General Chat

ERRol, many moons ago you did tell me that you had been to Tenerife, once, and many years ago. You were on a walking holiday. You enjoyed the experience, or so you said at the time. Never once did you mention a knife wielding local bandit!

On the subject of getting what you can afford, some people buy/pay for things that they can't really afford while others go for cheaper options than they can afford as they prefer to spend their money in other ways.

Saying 'you get what you can afford' suggests that people who travel with budget airlines can't afford to do anything but that. A slightly snobbish comment I think.

Precisely!

Pay for a budget airline and you are not going to get the same level of service, comfort etc etc that you would get with certain other airlines. Hence the term "budget".

As for Tenerife (and I did say "In my experience"), I have travelled extensively all over the world and Tenerife is the only place where I have been threatened by a local, with a knife, demanding all my money, passport, watch etc.

Oh yes, meant to answer Errol's 'you get what you can afford to pay for' Not if it isn't available you don't.

Thanks Annie

What has bothered us is the undignified rush for seats we have witnessed when their flights are called. We like to book our seats together before we fly. However, it may be that they have the facility to book seats now as well as Easy Jet do.

We have found a flight by Monarch going out of Luton. We have had good and bad with them in the past but recently they seem to be better.

We fly with Ryanair at least once every year. We've never been delayed either going or coming back and have had no cause for complaint in the last twelve years. They have rules like any other airline but, if you abide by them, you won't have a problem. We always have a good meal before we fly so can't comment on the food they serve, although we have bought some snacks on a few flights. We're going with them again in June from Bristol to Ibiza, as we do every year.

Annie

Errol so what was your experience that makes you agree with Rollos comment?

I think it's sad when people comment publicly about places that they clearly know little or nothing about. Apart from this it just makes them look small minded and stupid, which may or may not be the case!

As you both know I live in the north of Tenerife, a green and vibrant part of the island. Today, even now at 7.15 pm the sky is blue, the sun is shining and the mountain and forests below it are so clear to see. In the other direction I can look out over the sea and watch the sun sink down into the water from red skies promising another lovely day tomorrow. The people are friendly and welcoming, not swearing all the time. The locals are very proud of their culture, very little if any graffiti here.

Now I don't know where you live but one town does not give the whole island a bad name. If it did then there wouldn't be much hope for your choice of country. To back up this statement I am sure that my experience of the UK is far greater and longer than your experience of Tenerife.

We may be going from Gatwick now, but are organising our June holiday first (the Ryanair one is October. If we go from Gatwick we can go BA.

I won't have anything bad said against Tenerife North, it is lovely and the people are lovely, both Tenerifian and ex Pat. The climate is good, the food is good, drink is cheap and compared to the south it is relatively peaceful And the flowers are lovely too. Just sad we don't look to be going this year.

You get what you can afford to pay for.

I agree with Rollo wholeheartedly - particularly the Tenerife comment (in my experience).

Ann, I think that, if you have internet access, you can go into the DVLA website the day you hire the car, and get the code then.

There is a short video under "share licence details" which tells you how and why.

We also like Tenerife and Lanzarote, and have just returned from the Algarve.

Re Ryanair, if you have no luggage and like no frills flying, they seem OK. My son had to travel frequently between Bristol and Dublin. As he only had a briefcase, it cost him just £5 each way!!

There was a documentary some time ago about them, and there was a group of teenagers in Birmingham who used to go on day trips to Dublin for just 1p each!! It was a promotion at the time, but the kids thought it was brilliant,

My son has used them a few times as well as other airlines.

His advice is make sure you read the t's and c's several times over so you know exactly what you are paying for and what restictions and conditions apply then you shouldn't have any nasty surprises.

You pays your money and takes your chouce, as the saying goes.

Andy's Mum, the problem that will arise is if, like us, you hire a car in the second week of your holiday, we usually don't bother the first week but do the second. And true, just asked my OH and he says he has not been asked for his paper part of his licence either. Hopefully problems will be ironed out by the time we go in October (when/if we eventually get a flight.)

I have just looked at this driving licence thing and it is because any convictions, penalty points etc are no longer visible to the car-hire people, but are only on line.

You log-on to the website, click on "share licence details" give the code to the car-hire people and they then do their bit and can see the other details from your driving history.

It seems unlikely that you would have to do it again if hiring a car for more than one week!!

Also, my OH has just said that in all the years he has been hiring cars abroad, nobody has ever asked to see the paper part of his licence. :-S :-S

Wendy, ignore that remark. Rollo likes to court controversy.

Rollo yes we are aware of the fuel pronlem and we are going (this time to Lanzarote, probably in your mind worse than Tenerife. We love both North Tenerife and Lanzarote. However we probably wouldn't like your choice of destination, good job we are all different.

I will however check out that info re driving abroad and the driving licence.

"OTOH anybody who likes Tenerife is unlikely to be disappointed with Ryan Air "


Rollo would you care to elaborate on this comment made in your last post.

They are the only airline which has had multiple bollockings for flying without enough fuel ( though inside legal min ) resulting in the flight having to demand priority landing rights after being stacked ... given the not very flat topology of Tenerife something to think about.

They are to say the least not known for user friendliness and in my experience indifferent at best.

Any minor matter will be used as a reason for a dramatic increase in ticket prices.

Use of airports miles and miles from intended destination.

Worse than B.A. at handling hold luggage known to take off without discharging luggage when they are late.

Overcharging for in flight food and drink.

Tiny seats though if you are size 12 or less / bloke under 70 kg you'd be ok.

OTOH anybody who likes Tenerife is unlikely to be disappointed with Ryan Air :-)

By and large I have found last minute tickets on proper airlines better value for money. I never book accommodation I haven't seen.

IMPORTANT !!!
From Jun 8 you MUST get a driving licence code from DVLA before travel if you need to rent a car. It is only valid for 72 hrs. If you need a second week then the car hire company may have to contact DVLA from Tenerife, Paris, Timbuktu. This is because the driving licence paper form has been abolished and will no longer be valid. You will also need the code to rent a car in the UK. Most foreign car hire companies are unaware of the changes so may accept yr current paper part but don't count on it.

Yes that is true with other budget airlines, thanks for the reminder though. I am more concerned with some of the reports of the way they treat their customers. However I did see that they were trying to improve their customer service and wondered if they have.

In the end we may have no choice. In all our years of visiting Lanzarote (quite a few and often twice a year in the 90s) and then Tenerife we have never had a problem with flights. Really struggling this time. And surprised at how much it has gone up. Last time we went was two years ago. However we are tryinf to fly on a sunday to Sunday which I know makes a difference going there.

Going by reports in the Travel section of the media, you do need to watch the cost of the 'add ons'. Quite often the apparently higher priced airlines work out the same but with a more traditional service.

Thanks all

Daughter went to Spain for 5 months so we flew over on an airline with a bigger luggage allowance.

During the time she was there, we flew back and for with which ever airline suited our dates and pocket best.

No problems with any of them but on budget flights we had to pick an aisle seat for her 6'3" boyfriend.

So long as you read their luggage rules them you will be fine.

Ah Gwyn I see what you mean. Don't normally take towels and just take small bottles of toiletries. Our cases, although they feel heavy to us, are usually well under the weight required. Worse when going for four weeks although with Iberia there was a higher allowance.

Thank you Sue and Dermot.