I'm heading to Ireland in July of this year .<BR>I'm flying out of toronto. I'm wondering, would it end up working out to be a better deal ($) by flying into London and then getting a cheap flight from there to Cork or Shannon, IRE? I know that ryanair offers flights from stansted airport in London. I'm just wondering if anyone out there has done this route to get to Ireland. <BR>It's much cheaper to fly to London than to Ireland (from Toronto). HOwever, with all the added expenses involved in transferring to different airports and different flights, is it really worth it in the long run?? Also, how long should one wait for flight prices to go lower? I know I am travelling at peak season.<BR>thanks in advance for the help...

ttt

In my experience the budget airlines are cheaper the earlier you book and are cheaper if you book online.<BR><BR>I've only flown from Stanstead to Belfast using Go http://www.go-fly.co.uk/<BR><BR>but Ryannair say<BR>"Our cheapest fares are available for people travelling during off peak periods, on any day except Friday and Sunday. Our weekend fares are higher. Generally, the cheapest fares require an advance purchase of at least 14 days. Our cheapest fares are also discounted automatically for Internet sales, ensuring that you get a cheaper fare over the Internet than you get from our call centre."<BR>

That was the route I took 2 yrs ago. Flew Ryanair to Dublin (Gatwick to dublin) on a saturday morning and back 8 days later on a sunday morning. fare was 6 GBP plus tax !! Had no trouble. Made reservations on their website. Ryanair doesn't have luggage transferring agreements, so you must calim your bags in London and then put them on Ryanair.

Ryanair flights are certainly competitively priced, but as others have said, you have to get to Stansted, which is a long and expensive trip from Heathrow. I've just checked prices on ebookers.com for Aer Lingus (codeshare with BA) from Heathrow to Cork return and they are available from around 93 pounds tax inclusive. Taking into account convenience, I'd have thought that's pretty good.<BR>Sometimes you can fly open jaw YYZ-ORK, LHR-YYZ for little or no supplement, so that might be worth exploring. In that case a one-way on Ryanair will be a lot cheaper.

Stef,<BR><BR>Try the charter flights from Toronto into Shannon or pop down to New York and fly out of there with Aer Lingus - I have friends who regularly take these options when flying from Toronto,<BR><BR>Hope this helps,<BR><BR>Cathy

THanks for the information folks.<BR><BR>Steve, you said you flew from Gatwick to Dublin with ryanair. How long ago did you fly, because ryanair only flies out of Stansted. My concern is, that is so far from Heathrow or Gatwick. I've looked into taking a shuttle from there to stansted it will take quite awhile. <BR><BR>Cathy, <BR>I've looked into charter flights from Toronto and they are all over 1,000 dollars. I'm hoping prices will come down a little bit in the next month or two. I know I'm flying at peak time. <BR>I did however just find a flight today from Toronto to Shannon for $819 Canadian. Not sure if I should wait and get a lower price ..../??<BR><BR>any thoughts?

tt