Staycation Ireland.. Anyone doing it

HeidiHeidi

smellyoldboot wrote: »

What dya want me to say? Enjoy your overpriced week in some cold wet ****hole on the west coast that had its heyday in DeValeras time. But at least you can Instagram that €7 Guinness outside the twee thatched roof pub while you wait for your €25 frozen cod and chips. Good times.

Hyperbole much?


In general, you'll find what you look for.


I've had fabulous breaks in the west of Ireland (some of them rain-sodden, but that's what wet gear is for), enjoying pints far cheaper than in Dublin, and lovely local produce in restaurants and cafés that cost a lot less than €25. In addition to gorgeous beaches, national parks, walks, and scenery to rival anywhere in the world.

bladespin

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

In general, you'll find what you look for.

A guaranteed tan? Can you arrange that?

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

6541

smellyoldboot wrote: »

What dya want me to say? Enjoy your overpriced week in some cold wet ****hole on the west coast that had its heyday in DeValeras time. But at least you can Instagram that €7 Guinness outside the twee thatched roof pub while you wait for your €25 frozen cod and chips. Good times.

Totally with you on this. This is why you need a caravan ! Swap 7 Euro Guinness for 1 Euro Can !

bladespin

bladespin wrote: »

A guaranteed tan? Can you arrange that?

Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Yep, few euro in any supermarket or pharmacy. Guaranteed tan and no skin cancer

bladespin

bubblypop wrote: »

Yep, few euro in any supermarket or pharmacy. Guaranteed tan and no skin cancer

No thanks, I’ll leave the creosote where it is.

beggars_bush

smellyoldboot wrote: »

What dya want me to say? Enjoy your overpriced week in some cold wet ****hole on the west coast that had its heyday in DeValeras time. But at least you can Instagram that €7 Guinness outside the twee thatched roof pub while you wait for your €25 frozen cod and chips. Good times.

Wasn't our experience last summer. Quite the opposite in fact.
Fed 2 adults and child with 2 pints of beautiful Guinness down in Achill last August, outdoor seating. €35.
Up in Donegal we got take 2 away pizzas and 3 cans of craft beer for €30.
On fine days we got steak steak or chicken had the bbq going in the rented houses.
We had grub in Wexford town in August in a lovely Thai restaurant, two adult mains (we s shared with the child) and two beers was €35.

scamalert

smellyoldboot wrote: »

What dya want me to say? Enjoy your overpriced week in some cold wet ****hole on the west coast that had its heyday in DeValeras time. But at least you can Instagram that €7 Guinness outside the twee thatched roof pub while you wait for your €25 frozen cod and chips. Good times.

well aside some amazing irish landscapes, castles and few dozen places, it does sum this island properly, if one can stand just barely above 20c and 50/50 chance it wont be pissing at some stage in the day, this once post sums up ireland staycation properly, not much different as having few cans in your back garden and putting on bbq or some steak for a day yourself and calling it a holiday.

as reality is most want that 30c and be by the pool, not having a bother about how much breakfast or dinner will cost your weeks wages looking at menu, and escape from usual grim grey fck all day to day view.

as by the looks, it will be same as last year, if spain and canaries are rampant and theres no massive dip with pandemic, most with few brain cells will pass on any holidays, given economy could be going to the crap in the long run, cant imagine people splashing cash on sub par holidays here, as yes some families do, but its small numbers to those that go on proper holidays.

beggars_bush

scamalert wrote: »

well aside some amazing irish landscapes, castles and few dozen places, it does sum this island properly, if one can stand just barely above 20c and 50/50 chance it wont be pissing at some stage in the day, this once post sums up ireland staycation properly, not much different as having few cans in your back garden and putting on bbq or some steak for a day yourself and calling it a holiday.

as reality is most want that 30c and be by the pool, not having a bother about how much breakfast or dinner will cost your weeks wages looking at menu, and escape from usual grim grey fck all day to day view.

as by the looks, it will be same as last year, if spain and canaries are rampant and theres no massive dip with pandemic, most with few brain cells will pass on any holidays, given economy could be going to the crap in the long run, cant imagine people splashing cash on sub par holidays here, as yes some families do, but its small numbers to those that go on proper holidays.

What's a 'proper' holiday?

JimmyVik

Minier81 wrote: »

I wonder if the extend the stay and spend tax break.

Not for the summer they wont.

Irish Gunner

Just wondering what are users replies coming back from Hotels

Arranging a few weekend breaks away and emailing hotels

I understand they are in the same boat as all of us. Some are saying come back to us others are saying hopefully opening May, one are taking bookings & some are fully booked for the summer

JimmyVik

We decided to do a house swap with some friends out west.
We fancy a couple of weeks out west, they fancy a couple of weeks in Dublin.
Cheap as chips. No extortionate rip off accommodation prices. Just have to tidy the house
Im surprised we never thought of this in previous years to be honest. (The ones when we couldnt go abroad)

drunkmonkey

You definitely got the better end of that deal..

Just had a look on home exchange, 427 irish houses available, not sure how many want to swap for something within Ireland, haven't used it myself but heard good reports from people who have they were all swapping for something out foreign though bc.

Cape Clear

beggars_bush wrote: »

What's a 'proper' holiday?

I'm also wondering what is so improper with somebody choosing to holiday in the same country they live in.

JimmyVik

drunkmonkey wrote: »

You definitely got the better end of that deal..

Just had a look on home exchange, 427 irish houses available, not sure how many want to swap for something within Ireland, haven't used it myself but heard good reports from people who have they were all swapping for something out foreign though bc.

I didnt use any site. Just asked a few friends if anyone wanted to do it.
After starting the conversation another coupe fo friends are doing it too.
We might end up doing a few rolling swaps at this rate

average_runner

beggars_bush wrote: »

Wasn't our experience last summer. Quite the opposite in fact.
Fed 2 adults and child with 2 pints of beautiful Guinness down in Achill last August, outdoor seating. €35.
Up in Donegal we got take 2 away pizzas and 3 cans of craft beer for €30.
On fine days we got steak steak or chicken had the bbq going in the rented houses.
We had grub in Wexford town in August in a lovely Thai restaurant, two adult mains (we s shared with the child) and two beers was €35.

Was it "The Vineyard" in Wexford?

average_runner

Holidays are really what you make of it and how you approach it.

We always went to South of France for 2 weeks, great weather etc. But we had a great time in Ireland also.

For me its about the quality time with the family, the memories and the laughs.

beggars_bush

average_runner wrote: »

Was it "The Vineyard" in Wexford?

Mi Asian i think

DessieJames

Cape Clear wrote: »

I'm also wondering what is so improper with somebody choosing to holiday in the same country they live in.

Nothing at all if thats what your into, but i detest these people who judge people who decide to go abroad, taking the moral high ground,all holier than thou and unfortunately this virus has showed there are many of them,the bitterness and resentment from some is quite alarming actually.

There should be no problems if someone decides to go abroad on holidays, they need to get a test before they go and coming back and then isolate or another test after 5 days so im failing to see what the huge deal is here, mind you it's Holohan and his minions who clearly have had it in for travel since the start who are yet again telling people not to go abroad,and come 2022 they'll say the same again he'll drag this out for as long as he posisbly can, it's no ones elses business anyway what someone decides to do with their time.

beertons

Got our accommodation confirmed for last 2 weeks in July. Summer all booked up now, with same people going on the same times as last year. Phew.

Tenzor07

DessieJames wrote: »

Nothing at all if thats what your into, but i detest these people who judge people who decide to go abroad, taking the moral high ground,all holier than thou and unfortunately this virus has showed there are many of them,the bitterness and resentment from some is quite alarming actually.There should be no problems if someone decides to go abroad on holidays, they need to get a test before they go and coming back and then isolate or another test after 5 days so im failing to see what the huge deal is here, mind you it's Holohan and his minions who clearly have had it in for travel since the start who are yet again telling people not to go abroad,and come 2022 they'll say the same again he'll drag this out for as long as he posisbly can, it's no ones elses business anyway what someone decides to do with their time.

You're spot on there...

Holoham has been strongly against Travel and has been since the start, so no surprises.

Will people Staycation2021?

It's not going to be easy and people are better to hold off on plans for now as none of us know what the summer is going to look like... Will Ireland be in Level 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... 0?? Who knows... I know the deals may be good for booking accommodation early but if you can't travel outside your county, can only have a beer in your room before 10pm, can only sit outside a pub with 14 others or only limited numbers allowed inside a restaurant/leisure center/tourist attraction = long queue/only booking only. Other question is for parents of school age kids is if the school year/exams etc. will be extended to make up for lost time? Will vaccination status also effect where you can book into or go?
Unless you're a Civil/Public servant then is your employment guaranteed, can you afford to shell out money now for a vacation 5 months down the line?

Too many variables for now to make a firm decision IMO.

HeidiHeidi

DessieJames wrote: »

Nothing at all if thats what your into, but i detest these people who judge people who decide to go abroad, taking the moral high ground,all holier than thou and unfortunately this virus has showed there are many of them,the bitterness and resentment from some is quite alarming actually.

There should be no problems if someone decides to go abroad on holidays, they need to get a test before they go and coming back and then isolate or another test after 5 days so im failing to see what the huge deal is here, mind you it's Holohan and his minions who clearly have had it in for travel since the start who are yet again telling people not to go abroad,and come 2022 they'll say the same again he'll drag this out for as long as he posisbly can, it's no ones elses business anyway what someone decides to do with their time.

It is when there's a highly transmissable virus out there that's spread by human contact/proximity.


Tests are a snapshot in time, and while hugely helpful are far from foolproof. And you're relying on people to do the isolating/quarantining, which plenty won't do.


And why on earth would Tony Holohan "have it in for travel"?

DessieJames

Tenzor07 wrote: »

You're spot on there...

Holoham has been strongly against Travel and has been since the start, so no surprises.

Will people Staycation2021?

It's not going to be easy and people are better to hold off on plans for now as none of us know what the summer is going to look like... Will Ireland be in Level 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... 0?? Who knows... I know the deals may be good for booking accommodation early but if you can't travel outside your county, can only have a beer in your room before 10pm, can only sit outside a pub with 14 others or only limited numbers allowed inside a restaurant/leisure center/tourist attraction = long queue/only booking only. Other question is for parents of school age kids is if the school year/exams etc. will be extended to make up for lost time? Will vaccination status also effect where you can book into or go?
Unless you're a Civil/Public servant then is your employment guaranteed, can you afford to shell out money now for a vacation 5 months down the line?

Too many variables for now to make a firm decision IMO.

i went away last year during the second lockdown and im delighted i did, it was badly needed and everything was great, i came home and restricted my movements for around 10 days not that there was anywhere open anyway , if you take the necessary precautions you will be fine, you didnt need a negative test then but you do now which makes it even safer, you'll get pro NPHET shills reading the riot act but you expect nothing less from these doom merchants , i never knew one man like Holohan could yield such power in a small country like Ireland,i gave up listening to him 6 months ago, he's consistent if nothing else, others might say like a broken record,he genuinely does have it bad for travel, my god wouldnt you just love an exclusive article in the summer with Tony and family spotted somewhere in Europe actually on the subject you'd wonder how many politicans have been and will be going abroad this summer ,probably more than you think, they'll probably go via Belfast in order not to be detected.

DessieJames

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

It is when there's a highly transmissable virus out there that's spread by human contact/proximity.


Tests are a snapshot in time, and while hugely helpful are far from foolproof. And you're relying on people to do the isolating/quarantining, which plenty won't do.


And why on earth would Tony Holohan "have it in for travel"?

ah come on if you cant see he has always had it in for travel then i give up.

they need to introduce rapid antigen tests so people wont have to wait until the following day to get results, either that or reduce the price of the uber expensive PCR test, asides from the UK, it's much cheaper in many countries, indeed i read in Luxemborg rapd antigen tests are FREE.

If they actually done it right and called to peoples house to see if they are isolating and if they are not then they can act on that.

HeidiHeidi

DessieJames wrote: »

ah come on if you cant see he has always had it in for travel then i give up.

they need to introduce rapid antigen tests so people wont have to wait until the following day to get results, either that or reduce the price of the uber expensive PCR test, asides from the UK, it's much cheaper in many countries, indeed i read in Luxemborg rapd antigen tests are FREE.

If they actually done it right and called to peoples house to see if they are isolating and if they are not then they can act on that.

And if they started calling to people's houses you'd have wailing about infringement of civil liberties.


I'm still not clear on WHY would Tony Holohan "have it in for travel"? (apart from trying to reduce transmission of the virus, obv, which is his role)

DessieJames

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

And if they started calling to people's houses you'd have wailing about infringement of civil liberties.


I'm still not clear on WHY would Tony Holohan "have it in for travel"? (apart from trying to reduce transmission of the virus, obv, which is his role)

what do you suggest then seen as you are refuting pretty much everything im saying?

when you look at the figures from the HSE themselves ,covid cases related to travel even going back to last year are extremly low this is even after the busier xmas period, if travel is so dangerous why then isnt there clusters of airline staff, in fact i dont recall hearing of any airline staff who have caught it, and i guarantee you if a flight attendant did get it then mainstream media would be quick to pick up something like this like the vultures they are,blaming travel in addition to other industrys in a deflection to what the real issues are here, a severe lack of any sort of proper track and trace system in Ireland even after al this time thery cant get it right, dismissing the idea out of hand of rapid antigen tests which would be hugely beneficial and instead relying on PCR tests where you have to wait a day or two for results in some cases up to 5 days, unwilling to try any other approach other than lock down which as we have seen is merley kicking the can down the road and is only wrecking the already fragile ecomony more and people are getting more and more depressed, i could go on and on here.

Skipduke

how much is a 3bedroom, 2br house in Kerry worth in Kerry per night? let's say mid summer

JimmyVik

Skipduke wrote: »

how much is a 3bedroom, 2br house in Kerry worth in Kerry per night? let's say mid summer

I got exactly that last July into August for €650 for the week.

Skipduke

JimmyVik wrote: »

I got exactly that last July into August for €650 for the week.

how many people in your group ?

JimmyVik

Skipduke wrote: »

how many people in your group ?

4 Adults 3 children.
The house was about 5 - 10 mins walking distance from the center of Kenmare.

I checked again for this year and didnt see it up, so either its already booked or off the market. But there were lots of holiday homes in Kerry last year.


Possibly this year though the owners are on to the fact it is very unlikely people will be flying abroad this year so captive market.

fits

I think you are looking at at least 120 a night now.

Skipduke

fits wrote: »

I think you are looking at at least 120 a night now.

thats good value for a family to be honest. if you stayed in a hotel, a 120euro room, 2 adults 2 kids squashed in, is grim

Maximus_1

Been looking at family holiday options for the summer and on first glance most of the country is booked up. Wow. Confined to July and August because of school (assuming they'll be open again!) and holy moly anywhere half decent seems to be booked. Self catering wise anyway. Afraid to look at the price of a decent hotel and family room setup!

jrosen

Maximus_1 wrote: »

Been looking at family holiday options for the summer and on first glance most of the country is booked up. Wow. Confined to July and August because of school (assuming they'll be open again!) and holy moly anywhere half decent seems to be booked. Self catering wise anyway. Afraid to look at the price of a decent hotel and family room setup!

If you have the chance to take a break with your family and your happy to holiday in Ireland dont let school get in the way. Take the kids out

AFK123

Maximus_1 wrote: »

Been looking at family holiday options for the summer and on first glance most of the country is booked up. Wow. Confined to July and August because of school (assuming they'll be open again!) and holy moly anywhere half decent seems to be booked. Self catering wise anyway. Afraid to look at the price of a decent hotel and family room setup!

I got 3 nights bed and breakfast in Whites Clayton in wexford for first few days in July for 560 for 2 interconnecting rooms for 3 adults and 3 kids so still some good options there

trixi001

Maximus_1 wrote: »

Been looking at family holiday options for the summer and on first glance most of the country is booked up. Wow. Confined to July and August because of school (assuming they'll be open again!) and holy moly anywhere half decent seems to be booked. Self catering wise anyway. Afraid to look at the price of a decent hotel and family room setup!

Sent you a PM of my airbnb

Cape Clear

Maximus_1 wrote: »

Been looking at family holiday options for the summer and on first glance most of the country is booked up. Wow. Confined to July and August because of school (assuming they'll be open again!) and holy moly anywhere half decent seems to be booked. Self catering wise anyway. Afraid to look at the price of a decent hotel and family room setup!

If it's self catering you are after have a look at vrbo.com and also worth keeping an eye on airbnb some properties may still be added. I picked up a place a few days ago that was first listed on Sunday. It could also be the case that people may have booked multiple trips that they could end up cancelling closer to the summer for a variety of reasons.

West/North West and midlands seems more keenly priced than the east to South westerly coast.

Don't be afraid to haggle on airbnb either.

beggars_bush

Done deal
Daft
Shamrockcottages.co.uk

average_runner

AFK123 wrote: »

I got 3 nights bed and breakfast in Whites Clayton in wexford for first few days in July for 560 for 2 interconnecting rooms for 3 adults and 3 kids so still some good options there

If you are stuck for ideas, ping me.

Probably could be a separate thread in another section for people peddling their wares.

Cape Clear

Did anyone get to visit Ailwee cave last year? Was there years ago but thinking of popping in this July with the kids.

redmissb

We've booked an airbnb for four days near Dungarvan and a week in Kenmare. We're going to the same house in Kenmare as last year, can't wait we had a lovely time. In Dungarvan we plan on doing the Greenway and a few other day trips. Free cancellation and full refund on both of them if any travel regulations in place..I hope there won't be in August!

alchemist33

Cape Clear wrote: »

Did anyone get to visit Ailwee cave last year? Was there years ago but thinking of popping in this July with the kids.

I was there about 3 years ago and it was as good as I remember from my teens. If its caves you want, Marble Arch in Fermanagh is also good.

appledrop

Cape Clear wrote: »

Did anyone get to visit Ailwee cave last year? Was there years ago but thinking of popping in this July with the kids.

We were there about 3 years ago aswell + really enjoyed the birds of prey show aswell as the caves.

fdevine

Cape Clear wrote: »

Did anyone get to visit Ailwee cave last year? Was there years ago but thinking of popping in this July with the kids.

Looking at the same ourselves, as well as the Doolin Cave which I'd never heard of TBH

No idea if either were open through last summer. IIRC Mitchelstoen & Dunmore Caves were both closed in July during our 2020 staycation

Yet to pull the trigger for this year due to having a LC student

duffysfarm

Went to two hotels last year during covid with wife and 3 kids. Just not worth it imo to do it again this year. booking breakfast, booking swimming pools just takes the good out of it.

Cape Clear

alchemist33 wrote: »

I was there about 3 years ago and it was as good as I remember from my teens. If its caves you want, Marble Arch in Fermanagh is also good.

appledrop wrote: »

We were there about 3 years ago aswell + really enjoyed the birds of prey show aswell as the caves.

Thanks guys. Just wondering how long are we talking time wise to do the caves and the birds of prey? Is it something that you would need to set aside a half day to do or less?

average_runner

duffysfarm wrote: »

Went to two hotels last year during covid with wife and 3 kids. Just not worth it imo to do it again this year. booking breakfast, booking swimming pools just takes the good out of it.

Any hotel i was ever in pre covid, you had to book breakfast. From the standard to the very best hotels out there.

beggars_bush

duffysfarm wrote: »

Went to two hotels last year during covid with wife and 3 kids. Just not worth it imo to do it again this year. booking breakfast, booking swimming pools just takes the good out of it.

I really don't see the issue here.
We always go for breakfast before the rush at 10am. We actually found the breakfast experience much better as the staff waited on us and there was no buffet
We stayed in two hotels last summer and they were very good

FlubberJones

A holiday for me is an exotic location and some "different" weather, preferably warm... or even hot.

Not 150 miles down the road in rain and cloud and having the option "to head home this is ****e"

If there is not an option to fly by June or July then this government have made a complete f*ckfest of things

fdevine

average_runner wrote: »

Any hotel i was ever in pre covid, you had to book breakfast. From the standard to the very best hotels out there.

Pre COVID I have never been to a hotel anywhere that required having a reservation for breakfast, which is what I believe other posters mean by booking.

The issue we had was that you had to pre-book a specific time for breakfast. In our case, on at least one morning, we couldn't get the same time slot for all of us together. No takeout and no room option.

Hotel we stayed in had an online (external) reservation system for breakfast and dinner and slots were being filled 2-3 days in advance.