I am trying to get to Treasure Cay or Marsh Island, Bahamas, in the new year to join friends and am finding it difficult to get there without costing the earth and taking days. Is there a reasonably priced way to get there?
PS, Donegal
To get from Ireland to most of the islands in the Caribbean involves at least three flights. Prices for the first week in January are also very high and start going down from the 8th. Whichever way you travel, the outbound is a long trip, as most transatlantic flights arrive too late to connect with flights to the Bahamas. You could factor in an overnight in New York, Atlanta, Miami or Nassau. The return journey is easier as timings work well for connecting to overnight transatlantic flights – you would be looking at about 15 hours of flying.
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Delta flights cost about €700 return, taking in an overnight in Atlanta. From New York you can take JetBlue to Nassau from $146 (€107) each way. American Airlines has the most time-efficient routing with flights via New York and Miami to Nassau from €650. From Nassau you can connect to Treasure Cay or Marsh Island. A return flight will be under $200 on bahamasair.com or skybahamas.com.
I would like to go to Spain in June with two of my children to learn Spanish. I have a degree in Spanish but have not spoken it for 30 years and want intensive conversation classes. My son needs to improve his conversational Spanish for his Leaving Cert and my 12-year-old daughter has just started Spanish in school. Budget is an issue and I am open to staying with a family so we can learn as much as possible.
FB, Dublin
You need to go somewhere in Spain where Spanish, not Basque, Catalan or Galician, is spoken, so that rules out a number of provinces. Coastal resorts may be tempting but being away from the main tourist strips could be more conducive.
The Institute Cervantes (eee.cervantes.es/en/) has helpful advice. From Ireland it is possible to book language classes with steinstudy.com, an Irish company that arranges language classes in a number of European countries. A lot of the schools they feature do a Leaving Cert preparation course. The school in Benalmadena could cater for all the family and you would be looking at €410-€597 each, including lessons and accommodation.
A colleague attended a language course in Cadiz and enjoyed it very much. It is the Melkart School (centromelkart.com) and you could travel via Seville and take the train or bus to Cadiz. Classes cost from €175 per week and homestay accommodation €197pps per week.
A number of small schools in the Canary Islands – not all accredited to Institute Cervantes – might be nice way to combine a holiday with a few hours a day of classes. See academia-lanzarote.com in Costa Teguise, where the children could also combine sports and Spanish.
A friend and I are looking for a break from December 23rd/24th to 26th. We do not want to travel more than two hours from Dublin and would like a twin room at a country lodge/hotel that would not be too expensive. Can you help us? A spa would be great but not essential.
LE, Dublin
The best value I have found is if you head to the North. A lot of hotels in Belfast are open over Christmas and the prices are good. The Europa for instance is €195 for two nights for two, Jurys Inn is €94 for two nights and the Days Hotel is €116. They can all be booked on hotels.com.