JOAN SCALESanswers your travel questions
Question: We are a large family of six brothers and sisters with 18 children, aged from six months to 18 years, between us. Twenty of us are looking to go away in Ireland around December 27th for two nights. We are flexible in terms of kids sharing beds and so on. We would love to stay in one house but are finding it difficult to find somewhere suitable. We have looked at castles, as we would like to make the trip as memorable as possible, but this option is proving very costly, and we would like to keep the cost down as much as possible. It has been suggested to us that going to Scotland would be a better choice, but we would prefer to stay here.
JMM, Dublin
Answer:The good news is that a variety of large homes and mixed developments around the country could accommodate your family. No need to go to Scotland. The first place to look is the Havens Hideaways website, irishgems.com, which features castles, modern houses and period homes, groups of large apartments, Palladian mansions and haunted houses for rent from two nights. Prices vary from property to property, and you should give Havens Hideaways a call on 01-2889355. It will know which are available and suitable for your group.
On daft.ie, if you search under Short Term you will find a selection of more modern properties around the country with six or more bedrooms.
I have come across a selection of individual properties. Fair Isle Castle, in Co Fermanagh, is a beautiful house with eight bedrooms and six bathrooms. You can get in touch on 00-44- 1608-658878 or through holiday-chateau.com. This company has a selection of holiday properties in Scotland, England and Wales, too.
Sunnybank House, near Clifden, Co Galway, can sleep up to 22 people. You can contact the owner on 086-8587391 or through connemararentals.com. Also near Clifden, Joyces Waterloo House has 10 bedrooms and would be comfortable for your family. Get in touch on 095-21688 or through joyces-waterloo.com.
Question: I was hoping you could offer us some advice on interesting events and things to do in Ireland during the winter. I’m an American visiting from Los Angeles, and, being me, I’m not doing a good job of planning my schedule. I’ll be in Ireland the last week of October through most of November. I was here last summer, and want to revisit some old haunts, but I would really like to spend more time in the inland counties, visiting historical sites, and also more time in the Irish-speaking counties on the west coast. I’d also maybe like more experience with native Irish music and culture.
DN, California
Answer:Welcome back to Ireland. You will be glad to hear that a range of festivals and other events is on around the country, taking in music, literature, walking and drama, while you are here.
One of the biggest festivities in Ireland is Halloween, and most towns will be having some form of celebration. The city of Derry will have one of the biggest events, with a three-day Halloween carnival, music and fancy-dress parades.
You can check what is on in each county at discoverireland.ie and discovernorthernireland.com.
One of the most famous sites in the midlands is the monastic settlement of Clonmacnoise, on the banks of the River Shannon. It’s well worth visiting (090-9674195, heritageireland.ie/en/midlands eastcoast/Clonmacnoise). Birr Castle Demesne is also interesting (057-9120336, birrcastle.com). The Gaeltacht areas on the west coast are in the counties of Donegal, Mayo, Galway and Kerry. If you get a chance, take a boat trip or a flight to the Aran Islands, for a feel of a pure Gaeltacht area.
Question: I would really like to take my four children, who are aged between four and 14, to St Petersburg, to the ballet at the Kirov theatre. I am at a total loss as to where to begin. Could any tour operators in Ireland organise this? Or how would I go about organising it myself? It would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip on a pretty tight budget.
GM, Dublin
The Mariinsky Ballet, also known as the Kirov, is a classical company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. It tours every year to a variety of international cities. You can check out the programme on mariinsky.ru/en to see when it is at home and to buy tickets.
I am not aware of any tour operator offering ballet tours to the Mariinsky, but I can send you in the right direction. If you travel via the UK, these two tour operators specialise in trips to Russia: the Russia House (00-44-20-74039922, therussiahouse.co.uk) and Intourist (00-44-20-77925240, intouristuk.com).
If you’re making your own arrangements, you can fly to St Petersburg with Scandinavian Airlines (flysas.ie) via Copenhagen from about €300 each or with Lufthansa (lufthansa.com) via Frankfurt from about €390. You can find a place to stay on hotels.com.
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com.