A coach excursion to Santa Cruz, Tenerife's capital city, is often offered as a ‘shopping trip’ by travel reps to take advantage of the tax free status of the city. As the shops close a 1pm, as they do on mainland Spain, these executions are usually a half day affair.

Santa Cruz has much more to offer than just is shops, there are museums, restaurants and tree lined plazas to stroll along.

If you have a hire car it is an easy 50 minutes or so journey along the TF1 motorway from the major southern tourist resorts. Simply follow the signs to Santa Cruz. The main problem is parking the car in the city, but if you arrive early you can park in one of the underground car parks under the Plaza de España.

Travelling to Santa Cruz by bus is also an easy option with the frequent bus service route 111 from Playa de las Americas and Los Cristianos to the bus station (Estacion de Guaguas) at Santa Cruz, which is about a 10 minute walk from the city centre.

The bus routes 102 and route 103 (route 103 is the express service) also operates from the northern resort of Puerto de la Cruz to Santa Cruz and takes about 40 minutes.

TIP: Bus fares are very reasonable and you should take advantage of the ‘Bono’ cards on sale at the bus stations and some shops, as using these for your bus journeys will make your fares even cheaper.