GO ASK JOAN: All your travel questions answered by JOAN SCALES
Greece on the cheap
My seven friends and I are planning a trip to the Greek island of Ios for two weeks in July. We are poor students on a tight budget. What would be the cheapest way to travel (plane or ferry) and the best accommodation (hotel, hostel or rented apartment/villa)? We’d also be grateful for any other advice pertaining to cheap deals, tips etc. – ROC, Dublin
Ios, or Ireland Overseas as it is often known, is a fun place for students. It's just a bit awkward to get to, as you have to travel via another city. Aer Lingus has a flight to Athens three days a week, at about €320 return. There are a number of ferry services from Piraeus port. To get to Ios will cost around €70 return; the slower the ferry, the cheaper the ticket, see Greeka.com. The nearest airport to Ios is on Santorini Island (Thira), and the ferry from there takes around an hour. There are some charter seats from airports in the UK, but these offer no great savings.
I do have a suggestion: it is a convoluted routing, but it could shave a lot off the cost and give you a fun experience. Ryanair has introduced a number of routes to Greece from the UK in the past year. Liverpool-to-Rhodes seems good value, taking advantage of Ryanair’s regular sales and travelling midweek. I have seen Dublin-to-Liverpool for €44 and Liverpool-to-Rhodes from £136 (€168). Travel light to save on baggage charges.
From Rhodes you could take a ferry via Santorini to Ios. Ryanair also has a route to from Liverpool to Kos, a bit further away but with ferry connections via Santorini too. Ferries don’t run daily from Rhodes or Kos, so be sure to check the timetables.
Accommodation in Greece can be quite basic. The cheapest type is sleeping on the roof; next up is campsites, then hostels or rooms in private houses. Greece is not as cheap as it used to be: costs have increased for transport and alcohol. Have a look at FarOutClub.comfor camping from €10 per night.
Something for everyone
We are planning a family get-together to celebrate my 70th birthday. The details are as follows: there are 11 grandchildren aged up to 20 years, but including four under 10.
The men in the group like to play golf and the ladies enjoy sightseeing, spa treatments and some golf. There are five separate families with children, plus one with no children. I am thinking of maybe a four or five-star hotel for those who want to take only a short break, and separate houses or apartments for the families with younger children and those who want to make a proper holiday out of the trip.
It has to be in July or August because of the schoolgoing children.
We would need to be near a good restaurant for the birthday meal and for some of the party who prefer to eat out on holiday. We would need access to a swimming pool or the seaside. Cost is not the biggest problem: it is trying to get all the elements together, so I would be very grateful for any advice. – JK, Mayo
Around Ireland there are a number of very fine hotel-holiday resorts with a mix of accommodation that could suit your family. For example, it might be a hike but Parknasilla ( parknasillahotel.ie) in Kerry is lovely. It ticks all the boxes with a variety of accommodation, pool and spa facilities and a lovely restaurant. You also have Kenmare, Sneem and indeed the whole of Kerry to explore.
In Cork, the Castlemartyr Resort ( CastlemartyrResort.ie) is a very good quality hotel with spa, restaurant and swimming pool. The golf course is great: an inland links that the lads may enjoy playing. The grounds are lovely, and the kids would enjoy running about and climbing trees. It is also very close to Cork city and Ballymaloe for special dinners.
Kilkenny has the Mount Juliet Estate ( MountJuliet.com), which is also a great resort for a mixed generation holiday. There's a top-class golf course, horse riding, bikes, swimming pool and during the summer they usually have events on for the children. The formal restaurant would be lovely for your dinner. Everyone could get dressed up and be lords and ladies of the manor.
Farnham Estate ( FarnhamEstate.ie) in Cavan is only an hour from Dublin airport. Run by the Radisson Blu hotel company, it is a big estate, hundreds of acres, and has a golf course, a spa, a lovely inside/outside swimming pool and a variety of accommodation. In this area you also have Neven Maguire's MacNean House for a special dinner.
Keeping baby sitting pretty
We are travelling to Portugal in June with our 17-month-old son. A car is available for us to use there, but we will need a car seat. We have a rear-facing Recaro Polaric at home that cannot be taken with us. What would you advise? Should we buy a seat and bring it as luggage? Should we order one online to have waiting for us in Portugal? It seems to be difficult to find information about this online. – CM, Dublin
As your son is 17 months old, you are going to have to upgrade to the next size of car seat, so buying one would be the best option. It is difficult to find companies that hire car seats without cars. And even if you did find one, it may cost about €8 per day.
Depending on which airline you are flying with, you may have to include the car seat as part of your luggage allowance and pay a fee for it. Halfords offer good value in car seats.
Recently, a friend used the Trunki Boostapak, which is a car booster seat that doubles as a backpack. It is strong and sturdy and has the advantage that you can use it to carry toys. It weighs around 1.5kg and costs €43 online at Halfords.ieor in store, and from Trunki.com. It is only suitable for children weighing more than 15kgs.