Travel Tales: 'Big trend for 2023 will be reducing our carbon footprint when we travel'

Traditionally January has always been the busiest month for travel agents with over 40% of all package holidays booked in that month.

However, consumers are moving away from the package holiday to book their own flights and accommodation independently and the advent of Black Friday sales, which is increasingly extending into December has meant December is fast becoming one of the busiest months for holiday deals and discounts.

All the airlines including Aer Lingus and Ryanair are offering pre-Christmas sales.

Skiing is back after a few turbulent years of very quiet slopes due to the lockdowns.

There is a lot more capacity in the resorts around Europe with B&B’s and Airbnb’s reopening since the end of the pandemic. All the major ski tour operators are offering great deals to encourage people back to the slopes.

Check out Crystal Ski who are offering €100 off ski package holiday bookings when you spend €1,000.

It’s valid on holidays departing from December 2022 to April 2024 inclusive.

A big trend for 2023 and beyond will be reducing our carbon footprint when we travel. This will mean families looking to use more boats and trains instead of airplanes for our holidays.

For the environmentally friendly family I would recommend the new Brittany Ferries service from Rosslare to Bilbao in Spain on the brand new 214.5m-long cruise ferry Salamanca.

The Salamanca is the first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) powered passenger ferry to service Ireland, Brittany Ferries says – promising “lower emissions and a smoother, quieter voyage”.

The new ship will carry more than 1,000 passengers and will also take customers on foot and bike for the first time on the route.

Salamanca will sail twice weekly departing Wednesday and Friday mornings. Sailings to Spain take 29 to 30 hours with one to two nights spent on board. The total of 343 cabins includes 22 that are “especially designed for passengers travelling with their pet dog,” Brittany Ferries says.

If we really want to reduce our carbon footprint, then staying in Ireland to holiday is the best option whilst also supporting our own tourism sector.

If I am ever recommending places to stay to tourists from abroad I often tell them to book their hotel through the Blue Book website to get the best feel for Irish hospitality.

I love the Blue Book because they are mostly family owned and run Irish Country House Hotels, Manor Houses, castles and restaurants.

You really get to see Irish hospitality at its best and the properties are generally old country houses, so you get a real sense of the history of the area you are staying in.

A Blue Book voucher would always be my top Christmas gift travel recommendation and their website is now offering great discounts for bookings for winter on irelands-blue-book.ie.

The new Blue Book for 2023 has just been released and they have five new properties joining the Blue Book collection. The properties are Fernhill House and Gardens in Cork, The Lansdowne Kenmare, which is run by the famous Brennan brothers,

The Old Inn in Down, Perryville House in Kinsale and Tubbrid Castle in Kilkenny. The new additions bring the total number of properties in Ireland’s Blue Book collection to 63.

My Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast episode this week is a West Cork Destination Special where I interview two Blue Book hoteliers from the Clonakilty area to give us an overview of the area and local tips and recommendations.

I love doing destination specials in Ireland as the real passion Irish people have for their home areas really shines through. My first interviewee is Michael O’Neill from Fernhill House Hotel who is a 4th generation hotelier beside Clonakilty.

Fernhill House & Gardens is a luxurious Georgian Mansion set on picturesque gardens overlooking the beautiful countryside of Clonakilty in West Cork.

Fernhill’s gardens are among the finest in Ireland and were designed by Chelsea Gold Medal winner Mary Reynolds. A special recommendation from Michael is the West Cork Garden Trail (westcorkgardentrail.com) which features stunning gardens in many of the great old houses of West Cork.

You get to see amazing gardens but also learn the history of the great old houses of the area.

West Cork is famous for the influx and influence of people from abroad over the last few decades so my second guest on the podcast is a classic example.

Kela Hodgins and her partner Stephen are originally from Dublin but moved to outside Clonakilty when they bought and resorted to Dunowen House, a luxury 18th-century previously owned by Noel Redding, bass guitarist with the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

The house showcases its unique rock and roll heritage set by a stunning coastal landscape of coves and beaches.

Noel Redding is famous for putting Clonakilty on the world tourist map with his famous weekly gigs in Debarras.

Noel lived in the house for 30 years and he entertained many music legends over the decades.

The house is now available for private hire.

The West Cork coast is dotted with hundreds of beaches where you can enjoy a walk, surfing or simply relaxing including nearby Inchydoney, Sands Cove, Long strand and Red strand.

There are a multitude of picturesque towns and villages around West Cork for you to explore ranging from Timoleague with its abbey, Baltimore by the sea or Bantry and its bay.

West Cork is fast becoming the food capital of Ireland due to its many artisan producers with a commitment to fresh and local.

There are many local farmers’ markets to spend a morning at and sample West Cork’s finest produce with the market in Skibbereen a real highlight.

West Cork has a number of fantastic Michelin starred restaurants including Chestnut in Ballydehob.

Kela is a real foodie herself and became famous for her dessert recipes on her Instagram during the lockdowns and she highly recommends Dede in Baltimore which is run by the Turkish-born chef Ahmet Dede.

Finally the number one recommendation for an activity in West Cork from both Kela and Michael was to do a Whale watching tour which they both say is “world-class”.

Check out my Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast to get many more tips on West Cork available on all podcast platforms now.