Tag: Ireland Travel

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After Mind-Blowing Safety Lapse, Ryanair Promises Massive Expansion with Help of 'Cheap' Planes

October 26, 2011 at 4:24 PM | by | Comments (0)

There are two airline industry news stories about Irish LCC Ryanair floating around this week, and we'll leave you to decide the precise degree to which they're related. We're specifying "airline industry" stories, in contrast to just Ryanair stories "in general," to emphasize that these are different from the fake "no frills" PR branding nonsense that Ryanair endlessly pushes into the travel journalism newsstream (e.g. this near self-parody of a CNN story headlined "Ryanair's 5 'cheapest' money-saving schemes"). These are actual news stories, as much as is possible with these guys.

First up, Ryanair's the-customer-is-always-wrong CEO Michael O'Leary just announced a massive expansion of the airline. Ryanair will reportedly purchase over 200 new airplanes from US, Chinese and Russian plane manufacturers, a total that would easily make the airline one of the world's largest. O'Leary is promising that the planes will come at "cheap prices."

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Three Family-Friendly Travel Destinations for a Father's Day Trip

June 9, 2011 at 10:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

The best way to bond with dad on Father's Day is a good old-fashioned family vacation. But instead of heading to your usual vacay spot in Florida or California, change it up and surprise him by going someplace unexpected, whether you visit the beaches of Puerto Rico, road-trip it in Ireland or cruise the Caribbean.

Check out our list of three family vacation hotspots for Father's Day:

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Ireland's Top Tourist Destination Has Nothing To Do With Beer

June 8, 2011 at 4:00 PM | by | Comments (2)

It's very easy to stereotype Ireland travel—to say nothing of Ireland itself—as a series of pubs, drunkenness, and the occasional potato farm. We know it's easy because that's almost entirely the picture that Tourism Ireland painted when they did their last social media campaign.

We wrote at the time that the image was a bit unfair, and that neither the country nor the tourists who travel there should be stereotyped. Then we highlighted Ireland, with its gorgeous scenary and summer cultural offerings, as one of the places where you should seriously consider spending your tax refund. Not to give away the ending, but not only were we were demonstrably right, but now there are numbers to prove it.

Figures came out over the weekend on Ireland's top tourism destinations. Wouldn't you know it, and despite the best efforts of frat boys everywhere, the Guinness Storehouse did not take the top stop. That was reserved for the impressive Dublin Zoo, with its 59 acres of plants and animals (by way of comparison, our beloved San Diego Zoo, a widely acknowledged global leader in conservation, clocks in at 40 acres).

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Where to Go with Your Tax Refund: Ireland

Where: Ireland
March 31, 2011 at 2:15 PM | by | Comments (0)

Tax day is coming, and you are excited not because you look forward to sifting through receipts and credit card statements, but because you're getting a fat refund...probably. The economy may be on its way back up, but you should try to stretch that tax refund as far as you can.

You may have had your dose of Ireland from St. Patrick's Day earlier in the month, but if you are looking to make the most of your tax refund, you should consider heading out to the Emerald Isle. After all, there's much more to see than pubs full of Guinness.

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Tourism Ireland Unveils Farmville Knockoff To Make You Want To Visit Ireland

March 21, 2011 at 3:11 PM | by | Comments (0)

We've been pretty skeptical about airlines and tourism boards that go all-in on social media, the fear being that "building something shiny" gets in the way of "designing something useful."

There are productive ways of using social media—Twitter for customer service, Facebook for coupon campaigns, etc—and then there's what happens when companies build something just because everyone else is doing it. Creating Facebook games in particular has become a problem, with some travel companies doing very well and others not so much.

The newest attempt at social gaming comes from Tourism Ireland, which hopes to harness the power of Facebook to get tourists to the Emerald Isle. The game, dubbed "Ireland Town," is built as an explicit Farmville knockoff. Users are tasked with creating their own Irish town in between visiting tourist attractions and defeating challenges. Those who get through are entered in a contest for a four-night stay in Ireland.

And here's where things begin to head south.

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Last-Minute St. Patrick's Day Deals to Boston and Dublin

March 4, 2011 at 9:00 AM | by | Comments (0)

St. Patrick's Day is less than two weeks away, so now's the time to make plans. But instead of hitting up your local pub for a beer-fueled evening—which is what you do every weekend anyway—hit up an authentic Irish city, whether it be locally in Boston or in the motherland in Dublin.

Check out some last-minute St. Patrick's Day deals after the jump.

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$599 Will Get You a Week in Dublin for St. Patrick's Day Festivities

Where: Dublin, Ireland
February 17, 2011 at 1:12 PM | by | Comments (0)

St. Patrick's Day is around the corner and the place to celebrate with a pint of Guinness will be the mecca for all things St. Pat's: Dublin, Ireland. Travelzoo is running a great deal that will send you to the Emerald Isle for only $599.

Unfortunately, the package gets you to Dublin on March 19, two days after St. Pat's Day, but the country will surely still be celebrating when you arrive. In fact, Dublin's official St. Patrick's Day Festival runs through March 20. So be sure to pack your tackiest big old green hat to share in the festivities. The deal is partially so good because it happens just after the holiday.

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01-01-11 Travel Deals: Do Dublin for $399

Where: Dublin, Ireland
December 27, 2010 at 3:43 PM | by | Comments (0)

We're a bit skeptical about 1/1/11 being a lucky day, but we look for any reason to travel and the new year is as good of an excuse as any. We'd feel pretty lucky scoring a last-minute trip to Dublin that starts at $399 for four nights.

Aer Lingus is offering the deal, which includes hotel and round-trip airfare on the airline. You'll shack up in the Regency Hotel in Ireland's capital city during your stay.

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Ryanair Attacks a Journalist for Not Giving Them a Nicer Review

June 14, 2010 at 2:35 PM | by | Comments (0)

Okay, so here's what's happening on the Ryanair controversy front: Journalist writes about Ryanair. Journalist gets attacked by Ryanair. Journalist finds herself in the middle of a controversy over whether it's fair for Ryanair to go ballistic on individual journalists—mocking them by name, blackmailing them into printing retractions—just because the Irish LCC can't take even mild criticism.

For a group of folks who refuse to engage the public except when they're mocking consumer advocacy groups or reveling in others' misfortunes, these guys sure have thin skins.

Last time we went through this nonsense, Ryanair was ridiculing Telegraph journalist Bryony Gordon. Ms. Gordon had apparently shown unacceptable temerity in suggesting that the airline was viewed negatively—cough worstfamilybrandintheuk cough—and was was therefore fair game for a schoolyard taunting campaign. Now it's the turn of Irish Herald's Aoife Anderson. Ms. Anderson is being met with a retraction demand and an "offer" of €1,000 to her favorite charity if she'll admit "how wrong she was" in a recent article on Ryanair. What was her error, such that she should be put in a position of giving up her credibility or stiffing a cause she believes in?

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Irish Ferries Save Whitney Houston's European Tour from Volcanic Ash Delays

Where: Ireland
April 20, 2010 at 8:30 AM | by | Comments (0)

While the deadly ash clouds from Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull continue to inconvenience millions of airline passengers and cripple certain industries that rely on frequent air deliveries, we can't forget about the real martyrs in this situation: the marooned celebrities.

Without first class lounges, direct flights and the ability to buy their way across the Atlantic, celebs have taken to inventing creative solutions for their travel problems. First there was actor John Cleese, who hired a taxi to drive him through several countries for $5,100, and now we've got the harrowing story of what singer Whitney Houston endured to keep her European tour schedule.

The songstress was apparently due in Dublin for a concert to follow one she finished in Birmingham, but with UK air space closed, she had no way from England over to Ireland...until she discovered the Irish Ferries.

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Its Not Too Late To Tour Ireland For St. Patty's Day

Where: Dublin, Ireland
March 3, 2010 at 1:16 PM | by | Comments (0)

Think its too late to get a cheap package deal to Ireland? Think again. Shamrocker Adventures has a special eight day St. Patrick's Day tour that begins in Dublin on Saturday, March 13. You have to find your own way there (flights not included) but once you're there, they handle everything.

The Celtic Combo Tour includes everything you could want in a St. Patty's Day tour of Ireland: there's a stop at the Blarney Stone, a tour of the Guinness Storehouse and, most importantly, plenty of time to party! The first three nights are spent in Dublin and then the tour heads west for four nights, where participants will get a taste of the Irish countryside.

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Fly To Ireland And Chill In Your Own Private Villa For 6 Days For $499

Where: Ireland
October 30, 2009 at 2:54 PM | by | Comments (0)

Get ready to chug some Guinness: Travelzoo's offering an Ireland package for $499 that includes round-trip airfare, six nights' accommodations on the grounds of a castle and a car rental for you to go exploring the western parts of the Emerald Isle.

The flight takes you to Shannon, in County Clare. Then you'll head to Limerick, where you and three of your buds (the package is based on four travelers) can crash in a three-bedroom private villa on the grounds of Adare Manor, a historic Irish castle that was just named one of the top three resorts in Europe by the 2009 Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards. You'll also get a full-sized car to shuttle you around the nearby sites, such as Galway, Killarney, the Cliffs of Moher and the Blarney Castle. But brush up on driving stick, or learn how to do it, since these rides won't be automatic.

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