COLUMN: 'Autumn travel boasts cooler temps, less crowds and cheaper prices...'

The big travel talking points this summer were the endless airport queues, the extremely hot weather and the higher costs for everything abroad when compared to pre pandemic times.

Autumn travel is the exact opposite with cooler temperatures, less crowds and cheaper prices, which all make it the perfect time for an off season holiday.

Autumn is the perfect time of year for a European city break and according to a recent survey of 20 popular European city destinations, carried out by Post Office Travel Money in the UK, Athens offers the best value with Lisbon coming in second.

It is the first time in the barometer’s 15-year history that a city in western Europe has beaten an eastern European city to first place.

The most expensive city was Amsterdam with Dublin, unsurprisingly, coming in at fourth most expensive.

The ranking is produced by an analysis of 12 typical tourist costs, including an evening meal for two with wine, drinks, two nights' three-star accommodation, sightseeing and city transport.

When I am looking for an autumn destination the key for me is finding a place with a warm autumn sun. My rule was reinforced when I went to Porto late in October last year and it rained all weekend.

Porto is a great city but when leaving autumnal Ireland, you really want a place ideally with temperatures in the mid to late twenties. I went to Lisbon in September, and it was like a hot Irish summer.

I was delighted to see that one of my favourite cities in Europe had won the best value European destination in the UK Post Office survey.

We often think of Athens as a jump off point for a trip to the islands in Greece. But Athens is a great destination in its own right.

It is a city which is of great value and full of ancient buildings and museums. The city can often still be in the mid 20s in autumn so it is a perfect time to visit.

My recommendation for the perfect trip way for a few days in autumn would be a few days in Athens for the city buzz and history fix and then a few days chilling on one of the Saronic islands which are just one hour’s hydrofoil boat hop from Athens.

There are seven inhabited Saronic islands, but the most popular with Athenians are Hydra, Spetses, and Aegina. Even though these are some of the closest inhabited islands to Athens they have never embraced mass tourism.

There are no airports and very few cars, so they are the perfect holiday for fans of quiet beaches and great Greek taverna food.

The most famous of the islands is Hydra which doesn’t allow any cars and the main mode of transport is still by donkey or by foot.

Just like when Leonard Cohen lived there in the 60s for many years.

The island is now popular with the trendy Athenian weekend set. The big international tourist crowds are gone by the autumn, but it still has the tourist buzz at weekends.

The traditional choice of Irish tourists is the Cyclades islands of Paros, Mykonos and Santorini which can be very quiet this late in the season so I would recommend the Saronic islands as the better choice.

After all, we say we want to get away from the crowds but it is still nice to eat in restaurants that are not empty but still have that touristy buzz.

Hydra is hardly a secret as it has been popular with travellers, hippies, writers and poets since the 1960s. The island is full of bustling quayside tavernas where you can watch island life unfold before you.

But when the summer tourist crowds have dispersed by September the island still retains an active social calendar as it is the home of many artists.

The island has year round cultural and social events like the current Jess Koon’s art installation at the old slaughterhouse which runs until November.

I would really recommend to also visit the island of Spetses next to Hydra as it is so different.

Hydra is the quintessential Greek island full of whitewashed buildings but Spetses is full of grand Venetian style buildings reflecting the historical importance of the island as a trading post.

Spetses was known as the spice island and when you arrive at the harbour, the first thing you see are old houses along the bay, each one bigger and grander than the next.

There is an air of splendour, elegance and relaxed charm and the town is a great place to stay and eat with some of the best restaurants in the region.

If you are a history lover then the final island that I would recommend is Aegina which was one of Greece’s earliest maritime powers and first capital.

The island is famous for minting the first Greek coinage which were accepted all over the Mediterranean. The island also has one of the finest preserved ancient temples called the temple of Aphaia.

Aegina is the closest island to Athens.

If you are looking for an autumn trip that is cheap, full of culture, history, great weather and great food then a trip to Athens and the Saronic islands hits all the spots.

You might have seen on the news last week that the Galway adventurer Damian Browne successfully completed the first solo row from New York to Galway.

He spent 112 days at sea and endured wild north Atlantic weather conditions as he rowed an incredible 5,000kms. I was delighted to see Damian achieve his goal as I have interviewed him twice on the travel Tales with Fergal podcast.

If you would to learn more about this legendary Irish adventurer who has already been to Everest to his episodes on www.traveltaleswithfergal.ie.