GO ADVICE:From bringing a baby on holiday at home and abroad to seeing Italy by train, Joan Scales answers your travel questions
Holidays with a small baby
Having had a baby girl six months ago, we are hoping to take a much longed for holiday break in Ireland this May/June, along with our very active four-year-old boy. We are looking for either a self-catering house or chalet-style accommodation on the grounds of a hotel, preferably in scenic west Cork (although we’re not restricted to this area alone). As we are on a budget, we would appreciate your advice and knowledge about reasonably-priced accommodation with easy access to a beach, activities for children and within reach of a town.
SM, Waterford
I can think of a few hotels with accommodation that would fit the bill for you and your family, but prices are creeping up this year and none of them are cheap. Hotels such as the Carlton in Kinsale, the Quality in Killarney and Parknasilla Resort all have good facilities for families.
One venue that is good value is Trabolgan (trabolgan.com), which has a self-catering house for a week in May from €346. The benefit of Trabolgan is the range of activities and entertainment available for your son. The children’s club will be on and Fireman Sam is a new entertainer this year. The pool area is great fun and there is a small beach nearby.
The Quality Hotel in Clonakilty, west Cork (023-8836400, qualityclonakilty.com), is a family-oriented property with good facilities including its Jungle Gym for children, leisure centre with toddlers’ pool, playground and cinema. There is a selection of accommodation, from family rooms to self-catering suites to holiday homes. Four nights in the hotel would cost €208 per adult including dinner on two evenings – you just pay for the children’s meals. Self-catering would work out at about €100 per night.
Also in west Cork, the Barley Cove Beach Cottages on the grounds of the hotel, are in a great location, would cost €482 for a week and can be booked through dreamireland.com. The hotel website is at barleycovebeachhotel.com.
In Kerry, though not on the grounds of a hotel, the Ballybunion Beach Cottages are very comfortable, five minutes from a Blue Flag beach and minutes from the shops and restaurants in the town. The price in May is also reasonable, from €259 for a two-bedroom modern house. Contact
Trident Holiday Homes at 01-2018440 or see tridentholidayhomes.ie.
Break before return to work
I recently had a baby (seven months ago) and am due back to work very soon. I want to spend the last of my special time with baby and husband doing something nice for the three of us. I am looking for some nice gentle time with a little luxury for five days to a week. I have no idea where to go, would like to go somewhere that is baby-friendly, that we can relax and also have him play in the water. I am a nervous flyer and my husband is anxious about baby/airports and travel. Our budget is under €1,000. We are looking to go in next five weeks, excluding the Easter madness. I know it is vague, but I cannot think due to lack of sleep.
RF, Dublin
See the answers to the question above for some ideas in Ireland. Going abroad with baby is a big adventure and entails lots of organising, so I understand your husband’s anxiety.
However, this is a good time to go as flights and hotels are not too expensive, and the weather is mild enough not to have to worry too much about baby in the heat.
If you want to head to the Algarve in Portugal, I can recommend the Rio Arade House near Portimao for a quiet break. It is a small manor house, just nine rooms, with a small pool in a nice village with restaurants nearby for eating out. Room rates with breakfast are about €50 per night. Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus fly to Faro and you can expect to pay under €200 each outside of Easter.
Good value for your money too would be a package holiday with a tour operator and you can expect to pay in the region of €350-€500 each for a week. That would include flights, accommodation on a self-catering basis and transfers. Sunworld (sunworld.ie), for example, has a week in Club Siroco in Costa Teguise, Lanzarote, from €409 each. Sunway (sunway.ie) has a week in the Argana Hotel in Agadir, Morocco, from €349 each.
Otherwise, you can check out deals with lowcostholidays.com, where you can combine flights, accommodation and transfers, and you do not have to stay for a full week. Five days on the Algarve in the four-star Pestana Viking Hotel would cost around €600 for the family.
The website stickyfingerstravel.com is also a useful resource for travelling with children.
Seeing Italy by train
My wife and family (two boys aged 11 and 13) have booked flights and accommodation for Florence in July. We intend to use the Italian train service for exploring Italy and I would be grateful if you could advise if is it possible to purchase a pass to allow us to use the trains over a number of days and under what conditions can they be used.
PR, Dublin
The Italian train service is good, frequent and reasonably priced for getting around. There are a number of options you can use to get the best fares. The website of Italian rail is trenitalia.com and is available in English. It also has a call centre where you can get information and book tickets, tel 00-39-066-8475475.
Depending on how much rail travel you are planning, you can buy Interrail tickets (interrailnet.com) that give you unlimited travel in Italy. For example, three days’ travel in one month costs €115 for adults and €75 for 11-25-year-olds.
Winter flights to Canaries
Do you know if either Aer Lingus or Ryanair will be extending their services to the Canary Islands beyond late October? Both companies seem to finish their services before the end of that month.
EOF, Louth
November and early December are usually the quietest times in the Canary Islands and for that reason the airlines will be operating fewer services. The timetables for the winter have not been finalised yet. I would not be surprised if Ryanair operates a service, but you will have to wait another few months to hear.
However, you will be able to take a charter flight with Falcon Holidays (1850-946164, falconholidays.ie) which will be operating a weekly service to Gran Canaria. Seats will cost about €250-€350.