#FINISHED - Eurofest 2011 N Ireland : May 2011

[bozzzydmc]

Thats great Ben ... looking forward to seeing you there...

Have you considered the Europa due to the reduced rates and the fact its the 'hub' of the event ?

Mike

[bozzzydmc]

just wondering if the Irish are good mincing material i could get a lift that way

Think I've found a crafty solution to both of your problems !

Mystery%20Machine3.jpg (71.96 KiB) Viewed 2581 times

[Dan 6511]

I hear Aaron May is in too!

Why?

[tourettes tony]

just wondering if the Irish are good mincing material i could get a lift that way

Think I've found a crafty solution to both of your problems !

Mystery%20Machine3.jpg

i like it mike

[MaxW]

Hi all,

Just getting round to sorting out the ferry for this. Which routes/times are people going for?

Max

[arranj]

OK - here is the recap. Basically there are two options. Liverpool or Wales. There is a third (Stranraer), but no takers so far - it's bloody miles away. Or of course you can fly.

Malc and Julian are doing Liverpool. This is an 8 hour ferry and leaves at 10.30 and 22.30 from Liverpool and 10.30 and 22.30 from Belfast. I'm not sure which times/days they have gone for. What you gain in less petrol/mileage you lose double in time sat on a ferry with no booze and dodgy timings.

Everyone else (so far) is doing Holyhead to Dublin, then driving 1 hour 45 through "Europe". There are two ferry companies that operate this route. Both are £263 total return for 1 car with 2 passengers, and here are the times:

Stena Line: http://www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry/

Holyhead-Dublin Thu 26 May Stena Adventurer Dep 13:50 Arrive 17:05 £119.00
Dun Laogh-Holyhead Sun 29 May OR Mon 30th May HSS Stena Explorer Dep 13:15 Arrive 15:14 £144.00


Irish Ferries: http://www.irishferries.co.uk/

Out: 14:10 - 17:25 (20 minutes later than Stena)
Back: 14:30 - 16:30 (1 hour 15 minutes later than Stena)


So far no-one has booked a ferry at all. My preference on return journey would be the Stena Line (on Sunday), mainly because I need to be back as early as possible on Sunday night and this is 76 minutes earlier - means leaving Belfast at 10:30am. Dan's preference is Irish Ferries (on Monday) so that he has an extra hour in Belfast. There is nothing stopping anyone using a different ferry company each way (no cost difference), but we might as well all be on the same ferry each way. But also some are coming back on Sunday and some on Monday.

[MaxW]

Ahh yes, this all looks familiar. I think Holyhead-Dublin is definitely the way to go, and plan to also take the 13.50 on the Thursday. I take it from the times you're mentioning from the Sunday that people aren't hanging around for the tour up to the Giants Causeway on the Sunday morning? I was looking at the 4pm ferry from Dublin coming back, but maybe will revise that if that's the case.

How many of us are likely to be taking the ferry? Do we know if there are any group booking discounts available?

[arranj]

Group booking - no, not on this route.

It seems most are coming back on the Monday. The only ones I know about that are definitely coming back on Sunday so far are you, me and Tyson, and 4pm is too late for me. I'd love to go and see some rocks, but personally my need to be back on Sunday evening is greater.

On the Wales ferry that I know about are: (listing drivers names only)

You
Me
Al
Tyson
Gez
Carl
Alan
Dan
Mec
Pete?

Not sure about: JRG??

plus I'm sure there are others, just not confirmed as yet.

One thing is for sure though, we all need to decide on a ferry company/corssing time.

[MaxW]

Sounds good; I'll keep checking on here for a decision on which outbound route we're taking and then I'll book. Does it need to be done soon so as to avoid any risk of prices going up?

Having said there's no way I'd get the Monday off (I'm away the following weekend), I've just noticed it's a Bank Holiday, so may stick around a bit longer. Will see what my co-driver wants to do.

Really looking forward to this!

[Dan 6511]

I'm coming back monday afternoon, don't really care which ferry we use. Ive used Irish Ferries 3 times and they've always been fine, but I'm sure stenna are just a good.