guanche sites

As if this isn’t exciting enough, there also are hundreds of unmarked and unexplored archaeological sites with remains from the Guanches (the indigenous inhabitants). If you’re lucky enough to stumble upon one of these sites, admire what you see and do take lots of pictures, but please leave it exactly as you found it. Even taking just a small souvenir is plunder!

The Guanches are enveloped by mystery. All we know is that they migrated from North Africa to Tenerife sometime between 1000 BC and 100 BC and that they brought wheat, barley and domesticated animals such as dogs, goats, pigs and sheep with them.

Camels and Gorillas

The camels weren’t introduced to the island until after the Spanish Conquest, between the end of the 15th Century and the beginning of the 16th Century. But when you visit the Camel Park near Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas, you can see they’ve really taken to the island.

If the Camel Park sounds exciting to you, wait till you hear this: the largest all male troop of western lowland gorillas in the world is based in Villa Gorilla on Tenerife. The natural habitat for these gorillas consists of the rainforests of equatorial Africa, but zoo Loro Parque has managed to recreate the right environment in Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife. Gorillas tend to live in groups, but they usually emigrate from their natal troop when they grow up. When single males can’t attract enough females to form their own troop, they sometimes form an all-male troop. This is the situation that has been recreated in Villa Gorilla, the 3500 m2 area in Loro Parque that is reserved for the seven bachelor friends.

In March this year, the zoo keepers and vets of Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz left no stone unturned to celebrate the 40th birthday of the eldest statesman of the group: Schorsch. This is a very respectable age among gorillas, as only around 2 per cent of males in captivity reach this age. Schorsch, is only a couple of months older than the zoological park that he calls his home – Loro Parque will celebrate it’s 40th anniversary on 17th December 2012. If you want to escape Britain’s brass monkey weather this winter, book a flight to Tenerife for December and go ape at the zoo!

Experience this extraordinary beach destination for yourself. Prices for one way flights to Tenerife start at £51.49pp this January with Fly Thomas Cook.

The post Treasure in Tenerife: lunar landscapes and unique wildlife experiences appeared first on Europe Explored.

Benidorm, Spain by Siocaw

Change Up The Quids When You Get There

You will get a better rate in Spain than back home in the UK. However, be careful as there are many con artists who will rip you right off if you give them half a chance. A common trick many of the exchange shops pull is by advertising that they do not charge commission. On closer inspection, you will notice that written in tiny letters under the main attraction is a disclaimer which normally states that commission won’t be charged when exchanges of over 3000 euros are made’. Most people are not changing that much money in one go so you can imagine how many people get nipped this way. That is not to say all exchanges in Benidorm are like this. One of the most popular and reputable places to switch up your cash is ‘Sheila’s’. Run by a British woman, you can guarantee a fair transaction.

Stock Up On Suntan Spray

If you forget to bring this, two things are bound to happen. Firstly, you will get burnt to a crisp and look like you have holidayed under a cloud of acid rain. Secondly, the local vendors are extremely aware that holidaymakers will be hunting for sun protection lotions and will want them quickly so they can enjoy the rest of their day ‘tanning it up.’ Therefore, prices are sky high for run of the mill products. However, if you shop at home, your choices are basically unlimited. The way to go is organic. These types of creams contain no harmful ‘parabens’ and will comfort your skin whilst at the same time protecting it from harmful rays.

Benidorm, Spain by Ross Hawkes

Buy A Decent Book

Most of your time will be spent on the beach, lounging in a deck chair or chilling out in the air con room. During these relaxing moments, having a good book by your side can be a great companion. As I am sure you are aware there are plenty of bookstores and magazines outlets in the departure lounge of any international airport. Most will stock the newest and hottest releases around as well as some good old gossip magazines. ’Beni’ itself is great for second hand books. You will find many paperbacks for less than three euros in  the used book shops, so it might be worth holding on to see what you can find when you get there. One place to recommend is the ‘book swap shop’ located in the indoor market.

Don’t Forget The Adapters

How many times has it happened that you have gone to plug something in and found out that the socket is different from the connection you have at the end of your lead? As most of Europe is different to the UK power outlets, you will need some sort of convertor to change the voltage for your electrical goods. Again, buy one before you get there. The adapters you find in the pound shop are just as good as the ones in the local chemist , but they are a lot cheaper. If you wait and expect to grab one easily when you arrive in Benidorm, and then think again. These are one of the most popular ‘forgettables’ among visiting tourists. Because of this, they run out of stock very quickly and are priced astronomically.

Noel Gallagher’s favourites

I’m not sure if I should be encouraging this, but both cigarettes and alcohol wondrously cheap. Rather than buying duty free at your departure lounge, wait until you get there. Boxes and bottles of these two vices can found everywhere and are a great solution to beating the bar prices if you fancy a warm up before a night out. However, if you really want to save money on tobacco, my best advice is to kick it to the curb.

Summary

Benidorm is great fun. Whilst taking some of this on-board, remember you are going on holiday, so don’t stress yourself out too much. Due to the amount of people vising the resort, things normally run very smoothly and the list above is probably all you are going to have to worry about, except having a good time!

Enjoy!

This article was written by Ted Hunter on behalf of Travel Republic. Travel Republic offers some of the Holidays to Benidorm available. Ted is a seasoned traveller having visited many of the world’s travel destinations and enjoys submersing himself in the local culture to gain the true experience of the country he visits.

The post The Bargains of Benidorm: What to Purchase When You Get There and What to Buy At Home appeared first on Europe Explored.