| Tenerife has always been a popular winter escape | | | | lower the price; so don't leave it any longer if you |
| for North Europeans but the arrival of the credit | | | | are hoping to reach Tenerife this winter. Alternatively, |
| crunch, a huge rise in fuel costs and a downturn in | | | | check out the webpages of the tour operators listed |
| demand has, in the last couple of months led to the | | | | above for a last minute bargain. |
| demise of two airlines that served UK holiday makers. | | | | Accomodation on Tenerife is plentyful and caters for |
| XL Airways collapsed in September and Spanish | | | | all budgets. The major resorts of Playa de Las |
| operator LTE suspended all flights on the 17th of | | | | Americas and Los Cristianos in the south west of the |
| October leaving thousands of passengers stranded, | | | | island have plenty of spare capacity during the winter |
| without a holiday and out of pocket. | | | | months and by booking through an online service |
| The result of all this turmoil and uncertainty is that | | | | such as you can pick up a bargain - My advice is to |
| even less people are booking winter holidays abroad | | | | leave it as late as possible! These resorts are a 40 |
| this year. With the cost of living on the rise and the | | | | minute drive from the airport and taxis cost about |
| reigning in of easy credit due to the banking crisis | | | | £45 return. If you are travelling alone it may |
| you may think twice about splashing out on a trip to | | | | be cheaper to pick up a public bus from outside the |
| the Canaries but it is possible to travel on a tight | | | | main airport entrance (route 487) or for those of a |
| budget by making use of the internet to secure | | | | more cheeky character why not chat up a tour rep |
| cheap flights and accommodation. | | | | (there are plenty at the airport) and see if you can |
| Budget airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet have | | | | blag a lift in one of their coaches. |
| recently started flying to the islands and there are | | | | Tenerife is a great hopping off point for some of the |
| numerous charter flight operators such as Thomas | | | | other islands and I would thoroughly recommend |
| Cook, Thomson and Monarch that offer flight only | | | | visiting La Gomera which can be accessed by plane, |
| services as well as full package holidays. An | | | | ferry or hydrofoil. The Garajonay Express operates |
| innovative website that scours the internet for all | | | | small, friendly craft to the smaller ports on La |
| budget flights, collates the information and then lets | | | | Gomera but for those with a weak disposition I |
| you book online is - They will find return flights to | | | | recommend the larger vessels of Fred Olsen or |
| Tenerife from your region of the UK and offer a | | | | Naviera Armas as the sea between the islands is |
| choice of prices, airlines and departure dates (including | | | | often quite rough. Bookings can be made on their |
| all "hidden" costs such as credit card surcharges). You | | | | respective websites which are fully translated into |
| may return on a different airline to the one that you | | | | English language versions and regularly contain special |
| flew out on but the savings can be quite substantial | | | | offers. |
| and all the legwork in finding the flights is done for | | | | With the economic downturn many will feel that a |
| you. | | | | winter holiday is out of the question but if you follow |
| The golden rule when reserving a seat on budget | | | | some of the advice above it could be a lot cheaper |
| airlines is to book as early as possible - the more | | | | than you think. |
| seats that are available on any given service, the | | | | |