jonathang

Hi there,

I am in beautiful Dublin at the moment trying to get a minor headache out of the way.

I just got in from the States a few days ago for a 4 month semester abroad program at the University of Amsterdam.

I'm doing some travelling beforehand in Dublin and London but because of the length of my trip I packed about 80 pounds of baggage in one big suitcase. I never thought it would come out to that much, but once I got to the airport they told me that I would have to pay about 100$ in excess baggage fees if I didn't pack at least 10 pounds into another bag (luckily I had a nice travel bag packed that I checked in as well).

So I avoided that fee, but that brought up a small problem with my Ryan Air flight from Dublin to London since those bastards only let you check in 15 kilos and charge you 4.50 pounds for every kilo you go over. That would make the flight cost me 20 euros (original fare) plus about 100 pounds (almost 200 dollars!) in fees. From what random people have told me here they seem to be pretty strict and I'm not sure if I want to take that risk of paying that huge fee or not even being let on the plane.

The NEXT best option seems to be taking the overnight bus/ferry on Eurolines from Dublin to London which will cost me about 38 Euros minus their student discount, but as many of you know is a long 11-12 hour trip.

Anyone know about a possible better solution? I have one large suitcase, one travel bag which can hold probably 25-30 pounds and one backpack which can hold maybe 12-15 pounds so I can split that up if needed. The problem is that airlines like Ryan Air only let you check one bag and then bring on carry on and the maximum weight they let you bring ANYWAY is only 32 kilo. Not that great for the long term international traveller.

Thanks for the advice.

SiobhanP

Ferry and train I think is an option as well. I heard about that bus ride and you could not pay me to do it.

Otherwise just ship some of your stuff home!

jonathang

Good call on the train, I am looking that up right now. One way on IrishFerries will cost me 18 Euros (25% student discount). Lemme see how much the train runs for from Holy Head.

The Shipping option sounds intriguing. I have no idea how much that type of thing might cost, though.

jonathang

70 Euros for the train from Holyhead to London. Damn, that's too much.

Kristinelaine

I wonder whom you are swearing at. Maybe yourself for not making better plans. It doesn't seem to me that this is RyanAir's problem. You certainly have a right to make mistakes, but don't take it out on everyone else. JMHO

Frances

In respect of the train fare from Holyhead to London, go on to
thetrainline.com. If you are flexible as to your travel plans you can do this cheaply. Last year I bought a single from Bangor( which is only 25 miles from Holyhead) to London for £11.
Be aware also that Ryanair get a lot of bad press for enforcing their terms and conditions ( to include excess baggage ) to the T

janis

I'm sorry you are facing this -- but an 80 lb suitcase is outrageous no matter the reason. Forget about Ryan Air -- how did you expect to handle such a massive bag while touring around? Even getting it on to a train will be a problem.

Ship some of the stuff ahead or back home.

stpaulflavor

Hi,
I really can't provide any advice, other than try a train; but saw your other posting about Olympic basketball. Did you find any place in Dublin for watching it, or do you know of any place in Amsterdam? I'm actually packing right now for Holland as I am studying abroad this fall at the University of Maastricht...I'll try to keep it under 80 pounds though..

jonathang

swearing? not swearing at anyone, just venting a bit, nothing to get your panties in a bunch about. 80 pounds is a bit excessive, but considering how crap the dollar is at the moment I really didn't want to have to buy anything overseas, so I just packed everything I thought I would need for the next 4 1/2 months. Stuff like sheets, towels, 5-6 pairs of pants, sweatshirts, a nice jacket or two, school supplies, the suitcase itself weighs a fair amount, so it all adds up in the end. Once I get set up in my dorm room I am sure I will be happy to have plenty of options for living abroad.

The bag is actually OK to carry around for a few hours on wheels. Especially if you split part of it into my other travel bag. I'm a pretty strong guy so it's been alright so far. We'll see how it goes in London.

It looks like I'll just buy that package ferry/bus trip from Dublin to London via Holyhead. It's overnight so I'll probably just sleep through most of it. I checked that trainline site and the train will cost me even more then 70 Euros so that appears to be the cheapest and most convinient option at the moment.

Regarding the Olympics, they had the Australia/USA game the other day in its entirety. THey broadcasted the last quarter of the Greece game and I'm waiting to see if they'll have the Lithuania game on in about an hour. Between the Irish TV station and the BBC the Olympics coverage has been pretty good except for all the freaking equestrian. From what I hear Eurosport has been broadcasting a fair amount of bball, but they don't get that channel here in Ireland. Good luck with your trip.

Kristinelaine

I have to laugh a bit to think that I am so old that I think damn and bastard are swear words, instead of everyday language now!