How much for a week in the Maltese capital?
Where:Week in Valetta for two
When:May 22nd-May 29th
With the tour operator Budget Travel offers us a week in the
"traditional and extremely elegant" Phoenicia Hotel in the Maltese
capital of Valetta for a smidgen over €2,000, under the tour
operator's Something Special umbrella. The hotel has a "wealth of
amenities and well-appointed rooms". It has a heated outdoor pool
set in a terraced garden and is a short stroll from the main city
shopping area and Grand Harbour. There are regular transfers from
the hotel to the beach and north island. The package includes bed
and buffet breakfast and a direct transfer from the airport, 15
minutes away. We depart from Dublin on Thursday, May 22nd, at
4.55pm and arrive home at 12.55am just over seven days later. The
basic price is €1,944, to which a fuel surcharge of €50
and airport taxes and charges of €54 are added. On the plus
side (or should that be a minus?) we get an online discount of
€40.
How much?€2,008.
On your own We visit the hotel website, where we happen upon a
special offer of €1,080 for the seven nights (the normal
price is more than €1,200). We can't find any cheap flights
direct from Dublin, but flights from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport
with Air Malta are available for €164, departing at 12.05pm
and returning to Amsterdam at 11.15am a week later. To that we must
add taxes of €85.92 and a fuel surcharge of €80, taking
the total cost to €329.92. And of course we have to get to
Amsterdam. We take the 6am flight from Dublin to Amsterdam with Aer
Lingus. The early start is made to seem a lot more attractive by
the €6 fare, and the return flights have a not-too-shabby
basic price of €19. Once taxes, fees and "handling charges"
are added, the fare for two jumps to €188.30. A cab from the
airport to the hotel costs €14.
How much?€1,626.22.
Independent savings€381.78.