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

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Tip of the day

  • The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!
    The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!

    If there is one thing we hate it is visitors being tricked in Gran Canaria. In the past we've warned about overcharging at Gran Canaria chemists, and rip off electronics shops in resorts. 

    In this Tip Of The Day we return to the island's chemists or rather, to the island's fake chemists.

    A chemist in Gran Canaria is called a Farmacia and always has a green cross sign. Farmacias are the only place tobuy medicine in Spain, even basics like paracetamol.

    However, there is another kind of shop in Gran Canaria that looks and sounds like a chemist but doesn't sell medicine. This is the Parafarmacia and it also uses a green cross sign.

    A parafarmacia is a herbal medicine shop that is not allowed to sell any normal medicine such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or antibiotics. 

    Instead, parafarmacias sell herbal alternatives to medicine but don't have to prove that they work and they can charge whatever they want.

    We recently heard from a visitor to Gran Canaria who went into a parafarmacia and was charged 40 euros for a herbal alternative to Ibuprofen. It was only when they read the label that they realised what had happened. 

    To locate a genuine farmacia, see this website and search within your municipio (Puerto Rico is in Mogán, Playa del Inglés is in San Bartolomé de Tirajana). At weekends and on fiesta days many farmacias close but there is always one open, known as the farmacia de guardia, in each municipio.

    Search for the nearest one to you with this tool

    Lex Says: To keep costs down, see this article for the way to ask for generic medicine rather than expensive branded alternatives. 

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