We’ve fallen in love with holidays here all over again
GARETH Smith and his family decided to enjoy the summer sun in Ireland this year – despite a holiday here costing almost the same as a trip abroad.
Chef Mr Smith, his wife Rita and their two children are gearing up for a 13-day getaway after previous domestic trips made them ‘fall in love with the country again’.
He said: ‘We’ve always travelled abroad but in the past year we’ve been travelling through the country more.
‘This summer we just decided to stay home now because we’ve got to meet so many amazing small food producers and we’ve just fallen in love with the country again.’
The eagerly-awaited break will see the four stay in Co. Kerry for several days before venturing up the idyllic west coast to Co. Galway where they will see out the rest of the trip.
‘We definitely just want to stay here when the weather’s like this and see such a nice part of the country,’ said Mr Smith, who is from Dublin.
‘And there’s so much happening down in Killarney and Dingle right now.’
Despite being less exotic than past family trips throughout Europe, this summer’s getaway will, according to Mr Smith, cost no less than a continental holiday – but he does not see this as a drawback.
He told the Mail: ‘We went to Gran Canaria in January, expecting it to be a cheap holiday and it didn’t turn out to be that cheap at all.
‘When we were doing the sums into how much either trip would cost, it was working out pretty much the same.
‘Because there were four of us, the cheapest flight we could do was coming in at €2,000.
‘From what we can tell, staying in Ireland is going to work out pretty much the same.’
And that’s not the only financial incentive to holiday around Ireland.
‘It also means we’ll get to keep our cash within the Irish economy and we’ll get to see the country,’ said Mr Smith.