Your Flight Options!

 We at, ‘Patrick’s Custom Tours’ have always offered our tours with ‘Full Package’ which includes airfare and the same tour with land only. ‘Land Only’ is the same as Full Package without the cost of airfare.

There are many factors that determine the cost of international flights: destination; distance; time of year; time of day; how far in advance you book your flight; your seat and the cost of fuel. One more subtle factor is group bookings versus individual bookings.

Now with the substantial increase in air travel, the airlines are looking to attract the individual travelers more so than group bookings. Last year, we realized this shift when we compared the cost of tickets booked as a group compared in many cases to the lower prices for tickets offered for individual bookings.

Therefore, we encourage our customers to consider booking their own airfare using companies like ASAP Travel at ASAPtickets.com or Expedia Travel at Expedia.com.  Today, these and other sources are easy ways to check and schedule flights.

There are two things to consider in making this decision:

1. Are you flexible with your time to travel? If you could save $100 to $400 per flight, would you spend an extra hour or two in travel time and maybe wait at an airport for a connecting flight? 

2. Is your seat on the plane important? Most airlines offer, Economy Seating, Premium Economy, Business Clase, and First-Class Seating. Economy seating is what tour companies (including us) offer. If you enjoy and can afford Business or First-Class airfare, or if you want to use your frequent flyer miles the choice might be obvious.

You will find it easy to see what airfare would cost with our packages so you can compare whether it is to your benefit to shop to see what airlines are offering either directly to the consumer or through platforms like Expedia. We will tell you what you need to know about your arrival time and your departure date and times.

For example for travel to Ireland, when booking your airline ticket, you should plan to arrive in Dublin before our scheduled arrival in order to be included in our first stop and tour of Malahide Castle. If you arrive later than the group, you will need to catch a cab to Malahide Castle before we leave there. Your cab for 2 should cost you the about 20 Euros. There is a cafe at the Castle and you will find us there having a coffee and scone. We will still be at Malahide when you arrive. Please advise us as to when your flight is scheduled to arrive and bring your cell phone with you. I can always be reached on my cell. (We won’t let you get lost!)

You should schedule your return flight about 11:00am on the date of departure! If you plan an earlier or a later flight you may have the additional cost of a taxi to go from our Dublin hotel to the Dublin airport. It shouldn’t be more that twenty-five Euros for two people.

Anne and I appreciate your interest in travelling with us and look forward to sharing Ireland with you.

Patrick Rowley