Thursday, 07 January 2016 09:17

Gran Canaria Shopping: Is Duty Free Still A Good Deal?

Gran Canaria airport Gran Canaria airport www.photosgrancanaria.com

Airport duty-free shops go all out to entice you to buy booze, cigarettes, perfume, and chocolate. But on a low-tax island like Gran Canaria, is it worth waiting until the departure lounge to buy? 

With sparkly floors and bright lights, duty-free shops project opulence but advertise low prices. They want you to believe that you are getting luxury goods at great prices.

But in Gran Canaria and the Canary Islands, duty-free isn't always cheap, In fact, you are better off buying most things in local shops than at the airport. 

This is because the Canary Islands have a 7% VAT rate rather than the 21% charged in Spain. It's called IGIC and it's low because the Canaries aren't part of the EU Customs Union. Along with low cigarette and alcohol taxes and no luxury goods tax, IGIC makes Gran Canaria a cheap place to shop.

A pack of 200 Marlboro lights costs less than 30 euros in local supermarkets and you can buy litre bottles of brand spirits for between 10m and 15 euros. Perfume is also cheap on the island.

The only reason to buy cigarettes and alcohol in Gran Canaria airport is if you want a brand that isn't available on the island. Or if something happens to be on offer as you walk past.

Who can resist a  big bar of Toblerone though?

Gran Canaria duty free allowances.

Published in Shopping

Join the Gran Canaria Info newsletter list

endanlfifrdeisitnoplptruessv

 

 

Follow us on Facebook

Tip of the day

  • The Best Gran Canaria Weather Forecast
    The Best Gran Canaria Weather Forecast

    The single most common question we get in the Gran Canaria Info group is...

    What is the weather going to be like during my holiday?

    The answer is almost always the same: If you are going to south Gran Canaria's resorts, it is very likely to be sunny every day. Yes, even in the winter. Yes, even though your weather app says it is going to be cloudy. Yes, even in January. And in February, etc.

    Obviously it does sometimes rain in Gran Canaria, even in the sun-baked south, and there are occassional cloudy days. 

    To check for these rare rain and clouds there is no point using generic weather apps because they use data that averages out the weather and temperature across Gran Canaria.

    This means that the forecast for Puerto Rico and other resorts includes weather and temperatrure predictions for inland and highland areas that are cooler and cloudier.

    So, instead of believing your current weather app use the Spanish weather service website called the AEMET. It's website has detailed and very accurate forecasts for individual resorts, town and even beaches.

    Here's the forecast for the Mogán area including Puerto Rico.

    The mobile website works very well in English although the app is only in Spanish at the moment.  

Latest articles

Who's Online

We have 9156 guests and no members online

Login / Register

Take this website to the max, login or create an account now! By clicking on any Social Media platform logo, you can login with just one click.