Electronic goods are very cheap - there is no VAT.
Main roads are very busy. Hire cars are not a good idea. There is also suspicion of a racket for fining visitors for parking hire cars. Be warned.
The bus services from Puerto de la Cruz are excellent and cheap. We could get everywhere we wanted to go - and back - quickly and comfortably. Get the buses from the main bus station. You buy a bonobus ticket at the ticket office, and present it on getting on the bus. The value of the fare (half price) is deducted from the ticket. Several people can share the same card until it runs out.
The bus timetables are posted at main bus stops and the bus station. They show the setting out time from the terminus only. They don't show intermediate stop times, or the time you get to your destination. Extra buses are put on as soon as a bus is full, so at busy times they run more frequently than shown.
The full bus timetable is available on the Internet at www.titsa.com- it is worth printing out a copy to take with you.
Going up to Mount Teidi on the local bus is far, far cheaper than any tour bus.
The mountains can be in bright sunshine when it is wet in Puerto de la Cruz!
The free maps available from the tourist office and the Teidi visitor centre are better than any we found in walking guide books.
Walks are well waymarked, particularly where they leave the road. Provided that you keep your eyes open for the waymarks, and have the tourist walking map we found them straightforward.
The maps do not show how difficult the walks are.
There are three main walking areas:
The Caldera round Mount Teidi - Las Canadas - Map
The Teno Mountains in the North West - Map
and the Anaga Mountains in the North East - Map.
The Oratava valley has been rather spoilt by development, but there are many pleasant walks in the pine forests.
