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GETTING THERE |
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To begin, select a topic in the navigation bar to the left
Getting there 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 .
Getting there from the 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
Getting there from Australia & 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.
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