Six people in the public eye explain their favourite holiday spots to Sorcha Hamilton
There was once a time when going "abroad" meant a trip to Ennis. Nowadays, you would struggle to find someone who has never been on a plane. There's no escaping the talk of "exotic city-breaks" or the various countries people have "done". Jetting here and there has become so simple and cheap, you can be on a Greek island by the time it takes to cook up a good fry.
We're certainly doing a lot more of it, but are we better at travelling? In the 1950s, when author Paul Bowles set out for Morocco, he made a point of distinguishing the tourist from the traveller. These days, there's no telling the tourist from the backpacker, second-homer, weekender, Inter-railer - the list is endless. So have we become more sophisticated as travellers, or are we just slaves to the guidebook and "must see" talk?
Being a good traveller usually means not getting burnt to a crisp on the first day, remembering where your hotel is, and knowing enough of the language to avoid ordering sheep's testicles for dinner. But perhaps it is also knowing what you really value about travel. "The journey, not the arrival, matters," T.S. Eliot once wrote. For the Cork woman going "abroad" to Ennis, the slow journey by bus, the people she met along the way, and the stories she would tell for months afterwards, were all part of the holiday.
The thrill these days is more about jetting off to a different country, time zone and culture within hours. For bargain hunters, where you go is less important than how much you pay. Then there are those who plan everything in detail, buying their bikini or sun tan lotion weeks in advance. Others head to the likes of Ibiza for two weeks of oblivion, passing out in the heat all day and drinking all night.
Whether it's topping up on the tan, watching seagulls, ocean cruising, or just getting out of Ireland, talking to a selection of Irish personalities reveals there is no end to the number of weird and wonderful reasons why we love to travel.
'I want to go somewhere for unthinking time, to go completely to jelly'
John Creedon, presenter, RTÉ Radio: "I suppose I'm a bit of a beach bum," says John Creedon, who reckons he gets a good colour from being out in the sun. "I prefer going to Irish beaches than travelling abroad. The whole stress of airports and hotels doesn't appeal to me at all. I want to go somewhere for 'unthinking' time, to go completely to jelly! Often I go to Mayo or Cork for weekends - I just love looking out at the Atlantic, the size of the ocean makes your career, ESB bills and everything seem so small." Creedon never goes on holiday without his binoculars - "and that's not for peeping at others," he quips - to look out at the moon or watch seagulls. He also takes a large, old-fashioned alarm clock, so he can head off for early-morning walks. He rarely goes abroad for summer holidays - "to quote the famous phrase, I love bathing myself in the greenery of Ireland."
'For me, travel is part of the holiday'
Eamon Ryan, TD Green Party: "I like to keep holidays very simple," says Eamon Ryan, "it's easier to totally switch off then." As a child, his parents took him on holidays around Ireland, and Ryan wants to ensure that his own children have a good sense of the country. "The last trip we went on was to Achill island, we got the train to Wesport and then the bus over to Achill." While Ryan has travelled and worked abroad, he is concerned about the impact of air travel on the environment. "Jet travel is fantastic because it is so rapid, but very soon people will have to consider the cost to the environment. As a country, I think we've become very time poor, where getting a boat or a train instead of a plane can be seen as a hindrance. But I like the fact that you're forced to slow down; it gives you time to think. For me, travel is part of the holiday, it gives a richer experience and a sense of adventure." During his time running cycling safaris, Ryan discovered Gougane Barra, set in a glacial valley in west Cork, his favourite spot in Ireland. "When I go there, I feel immediately at home. It's such a special place."
'I don't like the idea of going back to exactly the same spot'
Hugh Leonard, writer: "I'd like to think I'm still an adventurer," says Hugh Leonard, who has been to east Asia, the Caribbean, the United States and many European cities. "I look forward to being in a new place, to discovering a new town, or a new type of hotel." Many of Leonard's holidays are spent on the water, and while he used to own a boat on the Shannon, in recent years he has turned to the warmer weather in France to cruise the inland waterways. A cruise around the Caribbean islands is planned for next summer. "Cruises are fantastic - you just bring a load of books, sit back and let someone else do the work," he says. Although Leonard returns to France frequently - he goes to Paris regularly for Christmas with his daughter and partner - he is not interested in buying property there. "I don't like the idea of going back to exactly the same spot all the time. Having one home here and one there would be difficult - and we have three cats here that we need to look after."
'When I go on holidays, I don't want to cook or clean - I want to relax'
Tanya Airey, managing director, Sunway Travel: "I get a slagging from people who say I have a tan all year round," says Tanya Airey, who regularly travels to the sun. While she has had a go at water-skiing on trips to Greece and Turkey with her husband and three children, Airey usually prefers to relax by the pool with her book. "This year we want to do something more adventurous, so we're going on safari to South Africa. It'll be a different type of Disney for the children," she says. They also own a mobile home in Brittas Bay, where they stay every July and August. "My husband and I commute to work every day and we get a nanny to look after the children - and even though we don't always get great weather there, the children love it." Buying property abroad doesn't appeal to Airey: "when I go on holidays, I don't want to be cooking or cleaning - I just want to relax."
'If I had the money, I'd buy somewhere on a Greek Island'
Frank Kelly, actor: Frank will never forget his first trip to Castletownbere, Co Cork: "It was snowing everywhere that day - and when I finally arrived in Castletownbere the weather was balmy and there was a group of Breton fishermen dancing in the street." For years, Kelly and his family made trips to the small town, where they stayed in the Barehaven Hotel and drank in Moriarty's pub. They weren't so lucky with the weather when they decided to rent a house in Connemara, however, where it rained every day during a six-week holiday. "Each morning I had to get up and scoop water out of the boat we kept - so the next year we decided to go to Menorca for some guaranteed sunshine." Kelly, who has travelled in the US, South Africa and Canada for his work, has recently become particularly fond of the Greek Islands. "I think if you want to buy a holiday home you have to fall in love with a place and have a relationship with the people there, not just the ex-pats. I don't have the money, but if I did, I'd buy somewhere on a Greek Island - just a small, humble cottage."
'We're more likely to try the fried locusts rather than insist on eating chips'
Jessica Grehan, artist: "The fact that you could get eaten by a snake is only part of the excitement of going to South Africa," says Jessica Grehan, who has been there six times. "It's an extraordinary country, with that sense of vastness of landscape that just doesn't really exist in Ireland." Grehan is also a frequent visitor to a village called Alozaine, in southern Spain. "I have friends living there, so it's great to visit them and also just to re-charge, read, or go for walks. The Spanish timetable really works for me, too, getting up early, then having lunch, a snooze and then staying up later." Much of Grehan's printmaking and painting echoes her travels, and an upcoming exhibition will include work inspired by a recent holiday in China. "The Irish are usually quite adventurous as travellers," she believes. "We tend to adapt to other cultures well - we're more likely to try the fried locusts rather than insist on eating chips."