Travel News: Luck of the Irish Edition

Score a deal to Shannon, and support relief efforts in Japan By Sophie Gilbert

Comments () | Published March 18, 2011

Happy St. Paddy’s Hangover Day! If you aren’t sufficiently sauced and leprechauned out from yesterday, Travelzoo has a deal this week that might just do the trick. Snag a six-night vacation in the five-star Adare Manor Resort near Shannon for $899 this summer, including flights and car rental (flights leave from New York, with taxes and fees an estimated $127 to $137 per person). The hotel is a Condé Nast Traveler 2011 Gold List property, with an 18-hole golf course, horseback riding, fishing, a spa, and, naturally, Guinness. And summer is about the only season in Ireland in which there’s at least a 50 percent chance it won’t rain.

Our thoughts are with the people of Japan this week after such a terrible and unexpected tragedy (the Red Cross is currently accepting aid donations here). Event organizers in the US are now faced with rather a difficult quandary: how muted should the cherry-blossom festivals this month be in the face of such a disaster? Many, including Washington’s own National Cherry Blossom Festival, are soliciting funds for relief efforts, while the San Diego Japanese Friendship Garden has announced a moment of silence in memory of the victims prior to the start of its festival.

Fly.com has an amazing deal on flights from Washington to Myrtle Beach,—worth considering for a spring break or early-summer trip. Return flights are currently going for as little as $105, including tax. So you can get away for a quick golf trip and still have some cash left over to spend at the Carolina Opry.

The Washington Post answers an important question this week—namely, is it wiser to book summer travel now or to wait and see whether prices have any room to fall? The answer? Book now. In all likelihood, continued unrest in the Middle East is only going to make gas prices more expensive, affecting fares, while demand for spaces on flights is unlikely to drop.

Finally, we’ve heard of royal-wedding fever, but this is really ridiculous. (And that waxwork of Prince William looks more like Matt Damon, in our opinion.)

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