An introduction to my fifteen day adventure Down Under to visit Sydney for New Years Eve; Cairns; a dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea; and Melbourne — and of course getting there in United Global First Class!
The cheapest way from the USA to Europe is by using British Airways Avios for a flight on Aer Lingus from Boston to either Dublin or Shannon. At 12,500 Avios for economy or 25,000 Avios for business, this redemption is one of the best mileage values out there!
United announced that they are moving to a revenue based earning structure for its MileagePlus program in 2015, and it’s not all bad — unless you’re the one paying for the ticket! I analyzed the new program’s earning structure and compared the earning rates in 2014 and 2015.
We drove the west coast of County Clare to the Cliffs of Moher. We then went to Doolin for a cruise of the Cliffs of Moher, followed by a night at Bunratty Meadows Bed & Breakfast in Bunratty, near Shannon.
We drove across Ireland from Dublin to Connemara for a flight on Aer Arann Islands to Inishmore in the Aran Islands. Afterwards, we spent the evening at the Radisson Blu in Galway.
Ryanair offers some of the cheapest transportation from point-to-point in Europe. Unfortunately, booking flights in their website can be a headache with all the hidden fees. This is a guide to booking your flight on Ryanair’s site to avoid those fees!
We spent two nights in Dublin, Ireland at The Morrison Hotel. Highlights of our time there included the Guinness Storehouse, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Grafton Street, and the pubs of Dublin!
My first flight on Ryanair from Venice-Treviso to Dublin was marred by quite the ordeal checking in. Otherwise, Ryanair offers extremely low fares and a completely reasonable onboard product for a fantastic price.
Our cruise on Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam came to a close with a scenic entrance into Venice, followed by an overnight there, which enabled us to spend another full day in the magical city.
The highlight of our cruise on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam was the day we spend in Santorini. This amazing island was probably the most picturesque place I’ve ever been. We then sailed to Argostoli, Cephalonia in the Ionian islands.