Should you visit Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Playa Blanca?
If you're trying to decide where to visit between Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Playa Blanca, this travel cost comparison can help. The overall cost of travel is usually a consideration when deciding where to go next, and the cost comparison below can help you decide based on the average prices from other travelers along with your own travel budget.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Not everyone traveling to Spain is looking to collapse on a beach somewhere. If you're in search of a bustling, vibrant and colorful Spanish capital city without the crowds of Barcelona, you might want to book a few days in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Located on the eastern tip of the island of Tenerife on the Canary Island chain, Santa Cruz's bright buildings, charming shops and rich, green scenery are there to greet visitors from all over the world - including you.
Playa Blanca
Located on the southern tip of the Canary Island of Lanzarote, Playa Blanca is a resort area popular with families and couples seeking a quieter vacation alternative to the lively neighbor resort of Puerto del Carmen. The resort's white sandy beaches are peaceful and sheltered from the higher winds found on other parts of the island. Timanfaya National Park is also nearby, as well as a number of other spectacular volcanic features.
Which city is cheaper, Playa Blanca or Santa Cruz de Tenerife?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.
The average daily cost (per person) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is €101, while the average daily cost in Playa Blanca is €124. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each city. Below is a breakdown of travel costs for Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Playa Blanca in more detail.
Accommodation
A hotel room in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is about €72 This assumes double occupancy and modest accommodations.
Travelers usually pay around €130 for a double occupancy room in Playa Blanca If you want to be in a premiere location or have high end amenities, you can expect to pay a bit more.
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Accommodation
Hotel or hostel for one person
Santa Cruz de Tenerife €36
Playa Blanca €65
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Accommodation
Typical double-occupancy room
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
€72
Playa Blanca
€130
Food
The average traveler spends about €34 per day in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for food, but obviously this is dependent on the type of restaurant and the amount of food ordered. To save money you can grab a lighter lunch or dinner, or you can try fast food or street food.
Food in Playa Blanca costs travelers about €36 per day on average. Restaurants can vary significantly in price, so choose wisely if you're trying to save money. Fast food and street stalls are typically your cheapest options, which sit down restaurants can be significantly more expensive.
Local Transportation
The cost of a taxi ride in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is significantly more than public transportation. On average, past travelers have spent €51 per person, per day, on local transportation in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Public transportation tends to be much less expensive in Playa Blanca than paying for a taxi or private car service, as is expected. Typically, people spend €39 on transportation in Playa Blanca on average per day.
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Local Transportation
Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife €51
Playa Blanca €39
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Santa Cruz de Tenerife:
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Private Transfer: Tenerife to Tenerife Airport (TFN):
$105
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Private Airport Transfer: Santa Cruz de Tenerife to Tenerife North Airport (TFN):
$27
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Departure Private Transfer Tenerife to Tenerife South Airport TFS by Sedan Car:
$48
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Departure Private Transfer Tenerife to Tenerife South Airport TFS by Minibus:
$74
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Departure Private Transfer Tenerife to Tenerife South Airport TFS by Luxury Van:
$58
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Playa Blanca
Also for Playa Blanca, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
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Lanzarote Airport Departure Transfer (Playa Blanca Hotels to Lanzarote Airport):
$88
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Private Airport Transfer: from Playa Blanca to Lanzarote Airport (ACE):
$36
Is it cheaper to fly into Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Playa Blanca?
Prices for flights to both Playa Blanca and Santa Cruz de Tenerife change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Entertainment
Entertainment and activities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife typically cost an average of €20 per person, per day. This includes fees paid for admission tickets to museums and attractions, day tours, and other sightseeing expenses.
Sightseeing expenses in Playa Blanca, including the cost of admission tickets for day tours, museums, and attractions, usually cost an average of €16 per day, per person.
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Entertainment
Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife €20
Playa Blanca €16
Tours and Activities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Here are a few actual costs in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for available activities, ticket prices, and tours:
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Anaga Natural Park Hiking Guided Tour with Hotel Pickup:
$81
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Malpaís from Güimar and caves following the Chaxiraxi´s steps hiking tour:
$68
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Private 4-hour Tour of Santa Cruz de Tenerife with Hotel or Cruise Port pick-up:
$240
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Private 4-hour Tour to La Laguna from Tenerife from Hotel or Port pick-up:
$434
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Private 4-hour Tour to UNESCO Heritage La Laguna from Tenerife with driver/guide:
$243
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Private 6-hour Tour of La Laguna and Anaga Biosphere Reserve w/ Hotel pick-up:
$423
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Private 6-hour Tour of La Orotava + Puerto de La Cruz with Hotel pick-up:
$423
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Private 8 hours Tour to El Teide from Tenerife Hotel with driver/guide:
$306
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Private Full Day Tour to the Top of the Teide: go hiking and return in cable car:
$463
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Private Full Day tour of UNESCO Heritage: La Laguna and El Teide:
$360
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Private Shore Excursion in Tenerife from your Cruise Ship:
$294
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Round the island tour in 8 hours:
$118
Tours and Activities in Playa Blanca
For Playa Blanca, here are a few prices for actual activities, tours, and tickets provided by various companies:
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Skip the Line: Aqualava Waterpark Lanzarote Entrance Ticket:
$26
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Lanzarote: Return ferry ticket to Fuerteventura with free wifi and bus pick up:
$44
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Kayak for experienced paddlers in Papagayo Beaches:
$57
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Full day tour to Fuerteventura Dunes from Lanzarote:
$65
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Teguise Market and La Graciosa Island Tour:
$68
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Museo Atlantico Diving Tour from Playa Blanca:
$68
Alcohol
While the amount that someone spends on alcohol while visiting Santa Cruz de Tenerife may vary from person to person, on average a person spends €6.00 per day on alcoholic beverages.
Typically, people visiting Playa Blanca spend on average €7.43 on alcoholic beverages per person, per day.
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Playa Blanca, we can see that Playa Blanca is more expensive. And not only is Santa Cruz de Tenerife much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. So, traveling to Santa Cruz de Tenerife would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Playa Blanca would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Playa Blanca than you might in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
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