From a hotel in Killarney for a family do in January to cheap winter sun holidays, JOAN SCALESanswers your travel questions
Hotel for a family do in January
We have a 50th wedding anniversary and a 40th birthday in the family coming up so I'd like to book us all for dinner and an overnight in a nice hotel, preferably one with a pool. There would be 13 of us, including six teenagers. Both dates fall in January, when many hotels are closed. It might be better if the hotel were not too far from a town. Since some of the family will be coming down from Dublin to us in Cork there is no point in going up there, but I wondered about Killarney, if we are blessed with good weather there are some lovely walks and perhaps a boat ride.- AN, Cork
Killarney is a good choice for your family celebrations as it is a town that never closes. Any time of the year is good in Killarney. Some hotels may close early in the week, but there is a good selection open at weekends.
The following hotels all have restaurants and swimming pools, and will be open in January. I am giving you a selection at different prices from around €75 per room per night to €220.
They are: Dromhall Hotel (dromhall.com); the Brehon (thebrehon.com); Gleneagle (gleneaglehotel.com); Holiday Inn (holidayinn.com), Killarney Park (killarneyparkhotel.ie); and the Malton (themalton.ie).
Killarney also has a good variety of restaurants if you wanted to eat outside the hotel. See killarney.ie. Also in Kerry, you could consider the Kenmare Bay Hotel (kenmarebayhotel.com) which has good leisure facilities and is five minutes from the town, and there is a very good selection of restaurants.
Cheap French course in Paris
What’s the cheapest way to take part in a French language course for a week in Paris between December 27th and January 16th. I have just started my first year in college and want to improve my spoken French before my exams. As I have a friend living in the city, I will have somewhere to stay but please advise me on the best value flights and courses. - RN, Dublin
Having accommodation in Paris will make it cost-effective for you. Most courses will resume on January 3rd, 2011.
There is an Irish company, Stein Study Abroad, which organises French courses in Paris at the FIAP Jean Monnet Centre. Classes are 20 hours per week and the school is accredited by the French education ministry for language training. A two-week course costs around €545. See steinstudyabroad.ie or tel 01-4759646.
Alliance Française in Montparnasse also runs courses in Paris and the cost is around €234 per week for 20 hours tuition (alliancefr.org).
Have a look also at parisinfo.com under “practical Paris” for a list of other language schools. There may be other cheaper options, but it’s best to go to accredited schools.
When it comes to getting to Paris you have a choice of three airlines and two airports. Ryanair is usually the cheapest with flights to Beauvais and the bus transfer costs €15 each way. Aer Lingus and Air France fly to Charles de Gaulle Airport and bus transfers from there are around €5 each way. Flights at the beginning of the year are around €100-€150.
January sun with kids
We are a family with three small children between the ages of one and five, and are looking at options to go away for a week in the sun after Christmas. I am free up to January 10th. I’ve heard this is a costly time to go away, but you might have some options for a family break, preferably not too long a flight. - BO’H, Dublin
This is a premium week of the year for travel and is always reflected in the prices. There is also very little availability this year after Christmas. To get the sun you will need to go to the Canary Islands or Morocco. Egypt is probably just too far with small children.
There are flights to Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife in the Canary Islands with Aer Lingus and Ryanair, and fares are in the region of €300-€350 return each. Accommodation is good value and you will find apartments to rent in the region of €300-€600 for that week.
Check booking.com. Ryanair’s villas and apartments to rent section has some nice properties at good prices.
If you want to go with a tour operator, Falcon Holidays has Cinco Plazas in Puerto del Carmen on Lanzarote from €582pps self-catering – falconholidays.ie.
And online travel agent clickandgo.com has a week in Morocco in Agadir at the Caribbean Club, flying with Aer Lingus on January 1st, all-inclusive for €682pps.
GO ASK JOAN
Send your questions with name and address to jscales@irishtimes.com