Spain - Canary Islands - Tenerife Discussion Forum

Discussions regarding holidays in Tenerife.
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Say no and ignore the touts. Just keep walking they can be as rude as they like just dont let it worry you. NEVER take a scratch card and be aware of the places they hang out. Near to the markets on the days it is on. Near to Tenerife Royal Gardens by Las Vistas beach. Near to the Veronicas area where the Troya beach begins. Puerto Colon beach more towards the stairs by the Fortelezza restaurant than the harbour area.

The other way round it is to take the scratch card and put it in your bag or pocket and say you will scratch it later. They will realise you are on to them and either ask for it back and leave you or just concede and pretend to be nice and bid you a nice day. Chuckle under your breath and walk on.

Don't ever get into a taxi and buy your own duty free stuff rather than get it free from their "office" Its cheap enough that you dont need it free.

Never stayed at the hotel but been by it loads of times. Looks very nice and never heard a bad word about it.
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I'm not sure what the timeshare scene is like around the Volcano and surrounding area but I'm sure some of the local member will give you sound advice on how to deal with them. This topic usually raises its head every year and there are other topics in the forum that have been locked. I'm going to let this one run till you get some points of view and then it can be locked again and used to answer any other members who have similar questions on timeshare or holiday club touts.
If the the discussion drifts off topic then it will be locked.
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Thanks andrea for your reply, i will keep my eyes peeled for them, i know they have a job, wish they would get a better one, ha ha
looking forward to my first visit to tenerife, and hopefully some sunshine
thanks again
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i know they have a job


So do traffic wardens and bailiffs :evil: :evil: :evil:

hopefully some sunshine


No need to worry there then :D :D :D
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i honestly dont know why so many people get wound up and worry about timeshare touts...

i've been going to tenerife for over 10 years and nearly 100percent of the time, if you are asked..then a no thanks or just ignoring them does the trick.

Or if u really want to be fly, then just mention a resort that has timeshare. that way they think you already have it.

years ago, when it was really bad.. i had timeshare at island village, and soon as I said island village, the touts would be on there toes :lol:
i really do not see how this could "ruin " a holiday.
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just pretend to be on the phone, shouting in the best spanish you have !
never bothered us then !
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As you approach them just split up, one of you walking in front of the other - they only target couples.
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Hi sylv :D Me & hubby stayed at the Vulcano at Easter and found the hotel great and as for timeshare pests they weren't around the Vulcano area. They are past the veronicas area but we just said a good natured no and found we didn't get any hassle from them.Back to the hotel, the nightime entertainment was pretty good we found and the pool area is lovely. We had a poolside bungalow type of room that was great, it had it's own sunloungers but you do pay extra for this type of room.Food was mostly good...not as good as some 4 star hotels we have stayed in but we never went hungry and we are quite fussy about quality. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, we are already thinking of going back next year.
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Hi Sylv21,
We have been to the Vulcano twice,last time in June and due to go again New Years Day.we love the place.Everyone is so friendly,the food is very good and the hotel is spotless.Guests do tend to be mainly over 50 and there aren't many children there.
As for timeshare touts,we found the path that runs down the side of the hotel,leading to the Corner bar does get touts but as others have said just keep walking and they tend to get the message.
Hope you enjoy your stay at the Vulcano.If you get chance try to see Roberto and Abba tribute if they are still performing,both very good.
Angie
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We spoke to people that were in the Vulcano and they said it was excellent!!

you will find touts with scratch cards close by no matter what they say dont stop,polite no thanks and keep walking :)
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We tried saying "no" and it usually works. However just sometimes, that gives the tout a clue to your native language adn they can stick with you trying to get you to stop and talk.

I would suggest saying NOT ONE WORD, shaking your head and keep walking.

OUR favourite trick is to say "nenje" or some other vaguely negative word in a fake language. They vanish pronto then as they only target people speaking certain languages.
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Thank you to everybody for their replies, and the info on the hotel, cant wait,
I have taken all your comments, and i am hopefully a bit more "street wise" Although you would think after bringing up 3 teenagers, a timeshare tout should be easily sorted!!
As for the reply about how can it ruin your holiday, we went to Feingerola (bad spelling i expect) for a week in June, it was horrible, everytime we walked out the hotel door, even saying a polite no and carrying on walking they would follow and one particular person was very aggressive, so for a weeks holiday for rest and relaxation it was ruined. Apparently it was particularly bad from what the hotel said they had received loads of complaints and the police were looking into it, slowly
Hopefully it was a one off experience,

Thanks again!
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i took some sound advice from here last year, just tell them you do not gamble as its against your religion, and whilst walking away i always said "god be with you" :lol:
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We have tried all of the 'usual' ways of avoiding speaking to the touts but the only foolproof method is, as suggested above, splitting up just before getting to where they hang out and meeting up again once you have passed by. They are only interested in couples of a certain age group.
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hi
we returned from playa de las americas last week, and to be honest, we didn't see that many.(not as many as previous year's!).
there were some most days at the corner bar, and the shopping centre, where the hereford bull is.(can't remember the name!).
we split up as we walked past and they didn't talk to us then, but on a couple of occasions they did try and stop us, we politely said no, and carried on walking, and unlike last year, they weren't abusive to us!:lol:
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We have just returned from Los Cristianos and our holiday was marred by timeshare touts. They were everywhere - we were regularly approached 6 times on the way to the beach. One of them - a blond guy with a squeaky Joe Pasquale voice - was very aggressive and nasty. He was at the bottom of Oasis del Sur hill before you get to the amusement arcade on the front. We tried ignoring him, but he followed us, getting nastier by the second. We became so frustrated we swore at him - not something we regularly do! He seemed to have no fear of being reported to the police for abusive behaviour...but could have been on drugs with the whiny, junkie voice and attitude. I resent having to be polite to these people - when you've said 'no thank you' six times already in the last 5 minutes and are obviously trying to physically avoid them....
They should not be allowed to hassle people like this - what is the Spanish government doing about it? We overheard someone say the police were going to get them off the streets, and when there was a visible police presence in the Las Vistas area there were fewer about.
Please be careful if you are headed to Los Cristianos. One tactic they are using is posing as a couple on holiday walking along and mingling with the crowd. They suddenly turn on you with the scratchcard. Look out for the pack of scratchcards in the back shorts pocket! They will try any tactic to get you into conversation, such as 'are you from Scotland?' etc etc....don't get into any conversation with them, and don't stop walking. One told us he would get one Euro if we took the card to the presentation....and the rest! I actually became so paranoid of anyone walking towards us with something in their hand...it spoiled the holiday. Funny thing was, we were there for 2 weeks over Xmas and the touts did not stop us once! We're booked to go back at Easter, but hope that something has been done to get these low-lifes off the streets by then.
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The timeshare touts were one of the reasons we stopped going to Tenerife. We had to resort to splitting up whenever we walked anywhere. I would walk ahead with one daughter and my husband would be 50 yeards behind with our other daughter, as they only approach couples!!!

Went to the Algarve a couple of years ago and there was no problem in the resort where we stayed but we walked into Albufeira one day and as soon as we got there we were approached by timeshare touts - so we turned round and left immediately!!
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I find that a pushchair is the ultimate tool!!!! I have been to PDLA for the last 7 years and never been approached once......trouble is the kids are getting older!!!
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I agree with the earlier statement, just split up when you approach their GAUNTLET they only target couples. Just back from a week there with my sister and we were invisible as far as they were concerned. GREAT!
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