Holiday on a shoestring budget...

az2wp0sye65487

I need a break!!!

Myself and the O/H would love to get away, even for a couple of days just for a bit of a break, mainly from the monotony of:

Wake up - Work - Lunch - More Work - Home - Dinner - Walk Dog - TV - Bed!

The thing is, we have no money... could probably stretch to a budget of up to €200. I'll be looking into different ideas, we don't necessarily need to go abroad, we've taken plenty of breaks in Ireland before & have enjoyed them all. Neither of us are huge fans of the sun either! (strange I know).

Any helpful ideas??.......

biko

If it was the summer you could go camping in a tent somewhere.
It's not however so you'll need accomodation every night.

Where are you located? Village, town, city?
Car?

az2wp0sye65487

Live in Dublin. Have car.

Have been camping once before, not with the O/H - with the lads. It's good craic; but definitely not in this weather!

bills

there should be some good post- xmas deals in hotels around Ireland. I am sure they are all desperate for business at this time of year. I came across this deal recently- 2nights midweek B&B & bottle of wine for 99 euro in castlecourt , westport. Thats just an idea, but im sure there are good options near dublin too if you are flexible with dates.

LiamMc

Glendalough and the Gaps Sally and Wicklow. (Obviously the conditions are changing at the moment, I don't know if either Gap road is even open at the moment). If it is possible to drive safely the scenery should be impressive with snow covered fields and mountains.
Glendalough has an IYH hostel and should have plenty of room even for weekends. There's walking at lakeside level, above the lake on the Spink which has wooden boards for easier walking, there are also walking along parts of the way-marked Wicklow Way or can get recommended walks in the Tourist Office.

There's a large pub and restaurant (possible with accomodation also) in the Glendalough village there is also eatiing in the villages of Lauragh and Roundwood (highest village in Ireland).

But I'd call ahead to any of the businesses in the area to check on conditions and whats recommended todo at this time.

rossie1977

if you want a bit of sun then dublin to malta with ryanair is available for €60 return example of dates flying out from dublin on feb 2nd, returning feb 4th or 6th or 9th

carnival in valletta is from feb 1st to feb 6th and thats great fun

Paige Turner

Hiya, just a few idea's.
Don't know how you feel about Ryanair, but their seats are always a bargain. At the moment a lot of seats are €8. If you book with a pre-paid credit card you will avoid any booking fee's. Also if you you bring hand luggage you will avoid bag charges. You will still have 10 kilo's, which is plenty for a couple of nights.

Liverpool

Return Flights for 2: €32 total
http://www.bookryanair.com/skysales/FRSelect.aspx

Hotel
I find yeego.com or lastminute.com about the best for low prices. Most hotels on yeego.com will also include breakfast in the price.
Here is a list of Hotels in Liverpool starting from €86 in total for 2 people for 2 nights.
http://www.yeego.com/search-results.1.1.322.03-feb-2010.05-feb-2010.2-1.0.0.html


London

Return Flights for 2 people: €32 total
http://www.bookryanair.com/skysales/FRSelect.aspx

Hotels
Rooms starting from €64 in total for 2 people for 2 weekend nights.
http://www.yeego.com/search-results.1.1.323.06-feb-2010.08-feb-2010.2-1.0.0.html

Stay in Ireland
There is also a thread in Bargain Alerts for 1 night free stay in Galway.
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055791990

undo

When booking holidays, it often comes down to a trade-off between the amount of money you can spend and the time you are willing to invest in finding the best deals. I am a student and so always travel on a very small budget. With a bit of looking around, €200 will get you a weekend break pretty much anywhere in Europe, flights, accommodation, food and drink included. You just have to be flexible, put in some effort and grab opportunities you see them - they often go away very quickly. Right now, there is a voucher code out that gives you €30 off any two-night hotel booking. In most cities around Europe, you can get two hotel nights for about €60. Subtract the voucher and you find yourself paying €7.50/night/person for accommodation. Use one of the many Prepaid Mastercards available online and get return flights for say €100 (€50 each). This would leave you with a budget of €70 for food, drink and public transport (taxis are an Irish favorite but completely unnecessary in most of Europe and a waste of money). So really, your options are endless. If you get into it, searching for the best bargain becomes part of the fun .