From Arizona's Burning Man to a Belfast Children's Festival stay,
JOAN SCALEShas the best of the week' offers
DEAL OF THE WEEK: Cannes and the Côte d’Azur: €849
Glitz and glamour arrive in Cannes next week for the film festival – and prices shoot up. Wait until next month and it will be a lot cheaper. The Travel Department has a week at Hôtel Mondial – used to hosting actors and critics – for a week on the Côte d’Azur. The price, from €849, includes return flights and three guided days in Antibes, Nice, Menton, Eze, Monaco and Aix. 01-6371600, thetraveldepartment.ie.
French wine cruise: €198 for 2
Irish Ferries has a wine-tasting mini cruise to France from May 27th to 30th. Wine makers from Bordeaux to the Loire will be showing their products and helping you refine your tasting skills. The trip will also include up to 12 per cent off wine purchases in Roscoff. The trip costs €99pps, plus €89 to bring a car, when two travel together. 0818-300400, irishferries.com.
Tuscan family villa: €591
You can save €477 on the cost of a week’s rental of La Capannella, a two-bedroom villa in Tuscany near the walled town of Lucca. The price has been reduced to €591 with Vintage Travel. Available from May 15th and 22nd, it has a pool, barbecue and dining terrace. 00-44-1954-261431, vintagetravel.co.uk.
Flight sale: New York from €495
Ebookers, which has a sale until Tuesday, has online fares to New York from €495, Sydney from €815, Johannesburg from €655, Dubai from €465 and Moscow from €285, among others; ebookers.ie.
London hotels: money off
You can stay in Mayfair, one of the best spots in London, with deals from hotels in the area. The Chesterfield has three nights for the price of two, and the Rubens at the Palace has a family deal of 50 per cent off a second room, plus free movies. mayfairhoteldeals.com.
Get to Burning Man: €510
Tens of thousands of people will be gathering in the Black Rock Desert, in Arizona, from August 30th to September 6th for Burning Man, the annual “festival of self-expression”. Gohop says it can get you and your friends there from €510 per person, including flights and car hire. 01-2412377, gohop.ie.
HOME DEALS: Champagne night: €95 plus room
Champagne, gourmet food and a 17th-century-castle ballroom are the ingredients for a night to remember at Solis Lough Eske Castle Hotel on May 27th. Justin Llewellyn of Taittinger will guide guests though the meal. Dinner is €95 per person, and you can stay over for €175 per room. 074-9725100, solislougheskecastle.ie.
Gresham film offer: from €74
The Gresham Hotel on O’Connell Street in Dublin is offering a night’s stay, plus two tickets to a film of your choice at the Savoy, next door, from €74pps. Or stay for two nights and have afternoon tea for two in the Writer’s Bar from €138pps. 01-8746881, gresham-hotels.com.
2 for 1 holiday homes: €599
If the thought of volcanic ash is steering you towards a holiday at home, Trident has two weeks for the price of one at some of its holiday homes. That means three-bedroom houses in Ballyconneely, Co Galway, from €599. tridentholidayhomes.ie.
Curragh Live offer: €112 for 2
Status Quo will kick off the Curragh Live concerts at the
Co Kildare racecourse on June 4th. You can spend the day at the races, rock till late and then stay at the Keadeen Hotel (045-431666, keadeenhotel.ie) from €112pps or at the Osprey Hotel (045-881111, osprey.ie) from €185 for two.
Castlebar break: €99 for 2 nights
The Harlequin Hotel, in Castlebar, has a two-night package for May 21st and 22nd of €99pps for BB plus dinner one evening. 094-9286200, harlequinhotelcastlebar.ie.
Belfast family getaway: €210
If you’d like to stay in Belfast during the city’s children’s festival, from May 21st to 30th, the Holiday Inn has two nights for two adults and two children, with one evening meal and tickets to W5, from £178
(about €210). 1850-230230, discovernorthernireland.com.
Please bear in mind that all deals are subject to availability