From planning a month in the US to skiing on a budget and a honeymoon in November – JOAN SCALESanswers your travel questions
We need help planning US trip
Next year we will be 40 years married and hope to celebrate with a trip to the US. We are planning to go for up to four weeks or longer, travelling from New York to the west coast, say San Francisco, see Yellowstone National Park and/or Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, possibly New Orleans. We need help in planning the trip and how much it is likely to cost? Should we take some domestic flights and should these be booked from here or when we get to the US? What about a fly/drive holiday? ER, Dublin
Exploring the US is a wonderful trip and a little bit of planning can make it memorable. It is a huge country and the hardest part will be deciding where to see during the four weeks.
I have found over the years that Delta Airlines has good deals from Ireland if you book all your journey legs here. Continental has good fares and whichever you use will depend on the places you want to see. Both airlines cover most of the country.
You can pick legs from anywhere and you don’t have to go into and out of the same city. Use the “multicity” option when booking. I priced a five-city trip next May with Delta, from Dublin, to New York, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago and back, and it worked out at €906 including taxes. Be flexible when booking flights. If the fares look dear, move dates. Get a list of American holidays, and there are a few long weekends during the year and people tend to travel over those weekends.
You can book car hire one way, and flights the other. Low cost carriers in the US are Southwest, JetBlue and Spirit. Prices in hotels vary wildly, depending on the city. New York and Boston are expensive; New Orleans and Las Vegas are inexpensive. Assuming you want to stay in reasonably nice hotels, budget €120 per room per night. Many of the national parks have cabins to rent and camping grounds (see nps.gov).
A comfortable car will cost around €25 to €30 a day. Some rental firms give discounts for paying in advance. Shop around for the best value: hertz.com, holidayautos.ie, enterprise.com and arguscarhire.com. At the end of your trip it might be relaxing to stay in one place for a week, rent a house or apartment and get a feel for living like a local. You can find rentals on vrbo.com and homeaway.com. If the task is too daunting a good travel agent will be able to help. Before you book anything, take out travel insurance.
All-in skiing on a budget
I am hoping to bring my nine-year-old skiing (for the first time) in January. I am at a loss to know what I should be looking for in choosing country, resort and accommodation. I think much of the fun of skiing is having fun with others. Essentials would be English speaking ski school, slopes close to accommodation, preferably a hotel (pool would be great) and short transfers. All this on a budget! Is it wishful thinking that such a holiday is available? MG, Waterford
Skiing is a great holiday for kids and parents, and you will get a chance to have some fun and enjoy a shared experience. It is a great way to meet people too, in an informal setting.
Don’t expect bargains in the first week in January, but prices are lower than previous years. Budget €1,600 to €2,200 for your trip (this includes flights, transfers, ski school, lift passes, accommodation and equipment). Bulgaria and Andorra are the low cost destinations.
Staying in half board accommodation is better value. There is little difference between self-catering and half board, about €70 per week per person. You would also meet more families going half-board, and your son will have a chance to mix with other children in the evenings too.
Expect a transfer of one to three hours for most resorts, being high in the mountains and with snowy roads to negotiate. All ski resorts have English speaking instructors. The cheapest destination this year is Bulgaria with Andorra close behind. France and Austria are around the same price, but accommodation tends to be better in Austria.
I have taken my children skiing/snowboarding to Andorra and Austria, and they loved it. The slopes in Andorra are perfect for beginners and a lot of the instructors are Spanish. In Austria the skiing was more challenging, and the instructors were very good.
There are flights to Andorra and Austria from Cork this season and from Dublin there’s also flights to Italy, France, Switzerland, Slovenia and Bulgaria. The following tour operators are running programmes from Ireland for the ski season: topflight.ie, inghams.ie, crystalski.ie and directski.com. Shop around for the best prices.
€3,000 budget for honeymoon
We are getting married on November 27th and have €3,000 to spend on the honeymoon. We would like somewhere warmish and a little bit of luxury. It can be two or three locations. We’ve considered the Caribbean but it appears very expensive – we’ve been quoted €5,000 all-in. We also feel the all-in resorts may be a little stifling, and too big. KM Dublin
November is a good time to be going on honeymoon as prices are lower than at any other time of the year. The Caribbean can be expensive, but there are ways of getting there within your budget, and islands that are less expensive than others.
The best prices I have seen are from the UK with Thomson Holidays, where two weeks all-in in the Dominican Republic or Jamaica costs from £900-£1,200pps (€1,045 to €1,400). Flights to London should be available for €100 or under in November.
Thailand and Malaysia are both reasonable in November, as are the Red Sea resorts of Egypt. The following agents in Ireland should be able to find you a good holiday within your budget: classicresorts.ie, tropicalsky.ie, trailfinders.ie, joewalshtours.ie, and travelmood.ie. If making your own arrangements, the destinations with nice temperatures in November are the Caribbean, Canary Islands, Red Sea, and Thailand.
Send your questions with name and address to jscales@irishtimes.com