Thomas Cook selling Tenerife holiday for more than £145,000

The wallet-busting trip for two includes easyJet flights from Gatwick – but not checked baggage or transfers

Simon Calder
Travel Correspondent
Wednesday 12 July 2023 11:46 BST
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Views to break the bank: The Sol Costa Atlantis Tenerife hotel, where an all-inclusive week comes with a rather high bill
Views to break the bank: The Sol Costa Atlantis Tenerife hotel, where an all-inclusive week comes with a rather high bill (Sol Costa Atlantis Tenerife)

A couple will pay an eye-watering £147,280.77 for an all-inclusive stay and flights in Tenerife if they book with Thomas Cook – and still need to pay an extra £72 for baggage.

Considering many prospective holidaymakers are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, the online travel agent has some ambitious pricing for an early summer holiday in the Canary Islands.

The Independent calculates that (without baggage) the holiday, where guests will stay at the Sol Costa Atlantis Tenerife, costs £775 per hour.

The price does not include transfers, though purchasers could economise by taking the local Titsa bus, number 343, from Tenerife South airport direct to Puerto de la Cruz.

The holiday cost falls by 99.4 per cent to £910 for two for the week if the holidaymakers are content with bed and breakfast. The flights alone currently cost £216 for two, excluding baggage.

To check availability, The Independent made a test booking but was unable to complete payment due to a credit-card limit issue.

A spokesperson for Thomas Cook said: “There are occasions when hotels – especially for bookings far in advance – will not yet have determined their rates for all board types.

“In this case, the hotel is probably still considering how best to price its full-board rate. But to stay there bed and breakfast – that is a very reasonable £455 including flights. We’ll be in touch with the hotel to encourage them to finalise their pricing soon so customers who want the full-board experience can book it.”

Puerto de la Cruz, on the beautiful northwestern coast of Tenerife, is at its loveliest in early May. With warm sunshine, refreshing breezes from the Atlantic and cool evenings, it presents a perfect time and place for an all-inclusive holiday.

At the Sol Costa Atlantis Tenerife, for example, Thomas Cook says: “Palm tree-lined terraces surround the hotel … order a drink or snack from the poolside bar and find a sunny or shaded spot on one of the terraces … stroll through the hotel’s gardens to the shore and the resort centre.”

The first Thomas Cook holiday, a one-day temperance outing from Leicester to Loughborough in 1841, cost one shilling (5p), including transport and non-alcoholic refreshments.

The Tenerife holiday currently on offer is 1.47 million times more expensive.

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