Tenerifie Sharon, Queston for You

[Cruise Arizona]

We are trying to budget for out excursion on our TA that include the Canary island. The Orthodontist is cutting into my excursion budget so I am looking at either a big excursion in Lanzarote or Tenerife. We are looking to see striking scenery. Where do you think we'll get more bang for our buck? (An American expression, meaning the most for our Dollar.)

[TenerifeSharon]

We are trying to budget for out excursion on our TA that include the Canary island. The Orthodontist is cutting into my excursion budget so I am looking at either a big excursion in Lanzarote or Tenerife. We are looking to see striking scenery. Where do you think we'll get more bang for our buck? (An American expression, meaning the most for our Dollar.)

Hi Suzanne,

Since I'm originally from NYC, I certainly understand "more bang for our buck", but the buck was worth a lot more for trips to Europe when I was still living in the U.S.!

 

It's a hard call. I think that -- presuming you will have great weather on both islands;) - Tenerife is hard to surpass if you take a trip to Mt. Teide and the Parque Nacional. When you finally get to the park entrance (it might be foggy on the way up), you will think you have reached heaven, or at least the moon. That first sighting of the moon landscape and the incredible snow-capped peak (with palm trees and ocean just 1/2 hour away) are what "sold" us on the island 10 years ago. Everything up in the park has stayed constant -- it's what's down below in terms of overbuilt tourism, that has turned us off to remaining on the island.

 

Lanzarote also has very interesting scenery if you get out of the tourist areas. I remember that our second cruise (11 years ago) had a port stop on Lanzarote - not Tenerife - and we loved our excursion, including camel ride through the dunes.

 

Are you still planning on renting a car for the day? Let me know if I can help. (I have some inexpensive rental addresses.) If you should have a larger group than just the 4 of you, we also have contact with an excellent tour operator on Tenerife.

 

P.S. I won't be online much after tomorrow - until the 22nd - as I'll be on Tenerife:D. (Am in Germany at the moment.)

[MICHAEL_01]

Hallo TenerifeSharon,

 

sorry for hijacking this thread, but we are on the SUMMIT TA in Nov/Dec

and would like to rent a car at least in Tenerife, Lanzarote and La Palma and do the excursions on our own.

 

We would appreciate very much if you can suggest a reliable car rental company.

 

And how far away is the rental office from the the port. A "short" ride with a cab is not a problem.

 

04. Dez. Lanzarote

05. Dez. Tenerife

06. Dez. La Palma

 

 

Thank you very much in advance.

Greetings to Germany

 

Michael from Germany

[richsea]

Hi Suzanne! We visited Tenerife & Lanzarote on our Galaxy TA this past May & booked Celebrity's "Canadas del Teide" 4-1/2 hrs ($40 adult, $22 child) & Panoramic Lanzarote" 3-1/2 hrs ($42 adult, $22 child) & thought that both were worth every penny.

As Sharon says the landscape at the park is striking & the landscape on Lanzarote is literally unworldly. If you can, try to do something on both islands; how often do you get to see the Canaries? But if I had to pick just one, I think that I would opt for Mt. Teide.

 

You will love both places! Have a great cruise!

[Cruise Arizona]

At one time we were considering renting a car, but my husband is so looking forward to taking it easy on this vacation, which means no driving. Plus with the ships tour being pretty affordable, We are concerned that with the cost of gas and a larger rental car we'd be pretty close to the ships tour costs anyway.

 

So we are trying to decide on a ships tour. The three that we are currently considering are those mentioned already:

 

Camel Ride & Fire Mountain - LZ18 Price 2X$60 + 2X$32 = $184

 

Begin this unique excursion with a ride on Lanzarote camels that are in fact dromedaries and an experience not to be missed. Climb aboard a wicker basket chair on either side of the camel's hump. The approximate 20-minute ride will take you in a camel train over the volcanic dunes, which lies at the entrance of Timanfaya National Park. (Should the camel ride not appeal to you, you can wait in the camel park area.)

Reboard your coach and continue into the National Park Timanfaya of the famous Fire Mountains whose presence dominate the island and is one of the most popular attractions. Ground temperatures at this location are approximately 140 degrees centigrade at a depth of only 4 inches and at 18 feet down; it is over 460 degrees centigrade. Demonstrations by park staff will show you the violent forces beneath the earth's crust, proving that the volcano is not extinct, but only sleeping dormant. You will also see the Salt Flats of Janubio and the water siphoning of Los Hervideros, which is the name of a tiny inlet with thundering surf. The return to the vessel will be through the beautiful Vineyards of La Geria, where you can sample the local Lanzarote wine.

 

 

or This one:

 

 

Panoramic Lanzarote - LZ13 2X$42 + 2X$22 = $128

 

 

 

This trip will lead you into the National Park Timanfaya of the famous Fire Mountains, which is an awesome red and black volcano that dominates the island and is Lanzarote's most popular attraction. The lack of wildlife creates an apparent silence on the island and it is difficult to imagine that the land is still bubbling beneath the surface. You will be amazed at the craters and experiments shown (by uniformed staff) of the still active volcanoes. The return to the vessel will be through the beautiful La Geria Vineyards where the vines flourish under a layer of porous lava granules, which absorbs the nightly dew and provides constant moisture to the plants. You will also see the Salt Flats of Janubio and the water siphoning of Los Hervideros, which is the name of a tiny inlet with thundering surf. Before returning to the pier, a photo stop will be made at the Los Hervideros.

 

 

These two sound pretty similar, with the main difference being the camel ride? Is it really worth the $52 for three of us (DH says he'll pass and just take movies and pictures) to ride Camels.

 

 

 

And then on Tenerife:

 

 

Canadas de Tenerife Price 2X$42 + 2X$22 = $128

 

 

Leaving the port of Santa Cruz, you'll pass the university town of Laguna, situated in the Aguere Valley and the first capital of the island. Driving along the spine of the island, the road snakes up through the Esperanza Forest with its cool trees of eucalyptus and pine. As you climb higher the greenery turns to ochre, grey, and blue with the landscape turning to lava until suddenly, before you, huge Mount Teide rises stunningly in the middle of a landscape. Before reaching the National Park of Las Canadas, you'll make a stop for photos and coffee. The National Park was created in 1954, covers an area of 13,571 hectares, and is, in fact, the interior crater of the mountain from which the cone of Mount Teide formed. In lava fields of the Ucana Valley you will admire the "Mirador del Dedo de Dios" - a lava stone formation that looks like a finger and is therefore called "God's Finger." You will have the opportunity for photos before departing for the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

 

 

 

 

Maybe we could skip the camel ride and save some money there. But if we can only do one of these tours does anybody have a vote for which one would be most memorable,expecially with kids.

[TenerifeSharon]

Hallo TenerifeSharon,

 

sorry for hijacking this thread, but we are on the SUMMIT TA in Nov/Dec

and would like to rent a car at least in Tenerife, Lanzarote and La Palma and do the excursions on our own.

 

We would appreciate very much if you can suggest a reliable car rental company.

 

And how far away is the rental office from the the port. A "short" ride with a cab is not a problem.

 

04. Dez. Lanzarote

05. Dez. Tenerife

06. Dez. La Palma

 

 

Thank you very much in advance.

Greetings to Germany

 

Michael from Germany

 

Hi Michael,

 

We're located close by you -- in Bielefeld!!

 

I'm cutting and pasting some information that I put on our transatlantic roll-call (Infinity) last year.

 

"Hi All,

 

O.k., as promised, here are the first results of my searching near the Santa Cruz Port in Tenerife for rental cars on March 27.

 

Avis and Hertz are, of course, represented. Hertz is absolutely the most expensive option of all I found, with a small Peugeot 107 costing €79. (Keep in mind that at the moment it is about $1.27 to the Euro= €). Avis will cost approx. €49 for a small VW Polo. (Don't know what codes will work to get these prices down in Spain.) These models are most comfortable for just 2 passengers and generally are 2-door models. Keep in mind that cars with automatic transmission are quite a bit more expensive to rent in Europe than in the U.S. and also, don't forget that there is no collision insurance included unless your own insurance from the U.K. or U.S. will cover it for you. (The collision insurance will add about another €18 to the daily rental.)

 

Now - the GOOD NEWS! There are several local agencies on the island, a couple of which are also represented near the port. (Most only have offices at the 2 Tenerife airports and they are both too far away to be of use to us for the one day.) These agencies - we've used the same or similar - provide inexpensive rental cars AND they include full collision and other insurance in the offer.

Have a look at www.cicar.com or www.tenerife-hire-a-car.com (Orcar is the actual name of the second company). For Cicar (Canary Island Car, actually) choose the office at Muelle Rivera. A small Opel Corsa or VW Polo will cost about €38. At Orcar you need to check the location Ferry Fred Olsen, Santa Cruz, Puerto Ciudad. The smallest car there runs about €26, mid-size is €37 (mid-size being smaller than the same in the U.S.) and they do have automatics available (sometimes!) and van size vehicles.

For all of the above, you need to enter pick-up on the 27th of March at 8:30 or 9:00 (depending on office hours) and for some you may need to enter return on the 28th, instead of 5 P.M. on the 27th (some web-sites won't accept less than 24 hours, but it should be not problem to return ahead of time). Again, keep in mind that most of Spain still observes the "Siesta" and many rental car offices are closed -- as well as the shops in Santa Cruz - from 1 P.M. until 4 P.M."

 

I just did some further searching for you and found a price of € 38,52 at cicar.com -- pick-up would again be at the Muelle Rivera. It's actually the Fred Olsen Ferry Terminal, and it is just in front of where your ship should be docking. (We were off the ship last year at 8 AM, were in the rental car by 8:15 and at home in Icod at 9 AM -- to do the laundry:D.) You will need to check with them that all insurance is still included -- it usually is with all smaller rental agencies on the islands. To reserve, just put in Dec. 5 at 8 AM as pick-up, and Dec. 6 at 8 AM. You will just need to tell them that you will be returning the car in the afternoon on the 5th.

 

For some reason, Orcar is no longer showing a pick-up possibility in Santa Cruz. Perhaps they have closed their office there.

 

Orcar does have offices on Lanzarote, as does Cicar. However, I am not sure how close they are to the port. Most of these agencies do almost all of their bookings with tourists arriving via plane.

 

Hope this helps.

[TenerifeSharon]

Suzanne,

X's prices really are very reasonable for the tours -- and it will certainly be more relaxing for all of you to take the group bus instead of driving. The trip to Teide is full of lots of hairpin curves and full of lots of "interesting" drivers -- spanish and otherwise :D. There are many british tourists on the road who are not used to driving on the right side -- the same problems that DH and I encountered when we drove in New Zealand on the left side:p.

 

I think the only difference between the Lanzarote tours is the camel ride and, although it is fun, it's really not very long nor exciting. The camels simply walk one behind the other in a long row (with a tourist in each of the baskets) in the sanddunes. Much on Lanzarote was designed by the wonderful architect and artist, Cesar Manrique (who died, IIRC, in a car accident several years ago). It's a shame that the tour doesn't include a short stop at his museum.

 

We go to Teide quite often because it is a fascinating place to visit, but you won't go wrong with either of the island tours.

[MICHAEL_01]

Hi Michael,

 

We're located close by you -- in Bielefeld!!

 

I'm cutting and pasting some information that I put on our transatlantic roll-call (Infinity) last year.

 

"Hi All,

 

O.k., as promised, here are the first results of my searching near the Santa Cruz Port in Tenerife for rental cars on March 27.

 

Avis and Hertz are, of course, represented. Hertz is absolutely the most expensive option of all I found, with a small Peugeot 107 costing €79. (Keep in mind that at the moment it is about $1.27 to the Euro= €). Avis will cost approx. €49 for a small VW Polo. (Don't know what codes will work to get these prices down in Spain.) These models are most comfortable for just 2 passengers and generally are 2-door models. Keep in mind that cars with automatic transmission are quite a bit more expensive to rent in Europe than in the U.S. and also, don't forget that there is no collision insurance included unless your own insurance from the U.K. or U.S. will cover it for you. (The collision insurance will add about another €18 to the daily rental.)

 

Now - the GOOD NEWS! There are several local agencies on the island, a couple of which are also represented near the port. (Most only have offices at the 2 Tenerife airports and they are both too far away to be of use to us for the one day.) These agencies - we've used the same or similar - provide inexpensive rental cars AND they include full collision and other insurance in the offer.

Have a look at www.cicar.com or www.tenerife-hire-a-car.com (Orcar is the actual name of the second company). For Cicar (Canary Island Car, actually) choose the office at Muelle Rivera. A small Opel Corsa or VW Polo will cost about €38. At Orcar you need to check the location Ferry Fred Olsen, Santa Cruz, Puerto Ciudad. The smallest car there runs about €26, mid-size is €37 (mid-size being smaller than the same in the U.S.) and they do have automatics available (sometimes!) and van size vehicles.

For all of the above, you need to enter pick-up on the 27th of March at 8:30 or 9:00 (depending on office hours) and for some you may need to enter return on the 28th, instead of 5 P.M. on the 27th (some web-sites won't accept less than 24 hours, but it should be not problem to return ahead of time). Again, keep in mind that most of Spain still observes the "Siesta" and many rental car offices are closed -- as well as the shops in Santa Cruz - from 1 P.M. until 4 P.M."

 

I just did some further searching for you and found a price of € 38,52 at cicar.com -- pick-up would again be at the Muelle Rivera. It's actually the Fred Olsen Ferry Terminal, and it is just in front of where your ship should be docking. (We were off the ship last year at 8 AM, were in the rental car by 8:15 and at home in Icod at 9 AM -- to do the laundry:D.) You will need to check with them that all insurance is still included -- it usually is with all smaller rental agencies on the islands. To reserve, just put in Dec. 5 at 8 AM as pick-up, and Dec. 6 at 8 AM. You will just need to tell them that you will be returning the car in the afternoon on the 5th.

 

For some reason, Orcar is no longer showing a pick-up possibility in Santa Cruz. Perhaps they have closed their office there.

 

Orcar does have offices on Lanzarote, as does Cicar. However, I am not sure how close they are to the port. Most of these agencies do almost all of their bookings with tourists arriving via plane.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Sharaon,

 

Thank you very much.

 

 

Michael

[loves2read]

Suzanne, I'm glad you posted this question. We will be in the Canary Islands in December with an Azamara TA, and I've been trying to decide on excursions.

 

Sharon and Rich, thanks for your comments. I was planning to book just the Fire Mountain excursion in Lanzarote, but because of your positive recommendations I'm also going to take the "Canadas del Teide" trip.

[richsea]

Hi Suzanne! How about if you let yourself off the hook & let the kids decide?:D Seriously, they all sound good. We were going to do the Camel ride & Fire Mountain but 3 out of 4 of us didn't want to try the camel; my wife being the holdout. But she did get to ride a camel (not in a basket) during our stop at the Casbah in Morocco. Are you stopping in Morocco? If so, that may work for you. All the ride cost was whatever you wanted to give. It cost her $5

 

Whatever you opt for, have a great cruise & let us know how it turns out!

[Cruise Arizona]

We are working on it. Their summer project was a research paper on all the places we will be visiting on the cruise. They did their presentations last Saturday. My project was researching what every thing costs, and then presenting that to the family. Now we just have to prioritize and work it all out. The appeal of the camel rides is that against the back drop of the volcanic dunes it looks like people are in some exotic Saharan location. Just kind of makes you feel like you are in Africa, not just off the coast of Africa.

 

When we first booked the cruise I thought of the Canaries as a "token" destination. After all the reading and research, I have found that they have so much to offer in terms of scenery and beauty. We had originally thought that we might not do much in the way of shore excursions, but after we found out what the islands have to offer we definitely want to see some of it.

 

I can't wait till this cruise, and I just hope that we get to do everything that we really want to do.