Is Ireland's rip-off reputation deserved? Every Friday in August, Price Watch asks tourists what they find cheapest and most expensive here, writes Conor Pope
Burak Bicer (18), Belgium, on an eight-week visit to Ireland
What's expensive in Ireland? Food, it is the most expensive thing here . . . Transport is very dear too . . . I went to Galway and it cost me €17 for a return ticket but a bus ticket from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher was €18
What's cheap? The [ Ryanair] flight was good value. Pitch-and-putt courses are very cheap and medicines seem cheaper here . . . but it's hard to think about anything else.
Is it dearer than you thought? Oh yes, really! I read in the paper that Ireland was more than 130 per cent more expensive than the average in Europe - hotels, food, transport, everything.
Have you spent more than you thought?
Oh yes! . . . I think I might have to ask my parents to send me more money . . . The wages in Belgium are the same as here but everything is more expensive.
Would high prices stop you returning?
No, I would like to come back.
Paolo Casprini (27) from Rome,
on a two-week visit
What's expensive in Ireland?The restaurants and the bars are very expensive. A night out could cost more than €50. I have spent more than €5 on a Guinness and that comes from here.
What's cheap? Nothing!
Is it dearer than you thought?
I had heard that things were expensive here so I wasn't too surprised.
Have you spent more than you thought?
Yes, my credit card bill will be very high next month.
Would high prices stop you returning?
No, I will just have to save more before I can come back.
Ana Puchdes (20), from Spain, on a
two-week visit
What have you found to be expensive?
The food in the restaurants is very expensive, the meals are bigger than you get at home but it is still too dear and sometimes in restaurants the staff treat Spanish people very badly.
What have you found that is cheap? The DART is good value, I think. And I have found a café that sells salads for €1.
Is it dearer than you thought? It is more expensive than I thought it would be but I have not been too surprised because I was in Rome two months ago and that is even more expensive.
Have you spent more than you thought?
Yes, I think so, but I have saved some money on lunches. When I came here I didn't think I would be only having sandwiches or salads for lunch.
Would high prices stop you returning? No, not really.
Value4Money - Cheap beer
Brasserie Beer from Aldi, €5.99 for 10 25cl bottles, 1.49 per litre
Highs: If you're looking for bargain-basement barbecue beer, this crisp-tasting French offering is hard to beat. It comes in "stubby" bottles so is unlikely to either get too warm or too flat before you're done. The most remarkable thing about it, however, is the price. Ten bottles for €6 means you should be able to afford to buy enough beer to last well beyond closing time.
Lows: Can't be faulted for either taste or price but unless you live close to an Aldi, you'll notice it's impossible to find. And Brasserie is a fairly silly name for a beer.
Verdict: Good beer, great value.
Star rating: *****
Euro Shopper beer from Superquinn
1.15 for 500ml, 2.30 per litre
Highs: This tastes fine, if unremarkable. Mind you, unless you're a lager connoisseur, you'll probably agree that most such beers go down just fine when cold enough. It's comparatively cheap, and managed, at least on this occasion, to retain its fizz for quite a while.
Lows: One of the nice things about the Lidl and Aldi efforts is they look like proper beers, and there's nothing about them which suggests bargain basement. You don't have to be a marketing genius to work out that it won't matter if you serve fillet steak at your barbie, if you produce generic beer which boasts loudly about its cheapness, you'll cheapen the whole affair.
Verdict: Tastes pretty good, looks less so.
Star rating: ***
Premium German Lager from Dunnes Stores €7.99 for six 500ml cans, €2.66 per litre
Highs: This beer, brewed in Germany, could grow on you, as it has a definite personality. It has quite a sharp bite, which might help cleanse the palate of badly burned burgers, and it is easy to source.
Lows: Some people might find the sharpness leads to a not entirely pleasant aftertaste, however. Dunnes has decided not to bother making up a name for its own-brand beer which seems a bit remiss. "I'll have a can of Premium German Lager" is not a sentence which trips lightly off the tongue and there is a danger that if you stock up on this in August, you'll still be drinking it come Christmas. It also seems to go flat fairly quickly.
Verdict: Lacks a little fizz.
Star rating: **
Original Grafen Walder from Lidl
14.99 for 5 litre keg, 2.99 per litre
Highs: This strong-tasting beer comes in a five-litre keg which looks pretty cool and may seem like a fine idea if you're having people round. A few of these will keep the beer flowing (un)healthily.
It keeps beer fresh and it's impossible to throw cigarette butts into it. Its appearance will be a talking point for a couple of seconds.
Lows: Unless you have a hewage fridge, with not very much in it, you'll find these kegs impossible to make space for. Then there's the inevitable slopping about as drunken guests figure out how it works.
Verdict: Looks good, tastes good, impossible to store.
Star rating: ***
