September 20, 2004 -- Fall and spring are great times to visit Ireland. The Emerald Isle becomes even more lush and verdant, and prices on packages and airfares hit new lows. Below, we've picked a few of the best deals.
A Taste of Ireland
For this fall and next spring, CIE Tours (800/CIE-TOUR; www.cietours.com), a specialist in travel to Ireland, has a six-day, four-night Taste of Ireland trip, fully escorted, and priced from $796 including roundtrip flights on Aer Lingus from New York, Boston or BWI. The travel dates are from now through December 9, 2004 and again from February 10 through April 28, 2005.Most departures are on Tuesdays or Thursdays and some Saturdays.
In addition to the airfare, the package price covers escorted motor coach sightseeing; superior and first class hotel lodging with private bath or shower for four nights; full Irish breakfasts daily; four dinners including a medieval banquet and entertainment at Bunratty Castle and a dinner with cabaret at the famed Abbey Tavern in Dublin; a welcome drink; tour and tasting at the Guinness Storehouse; tea and scones at a farmhouse; horse-drawn jaunting cart ride in Killarney; a ferry ride across the Shannon River; a flight bag and ticket wallet; and all taxes and hotel service charges.
You visit Dublin, Blarney, Killarney, the Ring of Kerry, the Clare coast, and the Cliffs of Moher. Also included are admission to Dublin Castle, Blarney Castle, and Muckross House. In Dublin you stay at the Burlington Hotel or similar for one night, in Killarney at the Killarney Towers or similar for two nights, and in Shannon at the Great Southern or similar for one night.
United Vacations
United Vacations (888/328-6877; www.unitedvacations.com), in affiliation with United Airlines, is offering deals from now through October 31, 2005, to 21 popular European cities, and to London through March 31, 2005. Sample vacations include roundtrip air on United, four nights of hotel accommodations, daily breakfast, and more.
For instance, travel to Dublin from Seattle in the period from November 1, 2004 through February 26, 2005, runs from $864 for three nights at one of two Jurys Inn hotels, reflecting a savings of $50, if you use the promotional code EURSAV at time of booking. You have until October 31, 2004 to book at this rate.
Typical vacations to other cities from New York and Boston include Amsterdam or Frankfurt from $619 or Vienna from $639.
Flights Only
If you don't care about reserving lodging ahead of time, consider taking a flight through www.cheapflights.com, a British-based outfit that is now coming on strong in the USA. Although the fares and deals change constantly, at time of writing, these were a sample of what was available:
On select dates only between October 1 and December 31, 2004, Lufthansa has a fare of just $263, but you have to connect in Germany, probably Frankfurt, a bit out of the way.
O'Connors, an Ireland specialist which Cheapflights says "probably is not included in other large travel web site searches," has a $388 fare round trip between now and October 15, 2004. They also have a fare of $485 until October 31, 2004. Iceland Air has a flight for $335 between September 29 and October 6, 2004. Alitalia has one for the same dates at $355, and Aer Lingus at $418.
NOTE that in none of the air-inclusive deals mentioned above are airport taxes and security fees included.