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Tenerife has some of the best deals on duty free products throughout the Canaries. There are so many shops it's almost impossible to name them all. I have personally shopped around for my own rations and found one or two more competitive than their counterparts. In the lower level of the Bourganville shopping centre, Las Americas, there are several tobacco retailers. Look out for local branded cigarettes, PALACE, for example, comes in Standard, Low, and American blends of Virginia tobacco. You can obtain the standard blend, which I can't tell apart from Benson & Hedges, for just 795 ptas for 200, yes I did say 200. That works out at less than £3 at the exchange rate of 270ptas to the pound. It just shows you how much duty we pay on tobacco.

Perfumes and such are likewise cheaper, saving £15 on a 100ml of 'Paco Rabanee XS' aftershave, against that in the UK is not uncommon. It's still worth shopping around though.

Spirits are very inexpensive in the Canaries. Bottles of branded drinks at a up to a third of the English price is not unknown. It is very easy to get carried away and exceed your duty free allowance. Be warned, customs do confiscate. Don't forget these islands are still subject to allowances because they're not recognised as part of the EEC. See your entitlements at the airport or port of departure.

Electrical & electronic goods retailers are everywhere. One of the biggest is Visanta. The prices are very competitive between the various shops, but beware, some of the goods on show are bargains compared to the UK, but others may be slightly dated, ie. earlier models of say, camcorders. It's always best to 'know your onions', so go away prepared with examples of Dixon's catalogues, PC World, newspaper ads etc to compare to. Always ensure you get the full package before parting with one penny of your money. Some salesmen will give you a really good price for a camcorder, but when they've added the cost of the accessories, the unit is very close to the UK price. Do remember that you've got to pay duty on any electrical goods over £145. So that bargain may not be exactly what it appears to be. Anyway, can your nerves really stand that traumatic, 'nothing to declare', scenario at the airport Customs?

So shop wisely and you really can do well for yourself.