Your Questions Answered
Where can we find a holiday home that takes pets?
Q Do you know of anywhere in west Cork, or more widely, where we can rent a small house or apartment and bring our golden retriever with us?
JC, Dublin
Pets are welcome in many holiday homes. If you have a look at the Trident Holiday Homes site (tridentholiday homes.ie), it has an area devoted to pet-friendly rental properties. Trident is also the agent for the Cottages Collection, some of which are pet friendly, too.
HomeAway Holiday-Rentals (holiday-rentals.co.uk) also offers you the option of searching for pet-friendly holiday homes.
I have seen more than 60 in Cork that are happy to welcome pets. Individual holiday-home owners often allow pets; just ask when making inquiries.
Q I would like to explore Vietnam for a few weeks this year. I am an independent traveller and am wondering if there is any group I can join up with or some agency to contact. I don’t mind doing a certain amount alone, but I would like people to share the trip with.
UOD, Kerry
One company that springs to mind is Intrepid Travel (01-5240071, intrepidtravel. co.uk). It should be perfect for what you are hoping to do. It organises tours for independent travellers, and you can turn up in a country and join a tour for a few days or weeks.
In Vietnam it offers a variety of tours, from the Heritage of Vietnam, a five-day trip that costs from €595, to the Spirit of Vietnam, a 10-day trip, from €645, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Its Great Indochina Loop is also worth a look; it will visit Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos over 29 days. Prices from €1,715.
Q I’m looking for a cheap room for one person in central Dublin for two weekend nights, on May 28th and 29th, but am struggling to find anything I can afford. Any deals I’ve seen are for two people sharing. You end up paying a minimum of €80 per night, whereas my maximum is €50 or €60. I’m coming to Dublin for an event at the National Concert Hall, so anywhere around there or Temple Bar would work well.
CB, Galway
City prices can be high, especially at weekends, but you do have some options.
Abbeyleigh House (01-6600247, abbeyleigh.net), a short walk from the NCH on Upper Leeson Street, has single rooms from €45 per night. On Emor Street, just off South Circular Road, Doheny House (01-4530758, dohenyhousedublin.com) also has singles from €40-€45 per night. It will even collect you from the station. Doheny House is about 15 minutes’ walk from the NCH.
Try bedandbreakfast ireland.net for other B&Bs, or justgo.ie, a new website with last-minute offers, if you’re keener on a hotel. You could also try D4 Hotels (d4hotels.ie), which runs the Ballsbridge Inn, Ballsbridge Towers and D4 Berkeley in the former Jurys complex. When we looked, it had rooms for the nights you’re looking for €64 a night.
Q I would really appreciate some guidance about a safari trip in July or August. I’m in my 60s and would not relish staying in a tent, so I’m looking for something a bit comfortable.
DC, Limerick
Getting up close to animals in the wild is a great thrill. There are dozens of safaris you could take, but a great one that I was on – and which was also quite comfortable – was at Shamwari Game Reserve, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape.
It’s a private reserve where you should see see Africa’s big five: elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard. It is free from malaria, so you’ll have no worries about prophylaxis. It is also home to the Born Free Foundation big-cat sanctuaries. Book on shamwari.com.
July and August will be a good time to go, as the World Cup will be over and prices should be dropping. It will also be the start of spring in the southern hemisphere.
But if you are going that far, then I would suggest you use a travel agent experienced in South Africa, to make the most of your trip. Tour Africa (01-8173565, 021-4580999, tourafrica.ie) has good-value flights and accommodation.
Go contact
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com.