trip to ireland

[david t]

hello,

ive planned my trip to ireland for january next year.

having seen the cost of the flights and then car hire, i am thinking seriously about getting the ferry over, and instead of a B&B, sleeping in the back of a van, not a camper van, but a transit, with two sleeping bags in the back.

 

has anyone done this to save on costs, any tips on making a van habitable for a week in january?

 

im slowly seeing the cost rise up and up, and i need a shortcut to save some cash.

 

any other advice on doing the travel and accomodation bit cheaply?

 

cheers for the advice, dave.

[Steve Burke]

You may be able to get free or cheap accomodation, at least for some nights. We went to Ireland in 1997 and booked a package with vouchers for B&Bs + the ferry. The cost was only a little more than the ferry alone. I seem to remember that we got about half the nights free.

 

I don't know whether this scheme is still available, but I expect there are similar package deals on offer.

[Marginmaster]

Where about are you going, north or south, which airport were you looking to fly into, I reguarly go to Ireland and as long as you book well in advance you can get flights for 30 or 40 quid. accomodation can be cheap aswell, only the weekend before last I stayed, with thre others for three nights in a three bed cottage 2 en suites and all mod cons, for 120 Euro thats 10 Euro per night per person, and had superb beach and rock fishing omn the front door. Stu.

[david t]

cheers all,

im going to the river suck which is in the middle, the nearest airport is knock airport, but by the sound of it there are limited flights to that airport.

 

its a toss up, as to whether we get a flight and hire car, or we get a ferry with the van onboard, both are similar prices, in the region of £200+.

 

im more tempted by the ferry and van, as i bet i would lose the deposit on the hire car when it comes back muddy and smelling of deadbaits.

 

thanks again.

[Adam S]

i have done this kind of thing before, and while it does save money it can be a real trial if the weather is bad.

 

if it rains you will have to spend a damp few days in the back of a transit, would you be abel to dry two full sets of rain gear in the cab.

 

what if temps go sub zero with no insulation in the van? will you be able to carry enough freah water and will you have anywhere to keep your deadbaits fresh, if you find a frozen or very cold lake can you catch any and will you be able to keep yours frozen?

 

for a few days i might do it, but is it worth risking the enjoyment to save the money. what we normally do is to rent a small house or shalet, b and bs do not give value for money IMO

[Newt]

Since you have plenty of time and since the exchange rate GBP to USD is so favorable toward UK buyers these days, you might want to consider getting one of These to use with the van.

[david t]

cheers lads,

 

the tent thing is ok, i will bear it in mind.

 

thats a good few points you make, while i could sleep in the back of a van happily, i have to admit that i didnt really think about drying wet gear.

 

we are going in january, so it probably will rain for a reasonable amount of time, and i suppose you may only get things half dry, and the van would also fill up with condensation no doubt.

its all the little things, like the fresh water that you mention, that would make it not so nice.

 

ive only ever done over nighters before, so this week long fishing trip is abit new to me, its best i think it all through before hand, and good advice helps no end,

many thanks to all.

[Ken L]

Have you checked out the aerlingus deals at the moment ?

£1 each way.

Whith taxes and all the other gumph, it works out at £21 each way so if it's going to be a short trip, that's going to be hard to beat. Obviously, the longer you stay, the more you save by taking your own car but that ferry is expensive...

[Adam S]

Hi

 

one last thing it might be worth directly ringing one of the local guest house owners or anyone renting a house in the area. They should be able to put you in touch with someone who has a small house to rent for a week. Or else they will have a brother,sister or cousin etc who has something to rent. you wont find the links on any websites so ringing direct would be the best bet.

 

This is what we do when going to kerry and it has always worked out. in july we got a three bedroom chalet with all mod cons and nice big fire, big freezer and radiant heater etc for $300 euro for the week. There was three of us so that worked out at less than £70 each for the week. and as we were self catering the food was cheap too.

 

might be a good option for you.

[david t]

Thankyou all,

 

Im aware that you can often get a good deal on a chalet compared to a B&B, trouble is sometimes, the more people you have, the cheaper a chalet is, but as there are only two of us, there might not be as much difference as if there were four of us.

 

i will take a look at chalets etc on the net in that area, then i will have a better idea.

 

thanks again.