Friday, 16 August 2019 20:29

Living In Gran Canaria: Resident Discounts & Perks

There are lots of perks to living in Gran Canaria, including the weather, the cheap petrol and wine, and the general smugness that it gives you. Then there are the Gran Canaria resident discounts …

Here’s our guide to the top discounts that Gran Canaria residents are entitled to.

Gran Canaria resident discounts on inter-island transport

Once you get your Gran Canaria residencia, make sure you register for the 50% discount on travel between the Canary Islands. Most municipios allow you to do it online, but the system isn’t perfect so it may not recognise you straight away.

If you have a problem, just head to your ayuntamiento and ask for “el certificado de residencia para bonificación de viajes”. It costs a few euros and you need to show it to each transport company at least once to get into their system as a resident.

If you book resident fares without a certificate, the travel companies will ask you to pay up, or even refuse you passage.

Travel To Mainland Spain for Gran Canaria residents

Canary Islands residents get 50% of travel between the islands and mainland Spain. However, be careful when you book an indirect flight through a Spanish airport. Some airline websites apply the discount to the second leg, then get in a huff when you check in.

The discount is only valid between the Canaries and your first Spanish stop.

Taking a car from Gran Canaria to the Mainland? The 50% discount also applies to ferry travel.

Money off the Yellow Submarine and other tourist attractions

Most tourist attractions offer a resident discount. For example, if you book the Yellow Submarine as a resident you get a 20% discount. Add this to the 10% discount you get for booking online, and you’ve saved a good chunk of change.

Frequent use tickets for residents

Another offer to look out for is frequent user tickets from theme parks like Palmitos Park. You can often buy a ticket that gives you unlimited trips for the cost of two or three visits. Not much use if you’re a tourist, but pretty good value if you are resident. The Angry Birds Park in Puerto Rico does an annual use ticket that is great value if you live close by and can use it regularly.

Discount museum & gallery entry

Lots of Gran Canaria’s museums offer cut-price entrance to residents. All you need is your green NIE form or card.

Also, look out for free entry days at Gran Canaria museums. For example, many museums are free on the first Sunday of the month.

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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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