A hidden side of the tourism industry is the home exchange holidays, where families exchange houses and lifestyles for an agreed period rent free. Homelink International originated in the USA in 1953 and has spread to more than 50 countries worldwide. The demand from the , in particular, is very strong for the island of and more families are needed to exchange. Many people have got to visit places they never thought possible. All you do is register with Homelink who put your home and details in their directory. It costs £56 for a listing and £10 more if you include a photograph. You write to the families advertising in the areas you are interested in and, hopefully, your holidays will coincide and you can exchange.
IF AER Lingus have the excellent family fares sale they did early this year, maybe now is the time to think of a home exchange holiday. Family fares were from £999 to £1,299, less than the cost of a package holiday on the Costa del Sun. The Irish organiser for Homelink is Marie Murphy and you can call her on 01 846 2598.
I often write about new hotels in Dublin, but today I am delighted to write about a new hotel in . The Inishowen Gateway Hotel is located on the Inishowen Peninsula and was opened in June. On the shores of Lough Swilly just outside the town on Buncrana, it has panoramic views of coastline, mountains and rolling countryside. The hotel has 60 bedrooms, a restaurant and a full leisure complex which will be completed in November. During the autumn, they have special offers of two nights B & B for £70 and three nights B & B and two dinners for £134.
What are you doing for the October holiday weekend? Fancy crossing a glacier on a snowmobile or visiting a volcano or swimming in a geothermally heated lagoon. Not your average weekend in Ireland, but in Iceland what else would you do? Wallace Travel Group (01 834 7888) have a special tour to Iceland from October 24th to 27th. The price of £329 includes flights from Dublin to Reykjavik, accommodation and transfers. The tours are extra but well worth taking.
The football season is well underway now and going to Premier League matches has become quite a fixture on the social calendar for many. Groupworld Travel (01 667 3113) specialise in tours to some of the best known clubs, such as
Blackburn Rovers Everton Aston Villa Glasgow Celtic . The tours, based on groups of 10 or more travelling, are very reasonably priced and include return sailings on the HSS, coach from Holyhead, match ticket, dinner, B & B in a three star hotel. Give them a call for a quote to see your favourite team play.
One hotel Chelsea supporters will want to stay in is the new Chelsea Village which is due to open in December. Located at Stamford Bridge and overlooking the width of the FA Cup winner's pitch. The bar called "The Shed" will focus on Chelsea Football Club memorabilia. The hotel will also have an Irish restaurant and a conference centre. I wonder will old footballers be put to grass as waiters here?
