As Ireland battles snow and cold weather, many people may be looking ahead to their next getaway.
With new flight routes and travel trends emerging, 2025 is set to be an exciting year for travel.
On The Pat Kenny Show, the Irish Independent‘s travel editor Pól Ó Conghaile shared his top tips for getaways in 2025.
New airline routes
Aer Lingus and Ryanair will introduce new routes shortly, opening up more opportunities for passengers flying out of Ireland.
“Aer Lingus is adding to its long-haul flights – Nashville and Indianapolis,” Mr Ó Conghaile said.
“It’s also added two new routes from Cork to Bilbao and Bordeaux.”
Mr Ó Conghaile also said Ryanair is likely to introduce a direct route from Shannon to Madeira this summer.
“Just a tip – in some cases you can get better rates on [new routes] – so always worth a look there,” he said.
Coast and cliffs near Santana in the Madeira Islands, PortugalRailway getaways
Another emerging travel trend for 2025 is train travel.
“In Britain this year, there’s going to be a new train called the Brittanic Explorer,” Mr Ó Conghaile said.
“It’s by Belmond, which is one of these uber luxury holiday companies.
A train in the station on tracks in Bucharest Alamy“It’s got 18 suites, fine dining, a spa treatment room – but the rates are £11,000 for two people sharing for three nights.”
For more budget-friendly train experiences, Mr Ó Conghaile recommends checking out the new Brussels to Venice route with European Sleeper, with tickets starting from €99.
Noctourism
The latest buzzword in the travel industry is noctourism – which combines the words nocturnal and tourism.
This trend sees tourists make sky and star-gazing priorities on their trips.
Many ‘noctourists’ will travel to Iceland and Norway to get a glimpse of the Northern Lights, but there are plenty of noctourism opportunities closer to home.
The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) over the Vatnajokull galcier and Fjallsarlon, eastern Iceland, Alamy“There are actually three different dark sky areas in Ireland,” Mr Ó Conghaile said.
“There are dark sky parks in Mayo and Tyrone and there’s a dark reserve and an observatory in Kerry.
“There are also a small but growing number of activity providers who do things like full moon walks, stargazing safaris and storytelling after dark.”
Mr Ó Conghaile said it is important to bear in mind that these activities tend to be weather-dependent.
Feature image shows the Northern Lights, Alamt
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