Ireland via London?
 

We are planning a trip to Ireland in the spring. Air fares to London are significantly cheaper. How difficult and expensive would it be to travel to Ireland via London?

Ryanair offers cheap airfares to Ireland, with several flights a day. Here's the website: http://www.ryanair.ie/ <BR> <BR>We did it a few years ago, combining a stopover for two days in London on the return. It worked great, and I would do it again.

We flew either US Air or BA to London (I could look it up!) overnight, then tranferred to Aer Lingus. <BR>Had to clear immigration and customs at Heathrow, then take a shuttle bus to the farthest end of the farthest terminal, then walk to what seemed to be the farthest gateto board our Aer Lingus flight to Dublin. <BR>It seemd to take forever after only a few catnaps on the plane, but I think we were in Dublin before lunch. Picked up our rented car and drove about 20 minutes to our first B & B (had made advance arrangements to arrive there late morning/early afternoon). <BR> <BR>Did the reverse on return - same long traverse of Heathrow, as I recall. <BR>

Margaret <BR>Apart from Ryan Air - other no frills airlines flying to Ireland are <BR>www.easyjet.co.uk - who fly from London Luton (35 miles noth of central London) to Belfast. <BR>www.go-fly.co.uk - Owned by British Airways they fly London Stanstead (just north of central London) to Belfast. <BR>Ryan air as Elvira mentioned have the most Irish options. BA are probably more expensive than those mentioned(though sometimes have special "world offers"). Aer Lingus often have special offers but are still more in the BA price range. <BR>All the London airports - Luton, Stanstead Gatwick and Heathrow have good connections from central London. Try www.baa.co.uk to see how to get to the various London airports. This site is that of the British Airports Authority (I think that's what it stands for)Anyway they run most of the airports in Britain. <BR>Angela

Sorry Margaret, Luton Airport has its own web site www.london-luton.com <BR>With all these low cost airlines the sooner you book the less you pay.

Three years ago we flew to London, but bought a separate ticket on Aer Lingus to Dublin and back to London for $99.00. Our transfer at Heathrow was a snap and quick. We stayed over in London on our return.

took ryanair from gatwich to dublin last spring - 4 pounds plus tax!!! <BR> <BR>Went over on a saturday afternoon and back 9 days later first thing monday morning. <BR> <BR>Check their website for various dates to get the best deal. My flight Phoenix - London was only $405, including tax last march. Thru Bestfares.com

Steve: either that price was a misprint or you got the bargain of the century!! Four pounds plus tax from London to Dublin by air???

To the top for Margaret.

No misprint. It was 4 pounds plus tax m(about 30 pounds !@#@!@) As I said, that was for specific times that I found by entering various times and days. A day earlier and it would have been quite a bit more - still much cheaper than the major airways. <BR> <BR>By the way, I checked one of the other travel sites (expedia maybe) and entered London and Dublin - It came up with a $1500 fare that went via Amsterdam, Scandanavia, and Scotland!

t

And I got a fare on Easyjet from Belfast to Liverpool for 14 pounds.

I've used the London connection more than a dozen times, and it works great! I usually save a couple of hundred dollars! Ryan Air is the best choice from LGW (Gatwick), but there are also good options from LHR. If you choose to take a short stop over in London you should also check Easy Jet,and Buzz (www.buzzaway.com) flying from Luton and/or Stansted. The only caution is that you need to be sure to give yourself enough connection time. The low cost airlines are strict about refunds and flight changes, so if your late arriving and miss your connection you may be on own. <BR>And YES Ryan Air sometimes has sales as low as 4 pounds return, plus about 20 pounds in tax!! However, around $100 return including the tax is still a good fare.

Have fun! I flew Ryan Air from London to Dublin about 3 weeks ago. Easy flight and yes, the cheap fares are out there. Since fares fluctuate greatly day to day, check out the Ryan Air site and track it until you get a good deal. <BR> <BR>