Hot deals for cool customers

Reluctant holidaymakers who have been putting off booking their summer breaks could be in line for some bargains as holiday firms slash their prices, writes SANDRA O'CONNELL

RECESSION. ASH. More recession. The winter of discontent has become a summer of paralysis, with a significant portion of us afraid to book our holidays.

On the other hand, the good news is our caution might just be rewarded – there are some great last-minute offers around. If it keeps up, we just might be in for a holiday bonanza.

Web wars

Expect bargains if travel boss Gillian Bowler follows through on her promise to cut holiday prices by up to 33 per cent this summer with her new web-based travel firm, Clickandgo.com.

That translates into an average saving per person of €166 for a range of holidays across Spain, Portugal, France, the Canaries and Madeira. The firm is also hitting the ash cloud head on with a guarantee to cover the cost of holidays delayed or cancelled due to unexpected volcanic activity.

Looking to sell 10,000 seats this year, Bowler has laid down the gauntlet to biggies TUI and Thomas Cook, which between them control about 85 per cent of the package holiday market in Ireland.

So, what’s she offering? Deals include a week’s stay at the family-friendly Neptuno Aparthotel in Playa de Las Americas in Tenerife. The hotel is 1.5km from the beach, has a pool, restaurant, playground and gym, and runs a courtesy bus into the centre of town. Book it for June 17th, staying in a one-bedroom apartment, and it will cost €1,659 for a family of four, including flights.

Or how about seven nights self-catering at the Luna Clube do Lago in Estoril, on the Lisbon coast. The hotel, which is about 1km from the beach, has a swimming pool, tennis court, bar and health club. It’s also close to the casino in Estoril. Studios are big enough for two adults and one child and the price, for departure on June 14th, is €429 per person.

Just €30 more with Clickandgo.com will get you seven nights at the Alto Lido in the popular Lido part of the Madeiran capital Funchal, departing on June 27th.

Given that Bowler’s old firm, Budget Travel, has been reborn and is also competing in the same space (as part of the Club Travel group) with its own late deals such as a week in Salou, departing June 8th for €272, it’s game on for holidaymakers.

clickandgo.com, budgettravel.ie

British bargains

Right now Thomas Cook has a week’s self-catering holiday in the three-star Corona Roja, Playa des Ingles on Gran Canaria, for £139 (€160).

The price is based on two sharing, departing June 14th for seven nights, ex Gatwick, so obviously Irish holidaymakers will need to factor in the cost of getting there.

If you had been able to pack fast enough, you could have picked up a week’s self-catering in Antalya, Turkey, this weekend for just £111 (€131) flying from Newcastle, with half-board offers in the same country for £199 (€235), all including UK flights.

You could save the hassle of flying through the UK and go direct with Sunworld, part of the Thomas Cook group in Ireland, which has some good late deals of its own, including seven nights’ self-catering holidays in Bodrum departing on June 12th for €299 per person.

sunworld.ie, thomascook.com

Greece for less

Greece is working hard to woo tourists after the disastrous impact of the Athens riots, which resulted in more than 20,000 hotel room cancellations in the capital alone. Though it’s become expensive to holiday there in recent years, eagle-eyed web watchers will find budget breaks knocking around the islands this summer.

Falcon Travel has a number, including a June 11th departure to Crete for seven nights for €278, staying at the hibiscus and bougainvillea-clad Mika Apartments.

The property is 150m from the centre of Piskopiano village and around 1.5km from the much livelier resort of Hersonnissos and its beach.

What makes it such a bargain is that return flights alone to Crete cost €254 with Falcon Holidays, flying on the same date, so in effect you’re getting your week’s lodgings for the princely sum of €24.

Alternatively, opt for Corfu with the same firm, staying at the Alexis Apartments in Sidari, a newish (20 years a-growing) resort 45km from Corfu town, for €261, departing on the same date.

Skytours has a week’s self catering break to Zakynthos, staying at the Planos Bay, a family-friendly apartment complex in Tsilivi, close to supermarkets and beaches, which sleeps four, for €365, departing next weekend. True last-minute merchants will, however, be keeping an eye on websites such as holidaysonline.ie, which had the same break, at just a few days’ notice, for €299 this week.

skytours.ie, falconholidays.ie, holidaysonline.ie

June deals

From now until the end of June, Italy specialist Topflight is rewarding late bookers with a series of weekly bargains.

Look out for discounted rates at top resorts in different parts of the country, including Lake Garda, Lido di Jesolo near Venice, and Sorrento, with prices starting at €379 per person sharing – and, the company promises, no hidden charges.

For example, if you can leg it to the airport today, you can get a week’s BB at the Hotel Eden in Torbole, on Lake Garda, for €379 per person. The hotel, 2km from the centre of cosmopolitan Riva del Garda, is newly built and close to a beach popular with windsurfers.

Admittedly, even the lightest packer would find today a challenge, but you can get the same package for €439, departing on June 19th.

Cut your spending further with a half-board deal for a family of three at the four-star Hotel Majestic Palace in Malcesine, also on Lake Garda, for €1,749.

For even better value, the same company has seven nights half-board at the three-star Harry’s Hotel in Lido di Jesolo for €470 per person sharing. Departing June 12th from Dublin, that’s less than €70 a day, including flights.

topflight.ie

Last minute rewards

UK firm Mallorca Farmhouses has rewarded dithering bookers by slashing prices by up to 40 per cent on late availability bookings.

It means the firm has villa stays starting at €1,435 this summer, or less than €240 per person, based on six sharing.

How about a week’s stay in Buerges, a three-bedroom villa with pool in a quiet rural location in Pollenca, a short drive from the beaches at Puerto Pollenca.

The family home with wonderful countryside views has a barbecue area and is available from June 19th for €1,358, a cut of €340 off the usual price.

mallorca.co.uk

Online discounts

Irish operator Sunway cut its prices all this week as part of a five-day summer sale, but there are still online-only bargains to be had.

Right now these include a week’s half board at the San Vincenzo Hotel, a three-star property directly across the road from the beach in Letojanni, a 10-minute drive from Sicily’s Taormina.

A great base for exploring the island, the online price for a week’s stay, departing tomorrow, is €434 – a saving of almost half compared with the offline price of €714.

If you fancy heading further afield and going longhaul, book before the end of June and you get seven nights for the price of five at the four-star Holiday Villa Beach Resort in Langkawi, one of Malaysia’s finest white sandy beaches.

The deal means a week’s stay costs €739 per person, including flights, for travel up until July 1st.

sunway.ie

Canny camping

Keycamp has a week in a three-bedroom mobile home, sleeping seven, at Parc des Alicourts in the Loire valley for €609, departing June 26th – a discount of €347 on the regular price.

A great base for exploring the chateaux of the Loire, the lakeside park is deep in forest and has an impressive five-pool water park plus wave machine and spa centre. The park is near the small town of Pierrefitte sur Sauldre, with boulangeries and cafés in plentiful supply.

If you could go this week, you’d get seven nights in a mobile home for just €299 and, at the time of writing, you can still get Ryanair flights to Tours on matching dates for a tenner each out and €29 back. For a family of five that means a week’s holiday for €500.

keycamp.ie, ryanair.com

Villa value

For those who like the space and seclusion of a house, the good news is that James Villas is lopping prices by up to half for holidays in June.

Best savings are to be found in Turkey, where villas in the resort of Bitez, near Bodrum on the Aegean coast, have been cut in half, from €1,296 to €597 for the week starting June 14th. The villa sleeps eight.

It has also cut 25 per cent off a range of other properties, from Florida to the Algarve, this month. For example, a week’s villa stay at the Quinta da Encosta Velha in Portugal, which sleeps four, costs €660 for seven nights starting June 17th.

The cheapest price for four Ryanair flights flying to Faro on the same dates is, at the time of writing, €340 which, presuming you’re not bringing a suitcase, means a week’s holiday for less a than a grand.

jamesvillas.ie