New travel widget shows attractions on the way

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My Discover Ireland tells you what to expect along the way

My Discover Ireland tells you what to expect along the way.

Just got word of a new web site that has some interesting features. Say you’re in Belfast for breakfast and plan to be in Dublin for supper. That’s only a couple of hours driving time, so you want to stop at some sights on the way. My Discover Ireland will help you do that.

This web site has a nice graphic interface, is very customizable, and will show you what attractions lay along your route. The sample search from Belfast to Dublin reveals a couple of dozen choices for your journey.

Their database has a lot of small locations, as well as major ones, you you can get as detailed as you like. You can zoom in and out, change your starting and ending points, and even add your chosen attractions to the itinerary. It will show you the distance in both kilometers and miles, driving time, and fuel costs for the trip. You can select or deselect the categories for your attractions, viewing cultural destinations, museums, historic sites, outdoors, and general attractions. Too much detail? Zoom in, or deselect some categories. Too little? Add some back in.

I discovered you need to be specific about your starting point and destination For instance, even though Derry shows on the map where it belongs, putting it in as a starting point showed it some place in Limerick. Apparently, there’s a tiny little town there called Derry. If you put Londonderry, UK, it finds the right place.

I put in Wicklow, Ireland, and instead of the town, it placed my destination several miles east. Apparently, you have to specify Wicklow Town to get that instead of the mountains, but Wicklow Town doesn’t come up in the autofill suggestions.

So I wouldn’t navigate by this, at least not yet, but it gives some marvelous information on what you’ll find along the way. Check out My Discover Ireland for your next trip.

“Got no fixed abode, with nomads I have wandered”

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There’s a really meaningful Irish song, written by Ewan MacColl, which laments the diminishing numbers of The Travelers, who are the Irish equivalent of gypsies. They have an idea where they’re going, but don’t worry too much about the details of how they’re going to get there, or how long they’ll stay.

I was reminded of that song recently, when I saw a quote from Lao Tzu, the famous Chinese philosopher. “A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”

Both of these make a statement about travel that many of us would find unnerving. We usually develop painstaking itineraries, with dates and times and details of where we’re going to stay, and how we’re going to get there. When I do a custom trip to Ireland for someone, I research bus schedules, opening hours, and the like, and I work through the whole trip minute by minute to make sure my clients aren’t stranded or wind up in the wrong place. I often recommend they book attractions ahead of time, to make sure of being able to go. I tell them to bring enough cash to pay the B&B because some of them don’t take credit cards.

And yet, the surprises on a journey are sometimes the most memorable part of the trip. I remember speaking with a member of a group of doctors who had taken a tour of China that wound up in Beijing just as police were cracking down on protesters in Tienanmen Square. He described how the tour operator rounded them up onto a special bus and sneaked them out of town to the airport just ahead of flight cancellations and serious security restrictions. He almost glowed as the told me about these experiences and how he wanted to go back to China as soon as possible. Scared? Yes, but also tantalized and excited.

That kind of travel does appeal to some people, such as the college-ager who backpacks across western Europe. But we don’t have to go to that extreme to find the footloose version of travel, providing we do some advance preparation.

Many B&Bs and guesthouses, especially when it’s not high season, have openings for which you can call just hours in advance to book. And there are associations that keep lists of local accommodations, so you can call two or three if you have to, to find someplace to stay on short notice.

Having a car makes your itinerary much more flexible, but Ireland also has pretty decent public transportation and you can get from place to place fairly easily. Jump on the bus or train, call ahead to find a place to stay, and voila, you’re on your way to a new adventure.

In much of Europe, you can hop a train in the evening and arrive in another country by morning. Transportation and accommodation in one!

Food is another issue, but if you’re not tied to four-star restaurants, your options are pretty open. Stop at a farmers market or a grocer’s and pick up some picnic style eats; fruit, sandwich fixings, bottled drinks, etc., and you can dine almost anywhere. Hit a little cafe or pub when you get the chance and you’re much more in touch with the local scene all around.

One essential item for this kind of travel is a good guidebook. I recommend those published by Rick Steves. They are practical, informative, and updated every year “on the ground” from actual travel experiences. You can also get good information from Frommer’s, Michelin, Fodor’s, Lonely Planet and more. Rick recommends tearing out the sections that cover your destination and leaving the rest behind. A good tip for traveling light.

With this kind of travel, “light” becomes even more important. You don’t want to be schlepping a heavy suitcase when you walk a few blocks from the train station to the guesthouse, or when you’re hopping a bus with limited baggage space.

There’s a comfort factor in a package tour or pre-arranged itinerary that can be very relaxing, but if you long for a more flexible holiday, that’s possible and enjoyable as well.

Book your trip 34 days in advance

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I’ve been saying for some time now that the best airfares are found 30-90 days before departure, now that has been confirmed by statistics. A new survey by the online travel search engine Kayak finds that the best time to arrange an international flight is 34 days before departure..

The number-crunching revealed what many frequent flyers already know – those who wait until the last moment will almost certainly pay more for their fare. Prices begin to jump up by 30 percent or more seven days before the departure day.

But the survey of more than a billion airfare searches also showed that it’s not always a good idea to book too far in advance, the Daily Mail reported. For international tickets, the prime booking window might get you a fare more than $35 cheaper than if you book six months in advance.

The study revealed that short international flights are 21 percent less expensive leaving on a Tuesday and returning the following Wednesday. For longer trips, such as Denver to Ireland, passengers can save up to 9 percent by leaving on a Saturday and returning on a Sunday.

The compilers of the research, travel website Kayak, sifted through an average of 100 million queries a month from January to December 2011. Here are some tips for finding low fares:

  • It pays to plan ahead. The closer you are to your traveling day the more you pay. Why? Because a while back some smart guys and gals at an airline figured out that business travelers tend to schedule meetings at the last minute and have the least flexibility. So while the airlines stick it to the business folk, a well-organized vacationer can take advantage. To find the best fares for you, search for your trip and complete your booking at least 21 days or more in advance; better yet, play the averages and book about 34 days in advance. Less than 14 days and the availability gets lower, leaving only higher priced tickets..
  • What day is best to travel? The flexibility to travel on another day can result in dramatically lower fares. So next time you search on your favorite travel site, look for the flexible dates option. I’ve often found that leaving Denver on Friday or Saturday and returning on Saturday or Sunday will give the lowest fares, but not always, so search several dates and compare.
  • All of life is timing. The key to getting the lowest fare is to fly when others are not. The “dead times” will vary by route (early morning and late night are good for leisure routes, mid-day is usually best for business routes). Select the “Anytime” option and use the filtering tools to focus your way to a cheaper fare.
  • Avoid peak travel seasons. See a theme here? Don’t travel when everyone else is. In Ireland, the peak tourist season is June, July and August. Early May and late September are part of the “shoulder” season, when the weather is nearly as good, but the fares are cheaper and the attractions not so crowded. Winter is off-peak; many common tourist sites are closed, the weather is often rainy and cold, but you can still find some decent company and probably some local musicians gathered around a warm fire in the local pub. The whole country is more relaxed and even friendlier.
  • Location, location, location. Most flights to Ireland from Denver pass through London Heathrow into Dublin, but it’s also possible to fly into Shannon or Belfast, and sometimes this is cheaper. More direct flights are coming, saving the Heathrow stop, and some international flights are starting to connect through Germany or other locations. Keep your search criteria flexible and you may find some pleasant surprises.

Beware the “optional” fees

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Spirit Airlines announces $100 charge for carry-on bag

Years ago, when you traveled on an airplane, they virtually treated you like royalty. Meals were cooked in an onboard kitchen, smiling flight attendants brought you a pillow, snack or drink of your choice. You could stretch out your legs and enjoy a relaxing flight.

Nowadays, the flights are faster and shorter, and so is the service. Amenities are gone or expensive. In-flight meals may be pre-packaged and microwaved, everything comes in disposable plastic containers and the only way you could stretch out is if you keeled over in the aisle.

Airlines used to provide a lot of perks to attract passengers. But the cost of providing those perks has risen, along with fuel and other costs, making it difficult for them to keep fares low. Since deregulation, competition has been pretty fierce, so many airlines have developed a strategy called “unbundling.” Those special services, and some once considered standard, are now “optional” and require an extra fee. You can choose an aisle seat or a window seat if you prefer, or certain rows that may offer more leg room. You can pay a fee to be among the first to board. And of course, baggage fees are a big deal these days.

When airlines started charging for checked luggage, many passengers learned to travel lighter and put everything in their carry-on bag. Since most airlines allowed one carry-on and and a “personal item” such as purse, backpack or laptop, this became a way for travelers to avoid those pesky checked bag fees.

Problem is, with everybody carrying on the maximum, the under-seat and overhead storage was crammed to capacity and beyond. So airlines such as Spirit started charging for carry-on bags as well. Their standard fee for a checked bag has been $33 (domestic) or $38 (international), and for carry-on, $30 either way. On November 6, that goes up. The first checked bag will be $30 at booking, $35 at online check-in, and carry-on will be $35 at booking and $40 at online check-in. But if you wait until you arrive at the gate to pay for your carry-on bag, it will be a cool hundred dollars (US$100).

Spirit seems to be a leader in the “optional fees” arena, which enables them to offer what appear to be low, discount airfares. But the trend may spread, so always check your airline’s web site at booking and before departure, to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Survey shows travelers want fee information up front

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I’ve written before about the perils of what appear to be amazing travel deals, but you don’t find out about taxes, fees, “extra” services, and such until it’s time to pay the bill. Apparently, I’m not the only one concerned about this.

Open Allies for Airfare Transparency just released the results of a summer 2012 travel experiences survey, conducted online by leading market research firm Harris Interactive among 2,310 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, which found that 94% of Americans who recently used an online travel company (OTC) to book their travel this summer agreed that, “All airline fee information should be available to travel agents and online travel websites.”

It is really hard to comparison shop when one airline quotes only one-way fees but requires the purchase of a round-trip ticket, another doesn’t tell you about the baggage charges, and another lets you choose your seat and then charges you a premium for certain locations. That was the biggest consumer complaint recorded during the survey, that without disclosure up front, you don’t really know who has the best deal.

The consumer group also says that, “Services that were once included in the price of airfare – items such as checked baggage, seating options and priority boarding – have been “unbundled” at many airlines. Much of the fee information for these services is not available for easy and effective comparison shopping; being found only on airline websites, presented mostly in ranges, and not updated for months at a time.”

They are calling for the US Department of Transportation to pass new rules requiring full disclosure and up-front pricing on all fares, taxes and fees, in whatever venue the prices are quoted, whether on the airline site, through a travel agent, or at an online travel site. Apparently, the regulators are listening. The Transportation Department is currently considering new traveler protections that would require airlines to share this information, and plans to make a formal proposal this November.

Here at Doras Cúil Travel, all taxes and fees are included in the comparison prices you get when searching for an itinerary, and the prices are quoted for round-trip, so what you see is what you pay. Now if we can get the rest of the travel industry to fall in line with this, we’ll all be better off.

Savvy travelers use the “shoulder”

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Many travel professionals recommend that their clients avoid the “high” travel season, when crowds are bigger and locals more frustrated. But weather and other factors can dampen your spirits if you go in the “low” season. A nice alternative is the “shoulder” season, when many sights and attractions are still open, but there are fewer tourists and more relaxed locals.

When traveling from Denver to Ireland, the shoulder season is in the fall and early spring. Once school has started, many people stay home, so if you can travel to Ireland in September, you’ll still find some lovely weather but avoid the crowds of summer. And if you take that trip in late April or May, you get to see the sights and meet the locals before they’ve been worn to a frazzle by the crowds.

A survey conducted by Travel Leaders Group from July 30 – August 23, 2012, which includes responses from 871 U.S.-based travel agency owners, managers and frontline travel agents, shows that many travelers are taking this advice, which can also lead to lower airfares and accommodation costs.

“Based on our survey data, it is abundantly clear that savvy travelers – heeding the advice of our travel professionals – are taking advantage of ‘shoulder season’ in Europe.” says Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben.

Airfare from Denver to Dublin is usually in the US$1100-1200 range, but deals can be found for less than $1000 during shoulder season, and many hotels, B&Bs, and guest houses lower their rates after the peak summer months are over. So now is a good time to book that trip to Ireland and enjoy that legendary scenery and hospitality even more.

Plastic still the best way to travel to Ireland

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Things are looking up in regard to money on your next trip from Denver to Ireland. The exchange rates have moderated somewhat, so you’re not paying out the nose because of that. And plastic is still your best bet for what you need to spend during your trip.

Most major credit cards, such as Visa and Mastercard, are issued by banks. These banks usually charge around 3% conversion fee for transactions in Ireland. 1% of that is for the international Visa and Mastercard networks, the other 2% is the bank’s cut. That’s far less than the conversion fees you’ll face at a bank in Ireland and the currency exchange kiosks nick you even more. So, for major purchases, use your Visa or Mastercard. Diner’s Club will sometimes work, Discover doesn’t, so for this trip, stick with the biggies.

For everyday expenses, use an ATM. They may be a little hard to find in the really rural areas, so get money first if your itinerary includes such out of the way places. And because there’s usually a fixed transaction fee along with a percentage, take out a fair amount of money each time. You’ll drive up your expenses quite a bit if you take out only twenty at a time. Withdraw several hundred for instance, put forty in your wallet and the rest in a money belt under your shirt to be dispensed as needed. Stick with ATMs at banks whenever possible, the ones in stores or other places are more likely to tack on extra fees.

Check with your B&B ahead of time as well. Some take credit cards, but there are still quite a few who require cash for your stay.

Different banks have different fees, so check with yours before you go. Some have special cards or rates for preferred customers, but shopping around can help in any case. Some banks are reducing or dropping their rates for foreign transactions. Some research now can save you money and hassle on your trip.

Beware the big discount!

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So I’m sitting in the pub last night, playing some tunes with my friends, and one of them is telling me about a $49 discount airfare from Southwest Airlines, but it’s only available for 72 hours. Sounds great, but this isn’t my first rodeo, so I decided to do some checking.

Went to Southwest.com and sure enough, there’s an advertisement for a 72-hour special at $49. But it’s only valid on trips of 500 miles or less.  Our daughters are both Irish dance competitors and the topic arose because of a big regional competition in Seattle. We live more than 500 miles from Seattle, so right away, we’re in the $99 categoy rather than the $49. Then I start looking at dates. The competition starts on Friday, but to get the discount, they’d have to leave on Wednesday. And the discount isn’t available on the return trip, so that’s $145. So now the total is $244, nearly five times that “great discount” of $49. Oh, and did you notice, the quoted price is for one leg of a round trip, not both? It’s a common tactic but one that doesn’t fool me.

So I went to my favorite discount search engine and punched in the dates, specifying Friday departure, rather than Wednesday. Comes up with $249.30, within five bucks of that limited time “special deal” fare. And, it saves me two days hotel stay (at $117 a night acccording to Southwest’s site). Plus, there’s another aspect many people overloook. My discount booking site not only gives me the total fare, not just one leg at a time, it also includes the taxes and fees right up front. So i know there’s $40 additional cost, but Southwest won’t tell me that until I’m checking out.

My discount fare engine will also offer packages that include hotal, rental cars etc. So I did the sarch with hotel included. $423, including airfare, three nights hotel, and all taxees and fees. I tried to do the package search three times on Southwest.com and it gave me an error message all three times. Taking the $117 per night “featured” hotel advertised on their booking page, we get a total of $829, and they havent disclosed their taxes and fees yet. So the standard fares, available every day on my discount bookking engine save me at least $406 over Southwest’s 72-hour “Super Sale” price

This is not to pick on Southwest. I’ve done this same comparison with other special salees and discounts and they don’t measure up either. By the time you figure in the restrictions, taxes, fees, etc., they’re not what they appeared. Beware.

TSA announces changes in airport security

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The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has announced a new program called Pre✓™ which will expedite security screening for eligible passengers. On your next flight to Ireland, you may not have to remove your shoes or your belt, or submit your shampoo for examination. Details are not specified for security reasons.

Certain frequent flyers from Delta and American Airlines and certain members of Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) Trusted Traveler programs, including Global Entry, SENTRI, and NEXUS, who are U.S. citizens, are eligible to participate in this program, which could qualify them for expedited screening at select checkpoints.

Members of a CBP Trusted Traveler program are assigned a membership number, or PASS ID, as part of their Trusted Traveler program. To participate in TSA Pre✓™, these passengers must place their PASS ID in the ‘Known Traveler Number’ field while booking their reservation. That number is then passed to TSA’s Secure Flight system and taken into consideration during pre-screening processing. For more information about Secure Flight, click here.

If the agency determines a passenger is eligible for expedited screening through TSA Pre✓™, information will be embedded in the barcode of the passenger’s boarding pass. TSA will read the barcode at designated checkpoints and the passenger may be referred to an expedited screening lane.

TSA will always incorporate random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport and no individual will be guaranteed expedited screening.

Participating airlines will permit some of their frequent flyers, based on TSA criteria, to opt-in through the airline’s system. Participating airlines have contacted eligible frequent flyers with an invitation to opt-in. Once the passenger opts-in, the airline identifies the individual as a participant when submitting the passenger reservation information to TSA’s Secure Flight system. Passengers who don’t opt-in will be subject to the standard screening procedures.

Find the “real” Ireland

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A friendly game of football in a field near Galway (Photo by Michael P. Thompson)

Ireland has long been known as a “land of enchantment,” and rightly so. People who travel there wax poetic about its green fields, its ancient monuments, the Guinness, and of course, its friendly people. But sometimes the most common sight you see is the back of another tour bus. It can still be the trip of a lifetime, but here are some ways to avoid common pitfalls.

First of all, decide if a package tour is really for you. Many of the tour companies pay their driver/guide a pittance to drive you around the countryside. But the shops, museums and attractions will often pay for each visitor brought to their place of business. So you wind up in a bus full of people, following all the other buses to the same tired sights, seeing the same people at each stop, and spending a lot more time in shopping areas than viewing the scenic vistas.

Of course, not all tour companies operate this way, so if a group tour IS your cup of tea, be sure to work closely with a trusted travel professional to find a company that has a guide who is not also the driver. Some of the best operators even hire a local guide to augment the expertise of the tour conductor who shepherds you around the country.

And because they operate on a fairly large scale, they are able to provide this service at a price comparable to the discount companies.

Another thing to look for is what travel professionals call “affinity tours.” Basically this means you’re with a group of people with a common interest. Perhaps it’s your extended family, a church group, a social club. You may all know each other and want to travel together. Or it may be a gathering of people interested in a particular subject, such as birdwatching, or archaeology. They can come from all over, and be united by a common passion.

A group tour may indeed be your thing, but don’t dismiss the “on your own” option too quickly. People can be intimidated by the prospect of driving on the other side of the road, or finding their way around a foreign country. But those who do it often consider it the adventure of their lives. You may find yourself stopping at a farmhouse to ask directions and making friends for a lifetime. You may find the most incredibly talented musicians at a pub off the beaten path, where there are no crowds and they’ll sit and chat with you after.

Either way you go, the advice about a trusted travel professional still holds true. There are precious few brick and mortar travel agencies anymore with the advent of big online travel sites, but many travelers are becoming leery of that faceless corporate method of booking travel. Travel consultants are becoming more popular as people look for the personal touch and not just the discount price. Standard travel agents make their money off commissions paid by airlines, hotels, etc., but those commissions have been drying up for some years now. Travel consultants may make some commission, or they may just charge a fee for their service. It’s worth it for the added benefit of their knowledge and expertise.

So take that trip of a lifetime, and make it even more memorable by customizing it to your own wants and desires. Find the real Ireland, not just the one the tour company wants you to see.