From Britain
Choosing how to travel to Ireland depends heavily on the
amounts of time and money available for your trip. Unless you live near
a ferry port the cheaper options of train or coach travel can involve a
lengthy and sometimes arduous journey. Flying is the quicker alternative
and there are usually cheap tickets available to most of the Republic's
airports and, increasingly, to Northern Ireland. However, at the peak
times, such as the days preceding St. Patrick's Day and Easter,
throughout July and August and in the week before Christmas, many of the
low-cost fares may not apply or the few cheap seats may have been booked
long in advance. It's worth looking out for deals advertised in one of
the weekly newspapers catering for the Irish in Britain, such as the
Irish Post or Irish World .
From USA and Canada
Ireland is easily accessible from the USA by a number of
airlines that offer direct flights to the major gateways of Dublin,
Shannon and Belfast. From Canada only indirect flights are available.
Ferries and cheap flights also make Ireland easily accessible as part of
a wider European
travel itinerary
From Australia &Amp, New Zealand
No direct scheduled flights are operated to Ireland from
Australia or New Zealand; all require a transfer in London. British
Airways, Aer Lingus and British Midland team up with a number of
carriers to offer add-on fares to Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Shannon and
Sligo. If you're on a budget it can work out cheaper to buy a low cost
fare to London via Asia and either an add-on fare to Ireland with Aer
Lingus or British Midland before you leave or pickup a bargain airfare
to Ireland in London. Some flights via Asia involve a night's free
overnight stop - often a needed break on long-haul flights - in the
carrier's home city, with accommodation, meals and transfers included in
the ticket price.
For
most major airlines, regular return fares are seasonally adjusted - low
season is from mid-January to the end of February and October to
November; high season is mid-May to August and December to January, with
the remainder of the year classed as "shoulder" season. Tickets
purchased direct from the airlines tend to be expensive; travel
agents generally offer much better deals, and have the latest
information on limited special offers and stopovers. The best discounts
are offered by companies such as Flight Centres, STA and Trailfinders ;
these can also help with visas, travel insurance and tours. You might
also want to have a look on the Internet ; www.travel.com.au
offers discounted fares online, as does www.sydneytravel.com .
Buying a flight to London
is a worthwhile option, if you pick up one of the cheap deals offered by
some carriers in low season, for example, A$1400 from Australia with
Garuda, Royal Brunei and Sri Lankan Airlines. The add-on fare to
destinations in Ireland is around A$180/NZ$210 .
If
you're planning to visit Ireland as part of a wider world trip, then
Round-the-World tickets offer greater flexibility and are better
value than a straightforward return flight. For example, prices for a
RTW ticket from Sydney or Auckland to Singapore or Bangkok, London, side
trip to Dublin or Belfast, New York, Los Angeles, Auckland and back to
Sydney start at around A$2399/NZ$2899; a ticket from Sydney to Auckland,
Santiago, Rio, London, side trip to Dublin or Belfast, Paris, Bangkok,
Singapore and back to Sydney starts at A$2499/NZ$2999.
Ireland
