Shopping around is essential if you’re to get the best holiday deal. But would you go as far as comparing a holiday in Spain, our most popular overseas destination, with one in Ireland? Bernice Harrison does the maths
IT WAS A €17.95 pizza in a restaurant in Sligo that made us revisit our summer-holiday plans. Sure, it was billed as a deluxe vegetarian pizza, but the best part of €20 for a fairly basic option in a very, very ordinary pizza parlour is steep. When it’s a family and you multiply that by four, then add a couple of glasses of wine and some soft drinks, you’re talking well over €100 for a bit of tea – and don’t even think about having that side salad, dessert or second Coke. On our weekend in the west it was painfully easy to spend more than €50 at lunchtime. Suddenly our plans to spend our summer holidays at home looked like a horribly expensive option.
We’ve had fantastic holidays in Ireland, and if we could be guaranteed sun we’d almost certainly prefer to splash around the magnificent beaches at Cruit Island, in Co Donegal, or Derrynane, in Co Kerry, rather than some of the overcrowded high-rise-surrounded stretches of sand we’ve fetched up on abroad.
But even when the sun is shining you can’t eat the scenery, and it’s everything that goes with an Irish holiday that can really add up. In Italy last year a pizza in what became our favourite holiday haunt, with views of the bay every balmy evening, was €7.95, or €4 if you wanted to take it away. And in Spain this month we could eat a three-course meal for €20 each – so no glowering at the children if they wanted dessert.
In Sligo we took advantage of a reasonable hotel offer of €120 a night for a family room with breakfast, but, as usual, by the time we added up the costs of the weekend away, then imagined multiplying that to make a week’s summer holiday, the price seemed prohibitively high. Surely going abroad had to be cheaper.
But is it? This year, if we don’t holiday in Ireland, we might try Spain. After all, three out of four Irish holidaymakers choose that usually sunny, handy-to-get-to destination. Mindful of the advice from all corners to shop around, I compared prices for three types of holidays, there and here, to see how our family of two adults and two children, aged 12 and nine, would fare if we holidayed in the last week of July, right in the middle of high season.
You can’t budget for everything, of course: we’d expect (and hope) to use more sunscreen in Spain than in Ireland, for example, and that doesn’t come cheap. You might also have to factor in some of the overseas extras listed below. And there’s always some indulgent purchase, whether it’s delicious goodies at a farmer’s market or an impromptu clothes-shopping trip, but that’s what holidays are all about.
Self-catering Marbella vs west Cork Adventure Barcelona vs Galway Package Majorca vs east Cork
Barcelona
One week in the Hotel Sant
Jordi, Santa Susanna, northern Barcelona, Catalonia
Accommodation A family room in the three-star Hotel Sant Jordi.
Amenities that sound good to us Santa Susanna is on the coast about an hour and
a half from Barcelona. It is a "sports tourism destination",
a designation created by Catalan authorities to indicate an area that stands out for offering resources and services aimed at elite, professional, amateur and tourist sportspeople.
Why go It's by the sea and close to a national park. There would be something outdoorsy to do every day – in the sunshine. Hire bikes in Montnegre Natural Park or kayak for free in Santa Susanna's Sailing Club. Other activities, such as windsurfing, kite-surfing, diving, jet-skiing or taking out a catamaran or banana boat, from €20.
Why we mightn't Hard to think of a good reason, though a big spend for just a week.
WHAT IT COSTS
Hotel Six nights' full board: €1,190.
Flights Aer Lingus to Barcelona (July 25th-August 1st): €876.
Activities €100 per day for five days: €500.
Extras Daily spend €60 x 6 for drinks, snacks: €360.
Dinner out Two nights at €20 per person: €160.
Transfers Aircoach to and from Dublin airport: €34. Getting to and from Barcelona airport to Santa Susanna by bus: €26.
Total: €60.
Total €3,146.
Galway
One week at Delphi Mountain Resort, Leenane, Co Galway
Amenities that sound good to us Purpose-built adventure centre. A wide range of outdoor activities on offer, including ones we all haven't tried, such as abseiling, and they have expertise in dealing with children. Picture-postcard scenery; great walks nearby that we'd hope to do
when not on an organised activity.
Why go Beautiful location. Experienced instructors for all activities. Package is tailored to your needs, so everything is laid on. It's not the fancy part of Delphi; instead, this would be its hostel-like accommodation.
Why we mightn't Can't think of a reason not to, though a big spend for just a week.
WHAT IT COSTS
Hotel Six-night stay in hostel accommodation, including breakfast: €1,089.
Daily spend Five family lunches at Delphi: €360. Five family dinners at Delphi: €700. Spending money 6x€10: €60. Total: €1,120.
Eating out Dinner and lunch elsewhere for day six: €160.
Extra activities Five activities: €594.
Petrol €60.
Total €3,023.
Sunshine difference
Spain more expensive by 123
Majorca
One week self-catering at Ola Aparthotel Isabel, in Cala Bona, with Budget Travel
Accommodation One-bedroom apartment with kitchenette with balcony in a small family-friendly resort.
Amenities that sound good to us Two swimming pools, one indoor. According to the brochure, the beach is a five-minute walk away and the Cala Bona resort is a 15-minute walk. Kids' club for five- to 12-year-olds. Restaurant on site. Why go? Hassle-free. Price includes transfer from the airport at Palma, plus decent luggage allowance. Location looks good, close to beach and within walking distance of the much busier Cala Bona area, for a variety of restaurants. Resort looks quiet. Sunshine.
Why we mightn't Not really interested in spending so much money to sleep on a sofa bed in the living room, as the kids would end up getting the bedroom. Might feel trapped or bored by day four, with all that sitting around the pool.
WHAT IT COSTS
Package €2,339.
Extras A basic supermarket shop for the week: about €80.
Daily spend €60 x 6, for drinks, snacks and so on: €360.
Dinner out Two nights at €20 per person: €160.
Extra activities Horseriding in nearby Cala Bono: €80.
Transfers Aircoach to and from Dublin airport: €14 adult return x 2, children €3 return x 2: €34.
Total €3,053.
East Cork
One week at Trabolgan Holiday Village, in Midleton, Co Cork
Accommodation Two-storey house (one of 172 self-catering homes on the 57-hectare site), with two bedrooms, kitchen, dining and living area.
Amenities that sound good to us Swimming pool with water slide and wave machine. Kids' club. Indoor sports complex. Crazy golf and 18-hole par-three with free rental of clubs. Free introductory sessions of archery, aeroball and trampoline. Gym, steam room and sauna. Live entertainment every evening. Restaurants on site.
Why go Sounds easy. Just arrive and everything is there. Plenty of activities included in the price, plus a list of other activities, from archery to zip wire, available at extra cost if you run out of the free things to do. Plenty of grounds for walks. Escape to nearby Midleton for a bit of variety.
Why we mightn't The rain. Remember last July? Enough said.
WHAT IT COSTS
Package €1,365 (book before February 27th for an extra 20 per cent discount).
Extras A basic supermarket shop for the week: about €120.
Daily spend €50 x 6 for drinks, snacks and so on: €300.
Dinner out Two nights at €30 per person: €240.
Extra activities €80.
Petrol €50.
Total €2,155.
Sunshine difference
Spain more expensive by 898
Marbella
One week in a three-bedroom town house in the old town of Marbella (from www.holidayrentals.co.uk)
Accommodation Renovated two-storey house in the heart of old Marbella. Three bedrooms (two doubles and one single), two bathrooms, lounge, dining area, a fully fitted kitchen and internal and external patios. No garden.
Amenities that sound good to us Beautiful-looking town house on a pedestrian street, next to cafes, restaurants and delis. Cosmopolitan, glamorous city. Walk to the beach.
Why go A bit of glam, a good combination of beach and small, bustling city. Spain is great for kids, especially in terms of eating out.
Why we mightn’t Very hot at that time of the year; a town house without air conditioning might not be great.
WHAT IT COSTS
House €583.
Flights Ryanair to Malaga (July 25th-August 1st): €1,215.76.
Extras A basic supermarket shop for the week: about €80.
Daily spend €60 x 6 for drinks, snacks and so on: €360.
Dinner out Two nights at €25 per person: €200.
Transfers Aircoach to and from Dublin airport: €34. Bus to and from Malaga airport: €24. Total: €58.
Total €2,498.76.
West Cork
One week in Rolf’s Holiday Cottages, in Baltimore Hill, Baltimore, Co Cork
Accommodation Purpose-built, well-equipped and stylish two bedroom town-house-type terraced cottages a short walk up the hill from the village.
Amenities that sound good to us Rolf’s is a well-known family-run country house and restaurant with holiday cottages built on, so a great place to eat is on the doorstep. And as it’s west Cork, fantastic beaches, walks, scenery and a much healthier pace of life are never far away.
Why go? Beautiful location. Plenty of things to do. Top of the list would be a day trip to Sherkin Island and a half-day kayaking on either a lake or the sea. A good base to tour around west Cork.
Why we mightn’t Rain! Although west Cork’s microclimate generally means better weather than in other parts of the country. Holiday cottage is nice but no sea view and no private garden.
WHAT IT COSTS
House €800.
Extras A basic supermarket shop for the week: about €120.
Daily spend €70 x 6, for drinks, snacks, lunch and so on: €420.
Dinner out Two nights at €35 per person: €280.
Extra activities Boat trip or kayaking: €250.
Petrol €65.
Total €1,935.
Sunshine difference
Spain more expensive by 563.76
Overseas extras you might need
Passports 10-year adult passport: €75; five- year child’s passport: €25. Family of four: €200.
Insurance The free European health insurance card (formerly the E111) covers basic healthcare on short trips around Europe, but you also need travel insurance. Annual policies are better value than single-trip options. Ours: €155.
Parking We live near the route of the inexpensive Aircoach; if we had to park at Dublin Airport it would cost €7 per day – a special rate for long term parking if you book online.
Travel extras With a minimum of two hours hanging around the airport going out and another two on the way back, most families will haemorrhage money on snacks, drinks, magazines and the like. Allow at least €80.