Travelling light
Tie a ribbon on it, add a tracker and make sure your contact info is stuffed into every orifice — there are lots of tips to help you stay in touch with your bags amid the chaos afflicting our airports. But what about travelling luggage-free? Say what? Yes, you can be one of those smug people who skip the suitcase queues at both ends — and still have all your vital stuff. SendMyBag, the genius idea from Belfast’s Adam Ewart, lets you send your luggage ahead to more than 250 countries. You need to be packed at least five days in advance, but for hassle-free trips that’s a small price to pay — and so are the fees: expect to pay €35 for up to 20kg one way from Ireland to most EU countries; sendmybag.ie.
Future frolics
Explore Co Louth, from the Cooley Peninsula to the coastal town of Baltray, via Drogheda and Dundalk with Louth Culture Quest, which catapults you into a future in which we’ve pretty much ruined everything (via climate change, political unrest, pandemics and what have you). Download the app and follow clues to discover 20 hidden artworks, led by your guide, Joe Rooney. The artworks have been commissioned for the project, which was developed by Dundalk’s An Táin Arts Centre, and you’ll also go back in time as you discover some of Louth’s real-life heritage sites. For iPhone and Android, €4.99; antain.ie. Stay at Dundalk’s Imperial Hotel, with room-only rates from €110; thehotelimperial.ie.
Slow secrets
Belgian-based Slow Cabins have come to Ireland. Immerse yourself in nature at a secret location, and stay in an eco-designed cabin, far from the madding crowd. There’s just one cabin for now (hint: it’s billed as the “West Coast Meadow”) but more are being added to the network. Book and the location will be revealed in advance of your trip, but expect a campfire, log burner, linen sheets on your queen-sized bed, and an off-grid experience for two. Intrigued? Find out more from €275 per night, minimum stay two nights; slowcabins.ie.
Bee nice, bee beautiful
The idea of a “results-driven facial” may sound a little high achieving for relaxation, but they promise both at the Radisson Blu Royal’s Velvaere Spa. The hotel, on Dublin’s Golden Lane, has introduced a new iS Clinical Honey Enzyme Treatment, which claims to soothe, warm, refresh, cleanse, exfoliate, and anything else you might want in a facial. The addition of honey makes it sound rather sweet too. It’s €130 for the facial, and turn it into an overnight experience with a hotel stay from €250 per room B&B; velvaerespa.ie; radissonhotels.com
