From a cheap surf break for teens at home to a Jane Austen tour in England JOAN SCALESanswers your travel questions
Cheap surf break at home
My friends and I would like to go on a surf holiday this summer in Ireland. We are all 15 to 16. Our plan is to attend surfing lessons during the day and stay in a hostel during the night, as it is less expensive than a residential adventure centre. We are hoping to go some time in July and August. There will be seven or eight of us accompanied by two parents. We hope the holiday will be for five days to a week. However, our budget would be in the €250-€300 region, and it would be ideal to have a bus route to the destination. The location we would want is a nice picturesque part of Ireland with a good atmosphere. COD, Meath
The beginning of surfing in Ireland was in the 1960s on Rossnowlagh Beach in Donegal with the Brittons, whose mother brought surf boards back from America. These days the Brittons are still surfing and have represented Ireland in surfing championships all over the world.
Neil Britton, a grandson, runs the Fin McCool Surf School on Rossnowlagh Beach, which is a lovely part of Donegal, and there are often other cousins and family members helping out with teaching. Surfing lessons for teenagers are €25 per session, including boards and wet gear, and €35 for adults. The school offers hostel accommodation for €20 per night. See finmccoolsurfschool.com or tel 071-9859020. The nearest bus stop is Ballyshannon and the school can arrange pick-ups from there.
Lahinch is also famous for surfing and it is amazing to see surfers there in the sea all year round. All ages are welcome in Lahinch and the town is lively and fun.
Lessons for teenagers cost €85 for three sessions at Lahinch Surf School (see lahinchsurfschool.com or tel 087-9609667). Hostel accommodation is available from €18 per night, including Continental breakfast in West Coast Lodge Lahinch (see lahinchaccommodation.com).
In the south the Freedom Surf School in Tramore, Co Waterford is a good place to learn to surf. The waves are not too high and will give you a chance to get a real feel for the sport. Freedom Surf School runs a camp from Monday to Friday in the summer with lessons in the morning or afternoon for €95 per person.
Accommodation is on a self-catering basis in the nearby Beach Haven Hostel and the rates for dorm rooms are from €15 per person per night – see freedomsurfschool.com or tel 051-386773. Tramore is a lively town and there will be lots to do there. You can see bus connections on buseireann.ie.
Jane Austen tour in England
Would you be able to direct me in finding out about a few days break in England on a Jane Austen tour? My daughter and I are big Austen fans but cannot seem to find out where or who does a tour. We could go independently, renting a car and booking our own hotels to see the area and houses. COM, Dublin
There are a number of Jane Austen tours available in England and they are a mixture of private tours that would cost from £320 (€368) per day for a guide, car and hotels with admission fees extra. See janeaustentour.com. Or you can take a three-day tour from London with tours-international.co.uk and that costs from £309pps (€355). The Jane Austen Festival takes place in Bath from September 16th to 24th. Bath is also where the Jane Austen Centre and Museum is, and might be a good place to start your trip.
There are many places in England, both real and from the books, associated with the author. These include Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Kent, Sussex, and Derbyshire. You can see a list of all these places on pemberley.com. There is also a list of places she lived in and that inspired her on enjoyengland.com, and some have walking tours.
There is a Jane Austen map and literary tour guide at footstepmaps.com.au. The two places of most interest may be Chawton, near Alton in Hampshire where she lived and worked for eight years and the Jane Austen Museum in Bath.
You could fly into Southampton with flybe.com and out of Bristol with either Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) or Ryanair (ryanair.com). Be sure when booking a one-way car rental that there is no extra charge for dropping it off at another airport.
Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer
We would like to arrive in Vancouver or Calgary and travel on the Rocky Mountaineer. This is a trip of a lifetime and we won't be passing that way again. I'm looking at Escorted Tours as it seems to go where we want to go but we're open to anything. We are four women all definitely over 50 – two friends live in London and two of us are here in Limerick. We don't mind which country we leave from but cost does matter. ST, Limerick
The dearest part of your trip will be the Rocky Mountaineer. It is a very special train trip and there is no way to do it on the cheap. The two-day trip from Vanouver to Calgary, including an overnight in Kamloops, will cost around €770 each. You can save some money on airfares and hotels by shopping around.
Air Canada (aircanada.com) will be operating from Ireland for the summer season from June to September, and fares to Vancouver will be in the region of €775. Air Transat (airtransat.com) will also be operating flights from Shannon to Toronto with prices at around €600, but you then have to get from there to the east coast. You may find that prices from the UK can be a little less, but the air tax is higher. Canadian Affair is operating from the UK and you can combine flights, hotels and the rail tours into a package. Tel: 00-44-207-6169184 or see canadianaffair.co.uk.
Sunway, in conjunction with Trafalgar Tours, has an eight-day itinerary to the Rockies with an optional add-on of the Rocky Mountaineer. The basic price is from €1,724pps plus around €775 for the train trip. Tel: 01-2311888 or see sunway.ie.
Canadian Sky has a number of escorted tours to Canada, including some with the Rocky Mountaineer and the prices range from €2,500 to €4,000. Tel: 068-56850 or canadiansky.ie.
Go ask Joan
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com