Food and Drink Prices - budgeting your holiday

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The "full English breakfast" is available routinely in all British bars and most Spanish tourist bars.

The most expensive I found was actually on our complex, where the bar is under new management. They have seen fit to increase the price to 4 euros. Normally the most expensive will be more like 3.50 euros, but, if you shop around, you'll be able to find some bars selling them for as little as 1.90 euros.

For general eating out, to watch the pennies, it is a good idea to follow the advice outlined on the main Food and Drink page and go to basic Canarian restaurants, where you'll be assured of a superb meal priced very cheaply.

However, in average tourist bars (basing prices on the restaurant in Alison's complex), main courses are between €7.50 and €8.50. These consist of such things as cod and chips, gammon, curry, lasagne and bolognaise. Steak is usually a bit dearer, at something like €9.50. As I say, it all depends where you go.

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UK brand bar snacks like crisps and nuts are generally available in tourist bars. In Canarian bars, you'll probably find things like crisps (potato chips), but they'll be Spanish brands. In the bar on Alison's complex, a small packet of salted peanuts costs €1.50, as does a packet of Walker's crisps.

In tourist bars, you could sometimes find sandwiches, hot dogs or burgers on offer. These are likely to cost something like €3.50 or €4.

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Regarding lager, if you want to watch the pennies, then go for the local beer - this could be Tenerife's Dorada, or Tropical, from the neighbouring island of La Gomera.

Generally, you'll get a pint for no more than 2 euros and, while some British bars offer a happy hour price of 1.50 euros, many bars are advertising this as an all-day price. I have spotted a select few selling a pint for a mere 0.95!

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A glass of wine could cost you as little as 2 euros and the bar on the complex where Alison's apartment is offers a happy hour price of 1.50 euros.

My tactic, these days, for having wine in the apartment is to buy a one-litre carton from the supermarket. Now, there used to be a half decent red wine called Castillo de Mureva, which, unbelievably, sold for a ridiculous €0.68 per litre. Unfortunately, the local supermarket doesn't stock it anymore, so I tried their own brand, which cost €1.04. Trouble was, it tasted like Ribena. Next, then, was Viña Sol and, of course, this was more expensive, at €1.75 for a litre carton. Still pretty cheap, though.

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Unfortunately, if you go for brands found in the UK, you'll have to pay more. Strongbow cider, or Guinness, for example, are likely to be more like 3 euros. (Still cheaper than the UK.)

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Spirits, in general, seem to cost around three euros. On the complex where Alison's apartment is, during happy hour, the price drops to two euros. Considering that most Spanish bars don't use optics and the bar person just sloshes the liquor into your glass, the measure is likely to be at least the equivalent of a double.

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For soft drinks, I'm going to base prices on the complex's bar. Across the board, everything is €1.50. You'll probably be able to get all the basic ones, with 7 Up and Sprite being the lemonade varieties available.

For those of you doing self-catering, you might find it useful to know how much miscellaneous groceries cost.

12 large eggs: €1.96
Small pack of bacon: €0.95
Pack of 6 tomatoes: €1.38
Pack of boiled ham: €1.00
Loaf of bread: €0.57
Carton of long-life milk: €0.45
Tub of Flora margarine: €1.76

For accomplished cooks, it might be worth your while to stock up on dried herbs while you're on the island and take them home:

40 gram jar of parsley: €1.95
35 gram jar of oregano: €1.90
125 grams of smoked paprika: €2.35
10 gram pack of bay leaves: €0.72.

For those smokers amongst you, I can report that cigarette prices are tending to creep up with every visit we make. I buy Royals when in Tenerife, which currently sell at €35.50 for 200.

A popular brand in the UK, Marlboro, costs €36.95.

It is a bit cheaper to buy packs of 200, rather than single packets of 20.