Travel Company Recommendations

[Plastic Paddy]

After Eire06's rather unfortunate experience with a certain English midlands-based "travel" company and futile attempts, via this board, to extract recompense, it seems like a good idea for fans to pool knowledge on travel firms for future trips, to have a hassle-free experience, avoid the cowboys and hopefully come home in one piece.

Please therefore use this thread to post your experiences of using different travel firms and any recommendations that you have with contact details where appropriate. Thank you. :)

:ball: PP

[gspain]

My recommendation is to do your own arrangements. You will do it cheaper and better. Only use travel agents for day trips.

Treacy - easily the best, looks after his regulars with tickets but charges a premium price. Ideal for those who like premuim seats in the new Lansdowne and don't want to travel with the masses. I won a trip with Treacy a few years back and know a couple of his regulars. They are charged through the nose but appear happy to pay it. Does a mean prawn sambo at only €30 a pop.

747 - work on the Irish Catholic principal of only being happy when we make ourselves miserable have something to moan about - only book hotels a minimum of 7 hours coach travel from the stadium - just cancelled their world cup bookings for June so hotels in Kiev are freed up again. Cheaper than Treacy but even less value for money. Funny one in Bursa was the 747 crew
slagging off the Treacy crowd.

E Travel (alias stand up for the boys in green)- see notes on Faroes Trip. - would rather use 747.

Global travel - would rather use E Travel.

London Supporters club - never travelled with them but belive they organise a decent well costed trip for those who like things organised for them. Downside is trip leaves from London for those here in Ireland and don't do prawn sandwiches..

Stephens Green - Did the infamous trip to Skopje in 99 where we spent the day on the runway in Rimini becaus ethey forgot to insure the numbers on the plane. Unfortunately we did eventually get to see the match.

Celtic Horizons - can't comment. reasonably new


for some reason the profit margin on football trips (check out the prices for a night in Manchester/Liverpool to watch Charlton or Portsmouth) is significantly highwer than that of your package holiday in the sun.

And if you think I'm cynical talk to my mate on Travel agents. Got into a major row with one of Treacy's disciples in Tehran. We had booked a day trip to Esfahan via the tourist board for $54 (great deal), Hotel desk were offering the same trip for $100 while Treacy was only charging $200 from a desk yards from the hotel desk. Well Frank (not his real name) proceeded to tell one of Treacy's guys that he had been ripped off and even the desk in his own hotel could do the trip for half price and they were still ripping him off. Frank got a little passionate mentioned that our trip probably cost half of your man's trip questioned the intelligence of those who travel with Treacy and literally had to be pulled away by me.

[pineapple stu]

My recommendation is to do your own arrangements. You will do it cheaper and better. Only use travel agents for day trips.
Seconded. There's nothing travel agents can do now that you can't do yourself with internet access and a credit card, I find.

[Saint Tom]

agreed with the above posts. where possible go it alone and book in plenty of time

[MickeyT]

As regards Celtic Horizons, I booked with them for the Faroes trip and found them very good and even managed to re-negotiate a cheaper price than the original price I booked the trip for. However, I did talk to some people in the airport in the Faroes that weren't very happy with the service. It sounded like they took on too many bookings and put some people on a different island away from Torshavn which can't have been good.

Overall though if I was stuck and had to use a travel agent I'd go to Celtic Horizons. The one time I went with Ray Treacy I found it very expensive and a lot of the crowd that went with them were the types that would tell you to sit down and be quiet at a game.

[Dodge]

for some reason the profit margin on football trips (check out the prices for a night in Manchester/Liverpool to watch Charlton or Portsmouth) is significantly highwer than that of your package holiday in the sun
They play on the idea that tickets are unbelievably hard to get and this is your only option

[horney]

go on your own lads internet credid card the only way i got cyprus for 350 through london most people i met paid about 500 treacy's an extortionist but if some clowns want to pay through the nose let them

[Eire06]

go on your own lads internet credid card the only way i got cyprus for 350 through london most people i met paid about 500 treacy's an extortionist but if some clowns want to pay through the nose let them
It wasn't that I was clown:mad: I would normally book myself on the internet but I only decide to go at the last minute and there were no flights left....
Sometimes you just have to use an agent if you want to go on the trip!!

This thread if to advise people on which agents to avoid and which agents are good to work with!! If you don't use and agent or never have used an agent thats great fair play to ya :rolleyes:

Anyway avoid Rugeley Global Travel if you are booking through an agent, not worth the hassle if anything goes wrong...

[Peadar]

My recommendation is to do your own arrangements. You will do it cheaper and better.

I support this view but would like to make a distinction between booking something yourself, on the Internet, and using an agent to book something on the Internet.

What I do is book directly with the airline or hotel.
That way you can deal with them directly if there's a problem.

My mate booked our trip to Cyprus and when there was a problem with our hotel, it turned out he'd booked through an Internet agent, based in Holland. This agent had in turn used another agent in Greece. It looked like we were going to be stranded but things worked out in the end. The hotel knew nothing about us and wouldn't deal with us until we got the agent to call them. This is the only time I've ever had a problem like this.

[Dodge]

On hotels, I've used needahotel.com a few times and never had a problem. I'd always try and book with the hotel dorectly as it'll usually work out cheaper but not always

[NY Hoop]

Make your own way if possible. Doing day trips to anywhere is daft and you deserve to get ripped off.

Have never used a travel agent for any Ireland games and have been to a fair few at this stage. Even before the net it was possible to do your own thing.

Used www.ryanairhotels.com for Berlin on way to Poland in 2004. When we got there they never heard of us! They had room anyway though........

Its not just the prices its the independence of doing your own thing that's attractive. Being told to be on a coach at a certain time etc especially with the amount of mongs going to Ireland games makes me shudder.

KOH

[horney]

It wasn't that I was clown:mad: I would normally book myself on the internet but I only decide to go at the last minute and there were no flights left....
Sometimes you just have to use an agent if you want to go on the trip!!

This thread if to advise people on which agents to avoid and which agents are good to work with!! If you don't use and agent or never have used an agent thats great fair play to ya :rolleyes:

Anyway avoid Rugeley Global Travel if you are booking through an agent, not worth the hassle if anything goes wrong...
ok eire06 i wasnt slagging ye for using the agents i used to use them myself but we should book early and stop making theose fatcats rich

[drummerboy]

Here is one I have used and found to be excellent.

http://www.alpharooms.com/

[Colie]

I got snagged on the accom after the E-Travel fiasco in the Faroes & Steve from Global Travel (in Rudgley wherever that is) sorted me out big time with a pad for well cheap at 1 weeks notice. I saw a comment about Global in the thread & I'd like it be known that he's totally genuine aswell as having a bunch of mates that are some of the best drinkers I've ever met.

I'm not related to him & don't work for him by the way!;)

[4tothefloor]

I went to Cyprus with Global, and though it wasn't the best organised trip in the world, I couldn't really complain either. I meet Steve over there as well and he is a genuine and nice guy. Don't know anything about Eire06's incident, can only comment on my own experience with them. I would use Global again for a long distance trip.

[zinedineontour]

I went to Cyprus with Global, and though it wasn't the best organised trip in the world, I couldn't really complain either. I meet Steve over there as well and he is a genuine and nice guy. Don't know anything about Eire06's incident, can only comment on my own experience with them. I would use Global again for a long distance trip.

oh yeah great lad yeah got a refund ( supposedly ) cause the trip we had booked was all changed .. only got the cheque 3 months late and now its bounced .. the most dishonest person ive ever met and should not be trusted at all .. obviously the above people have some connection with the lad ..

[Eire06]

I went to Cyprus with Global, and though it wasn't the best organised trip in the world, I couldn't really complain either. I meet Steve over there as well and he is a genuine and nice guy. Don't know anything about Eire06's incident, can only comment on my own experience with them. I would use Global again for a long distance trip...

As I've said before I thought the same as you about him nat first but as soon as I did have hassle I was totally ignored and treated very badly..

And by the way I know if I was paying a travel agent to book a trip for me I would expect it to be organised otherwise why bother with agents at all!!

[paul_oshea]

i think they may have gone bust. considering i tried to ring a few times just to see and there was no answer. others have also tried ringing. and the fact you got a bounced check really does point to that.

[Reddladd]

Used Celtic Horizon travel twice and no problems. True colours are only shown in the event of a crisis. Have used 747 in the past but wouldn't do so again after a very long night in Moscow. The agents are there because alot of us only have the bare minimum of time for these trips with work committments etc. If you lose 3/4 hours each way because of flight changes, buses to hotel etc, that could be up to 8 hours from a 3 day trip, then to me it's worth an extra few quid to get to your hotel asap.
I will book direct if I have the time and it's a direct enough route. If it's too much hassle then I'll be talking to Celtic Horison until such time as the s**t hits the fan and their colours are posted to the mast!!

That lad down in Tullamore or where ever sounds ok. Didn't he fly people back from Cyprus for free after a problem with their plane. I read somewhere he organised food and in some cases money. Anyone know his name?

[lopez]

My recommendation is to do your own arrangements. You will do it cheaper and better. Only use travel agents for day trips.
Anyone out there should follow this man's recommendation. Get off your ar*e and organise things yourself. It's cheaper and much more fun. Like NYHoop, even before the internet age you could skirt around the organised rip-off market (travel agents per se were a different matter). Now you can organise it all from the front room.

The only time it pays to use an agent is when there is hassle entering a country. Only time I've done this was for Iran and the Soviet Union match of 1985. Went with Ray 'Crazy Prices' Crazy. Good deal (it was around £400 by an Aer Lingus charter from Dublin then which was cheaper than Aeroflot from London), no prawn sambos, got a free tour of Moscow thrown in.

London Supporters club - never travelled with them but belive they organise a decent well costed trip for those who like things organised for them. Downside is trip leaves from London for those here in Ireland and don't do prawn sandwiches.Sadly, with the bulk of tickets for away games going to the boy Crazy, the RISSC tends to only organise trips to the places not featured in our forthcoming campaign.:(

[zinedineontour]

Used Celtic Horizon travel twice and no problems. True colours are only shown in the event of a crisis. Have used 747 in the past but wouldn't do so again after a very long night in Moscow. The agents are there because alot of us only have the bare minimum of time for these trips with work committments etc. If you lose 3/4 hours each way because of flight changes, buses to hotel etc, that could be up to 8 hours from a 3 day trip, then to me it's worth an extra few quid to get to your hotel asap.
I will book direct if I have the time and it's a direct enough route. If it's too much hassle then I'll be talking to Celtic Horison until such time as the s**t hits the fan and their colours are posted to the mast!!

That lad down in Tullamore or where ever sounds ok. Didn't he fly people back from Cyprus for free after a problem with their plane. I read somewhere he organised food and in some cases money. Anyone know his name?

yeah that was through premier soccer promotions .. they good company have dealt with them before no probs ... Global Travel sadly shafted so many people ... The only reason most use travel agents for these games and i prob will again for prague and cardiff is to get the match tickets ... dont trust 747 though cause when i went to macedonia a few years back with them michael the head of 747 was in the bar drunk just handing out tickets to everyone in the bar for the game he was so ****ed and half of them were not even with 747 .. ****ing joke ..

[Reddladd]

Yeh, I wouldn't be too keen on Michael either. He has plenty of regulars but I find him a bit too smarmy. Our flight from Moscow was delayed for 7 hours, most of us had no money and no information. Michael was nowhere to be seen. I also heard from some lads that for the Swiss game even though tickets were supposed to be included in the package deal he was charging 10-20 euro over face value.
I just found him to be a hungry huare. Apparently he uses good hotels, for what that's worth.

[zinedineontour]

Yeh, I wouldn't be too keen on Michael either. He has plenty of regulars but I find him a bit too smarmy. Our flight from Moscow was delayed for 7 hours, most of us had no money and no information. Michael was nowhere to be seen. I also heard from some lads that for the Swiss game even though tickets were supposed to be included in the package deal he was charging 10-20 euro over face value.
I just found him to be a hungry huare. Apparently he uses good hotels, for what that's worth.

yeah dodgy as **** to be honest ... saw him doing that for the swiss game ... very smarmy fella hopefully wont have to use him at all for any of the away trips but for the likes of wales and prague and prob germany i can see myself been up **** creek ...

[TheJamaicanP.M.]

Yeh, I wouldn't be too keen on Michael either. He has plenty of regulars but I find him a bit too smarmy. Our flight from Moscow was delayed for 7 hours, most of us had no money and no information. Michael was nowhere to be seen. I also heard from some lads that for the Swiss game even though tickets were supposed to be included in the package deal he was charging 10-20 euro over face value.
I just found him to be a hungry huare. Apparently he uses good hotels, for what that's worth.

My first away trip was to Paris during the last qualifying campaign. I went with 3 mates. We booked together with 747. The price was 499euros with 25euros tax to be paid later. Michael promised us match tickets and promised a boat trip along the Seine as part of the package. He later rang us to ask us would we be willing to pay an extra 30euros to upgrade to a better hotel (at this stage we hadn't even been told what hotel we were going to be in). We said no, we didnt want to pay extra for the hotel. A few weeks later, Michael rang us to say he'd taken the boat trip out of the package and upgraded our hotel instead. He told us we were getting a good deal because the hotel upgrade was more valuable than the boat trip (as if he would lower his profit margin!). As it happens I had no interest in going on a boat trip but I was ****ed off because it just felt like 747 were conning us. How were we to know if he had actually upgraded our hotel?

Three weeks before the match, Michael told us he had 4 match tickets ordered for us at a cost of 45euros each. He said that the face value was 35euros but that the French ticket agent added a 10euro charge to each ticket. That was fair enough because the ticket agent was charging that price 10euros extra per ticket. We paid 747 for the tickets immediately. I went in one week later to pick up the tickets. Michael was all flustered though. The fcuker had given our tickets to some other group. He went downstairs and came back up with 4 tickets that belonged to some other poor customer. At this stage I was glad to take them. However, after I left the shop I noticed that the face value on the tickets was actually 23euros. That means that he charged us 12euro extra per ticket so he owed us 48euros. Taking the advice of foot.ie member Don Vito, I decided not to bother returning to complain. At that stage, we were just so p!ssed off with the tricks that 747 were coming up with.

Before the plane even left Dublin airport, we had each spent 570euros for 2 nights in Paris. I found Michael to be a smarmy pr!ck. That was my first trip away to support Ireland and I would never go back to him.
Then you have Ray Tracey who charges extortionate prices. It seems to me that Tracey has a monopoly on the market.

From now on, I'm going to book trips on my own. This summer four of us are going to Germany for a few days for the World Cup experience.

Our return flight to Hamburg cost 118euros. We're spending 5 nights in 3 cities (Hamburg, Hannover and Berlin). We booked city centre hotels in each of the cities which came to a total of 179euros. Therefore, for 297euros each, our flights and accommodation have been taken care of. That price is significantly less than the cost of going to Paris.

I would advise every fan on this forum to book their trips independently. Travel agents should be a last resort.

[4tothefloor]

I would advise every fan on this forum to book their trips independently. Travel agents should be a last resort.

But travel agents are a last resort. I only booked with Global Travel for Cyprus because it was working out at only about €50 cheaper to book by yourself, and that did not include any transfers from airport-hotel-airport. So to me Global was a good deal, and the trip worked out fine in the end. I agree with Paul, it sounds like the company has gone bust. If it's gone bust it's gone bust, sh!tty one but nothing you can do about it. Just goes to show, you never know.......And they're all cowboys if you ask me.

Any game I go to I always try and book on my own as well. Did it for Paris last year, and will do it again next campaign. I do the same for any Liverpool games that I go to, except where it's an absolute impossibility to get a ticket, such as the CL semi-final against Chelsea last year. I went with Premier Soccer Promotions in Tullamore for that one, and they were great and very accomodating when we asked to mix the package with our own flights from Shannon. Tony Bernie is the guys name, runs it with his wife Dympna AFAIK. Having said that, his prices for the Cyprus trip last year were at Ray Treacy levels.......

[zinedineontour]

But travel agents are a last resort. I only booked with Global Travel for Cyprus because it was working out at only about €50 cheaper to book by yourself, and that did not include any transfers from airport-hotel-airport. So to me Global was a good deal, and the trip worked out fine in the end. I agree with Paul, it sounds like the company has gone bust. If it's gone bust it's gone bust, sh!tty one but nothing you can do about it. Just goes to show, you never know.......And they're all cowboys if you ask me.

Any game I go to I always try and book on my own as well. Did it for Paris last year, and will do it again next campaign. I do the same for any Liverpool games that I go to, except where it's an absolute impossibility to get a ticket, such as the CL semi-final against Chelsea last year. I went with Premier Soccer Promotions in Tullamore for that one, and they were great and very accomodating when we asked to mix the package with our own flights from Shannon. Tony Bernie is the guys name, runs it with his wife Dympna AFAIK. Having said that, his prices for the Cyprus trip last year were at Ray Treacy levels.......


yeah they not the cheapest company but very reliable ... I dont think anyone would book with travel agents by choice but if you cant get a ticket for an away game which will prob be the case for wales , prague and germany what else can you do ??

[zinedineontour]

But travel agents are a last resort. I only booked with Global Travel for Cyprus because it was working out at only about €50 cheaper to book by yourself, and that did not include any transfers from airport-hotel-airport. So to me Global was a good deal, and the trip worked out fine in the end. I agree with Paul, it sounds like the company has gone bust. If it's gone bust it's gone bust, sh!tty one but nothing you can do about it. Just goes to show, you never know.......And they're all cowboys if you ask me.

Any game I go to I always try and book on my own as well. Did it for Paris last year, and will do it again next campaign. I do the same for any Liverpool games that I go to, except where it's an absolute impossibility to get a ticket, such as the CL semi-final against Chelsea last year. I went with Premier Soccer Promotions in Tullamore for that one, and they were great and very accomodating when we asked to mix the package with our own flights from Shannon. Tony Bernie is the guys name, runs it with his wife Dympna AFAIK. Having said that, his prices for the Cyprus trip last year were at Ray Treacy levels.......


yeah they not the cheapest company but very reliable ... I dont think anyone would book with travel agents by choice but if you cant get a ticket for an away game which will prob be the case for wales , prague and germany what else can you do ??

[HarpoJoyce]

yeah they not the cheapest company but very reliable ... I dont think anyone would book with travel agents by choice but if you cant get a ticket for an away game which will prob be the case for wales , prague and germany what else can you do ??

I echo this use of a travel agent. If there is a problem before the trip, there an office that can sort the issue out or make alternative arrangements.

The agent can get to awkward locations from point of departure.
(e.g. Ireland -Tbilisi & Tirane over three days 2003).

Arrange visas.

If a supporter wishes extend the trip to other activities the travel agent can advise.

Buying a package can put a guest in a hotel at a price a lot cheaper than the 'walk-in' price.

I use travel agents at the destination for local information aswell.

Its up to each traveller to weight up the options available and decide on the best value for themselves. ( Value is ease of travel, comfort, meet their needs (e.g. get inside the Stadium) oh yea and price)

[michaelguineys]

oh yeah great lad yeah got a refund ( supposedly ) cause the trip we had booked was all changed .. only got the cheque 3 months late and now its bounced .. the most dishonest person ive ever met and should not be trusted at all .. obviously the above people have some connection with the lad ..

Posted this elsewhere but seems to be more relevant here:...........

Just noticed this thread now, going mad.
We had hassle with them. 22 of us had orignally booked to go to cyprus with them aswell.
All paid up and everything, my friend organised it all and everything and found them very helpful.
She even got a free holiday coz she got more than 20 people to go.
But the hassle started bout a week before we were due to leave.
Check out pgs 18/19/20 of the Cyprus thread, and check out the start of the thread aswell coz i was full of praise at the start. Dont know how to paste link so have just copied and pasted to give ye the gist of it...........

1 - Originally Posted by michaelguineys
Did anyone hear from Global Travel that the company supposed to be flying us from Stansted are gone bust???
And we have to fly from gatwick now?
I don't know if my friend is winding me up or what.
Hope she is-

2 - Originally Posted by michaelguineys
Well we were told from day one from your man steve that it was stansted.
my friends has the emails from him to prove it.
What the hell is going on???
Im not impressed
We have to fly cork-stansted and then get bus to gatwick and go from there.
Why were we lied to in the 1st place???

3 - Originally Posted by michaelguineys Quote:
Dont talk to me...its going from bad to worse with them.
They have changed the apartments now!!
We were originally going cork-stansted-paphos
Now, with less than a week to go we are told everything is changed...
Now its cork-stansted...
Bus to gatwick
Gatwick - larnaca
Bus to paphos!!!!!!!!!

And now we were told today that our apartments are changed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With no reason given!!!!!!

Has anyone else had this hassle with them? Surely we are owed some financial compensation.
Can anyboday shed some light on this please?
Loads us have cancelled already and im thinkin of cancelling now too. Sounds very dodgy[/i][/i][/i]


in the end 9 cancelled because they thought he was dodgy and were welll ****ed off, so 13 of us went coz no way were we missing this game
There was hassle from the start wen we got to gatwick eventually after a 2 hr bus journey.
Steve legged it off the bus, left us standing there wondering whats the story coz we still hadnt received our tickets for flight, accomodation etc.
Eventually found him, miles from where he left us. Got the tickets eventually anyway and off we went.
So then got to cyprus, and we were told that our group were staying in different apts AGAIN!!! The 3rd change!!!!
Now they did turn out to be unreal with great facilities but we were the only ireland fans there, the rest were in a diff hotel. Suited us coz there was a load of us, but thats not the point.

Holiday turned out to be the best laugh ever and we even met up with steve and co for game of ball and we kind of forgot all the hassle beacuse the hotel was so nice and the holiday was brilliant.
But going home was hassle again. Our flight from cyprus was delayed and becasue he had screwed us around with moving us from stansted to gatwick and paphos to larnaca we arrived in stansted after another 2 hr bus journey from gatwick with 30 MINS TO SPARE before our flight left for cork!!!!!!!!

We had absolute war with ryanair ( steve had booked these for us aswell so it was ultimately down to him to see if we made the connecting flight as if we didnt, surely we would need to be compensated) coz they were ignorant pr icks and practially refused to check us in coz so late and then charged us £200 STERLINg excess baggage even though we werent charged anything going out and our bags were heavier then but thats a different story but point is Steve didnt even get off the bus to see if everything was ok coz he knew we were going to struggle to make the connecting flight, he just sped off on the motorway never to be seen again.
That was a disgrace.


I cant believe that he hasnt even answered any of your call, emails etc.
That is an absolute disgrace. You should definitely report him.
The slim possibilty of us travelling with them them again has vanished.
Not a fceking hope in hell

[NY Hoop]

My first away trip was to Paris during the last qualifying campaign. I went with 3 mates. We booked together with 747. The price was 499euros with 25euros tax to be paid later. Michael promised us match tickets and promised a boat trip along the Seine as part of the package. He later rang us to ask us would we be willing to pay an extra 30euros to upgrade to a better hotel (at this stage we hadn't even been told what hotel we were going to be in). We said no, we didnt want to pay extra for the hotel. A few weeks later, Michael rang us to say he'd taken the boat trip out of the package and upgraded our hotel instead. He told us we were getting a good deal because the hotel upgrade was more valuable than the boat trip (as if he would lower his profit margin!). As it happens I had no interest in going on a boat trip but I was ****ed off because it just felt like 747 were conning us. How were we to know if he had actually upgraded our hotel?

Three weeks before the match, Michael told us he had 4 match tickets ordered for us at a cost of 45euros each. He said that the face value was 35euros but that the French ticket agent added a 10euro charge to each ticket. That was fair enough because the ticket agent was charging that price 10euros extra per ticket. We paid 747 for the tickets immediately. I went in one week later to pick up the tickets. Michael was all flustered though. The fcuker had given our tickets to some other group. He went downstairs and came back up with 4 tickets that belonged to some other poor customer. At this stage I was glad to take them. However, after I left the shop I noticed that the face value on the tickets was actually 23euros. That means that he charged us 12euro extra per ticket so he owed us 48euros. Taking the advice of foot.ie member Don Vito, I decided not to bother returning to complain. At that stage, we were just so p!ssed off with the tricks that 747 were coming up with.

Before the plane even left Dublin airport, we had each spent 570euros for 2 nights in Paris. I found Michael to be a smarmy pr!ck. That was my first trip away to support Ireland and I would never go back to him.
Then you have Ray Tracey who charges extortionate prices. It seems to me that Tracey has a monopoly on the market.

From now on, I'm going to book trips on my own. This summer four of us are going to Germany for a few days for the World Cup experience.

Our return flight to Hamburg cost 118euros. We're spending 5 nights in 3 cities (Hamburg, Hannover and Berlin). We booked city centre hotels in each of the cities which came to a total of 179euros. Therefore, for 297euros each, our flights and accommodation have been taken care of. That price is significantly less than the cost of going to Paris.

I would advise every fan on this forum to book their trips independently. Travel agents should be a last resort.

Jesus there's a sucker born every minute:D

€570 for 2 nights paid before you even left Dublin??? That's a disgrace.

We did whole thing ourselves on the net. Good hotel next to Gare du Nord, the tickets were available on the French FA site and the Ryanair tickets were something like a score cos we booked months in advance. 3 nights in Paris with airfare and match ticket came to about €160ish.

BTW your last line is hilarious......

KOH

[NeilMcD]

yeah i did paris for €250 for 3 night Accomodation and flights and tickets too.

[zinedineontour]

Jesus there's a sucker born every minute:D

€570 for 2 nights paid before you even left Dublin??? That's a disgrace.

We did whole thing ourselves on the net. Good hotel next to Gare du Nord, the tickets were available on the French FA site and the Ryanair tickets were something like a score cos we booked months in advance. 3 nights in Paris with airfare and match ticket came to about €160ish.

BTW your last line is hilarious......

KOH

I think people like above just book with travel agents cause the tickets are guaranteed end of ... so for wales in cardiff or czech in prague where we are likely to get only 2000 tickets and they will be gone straight away where can people guarantee to see game apart from using agents ... last resort and for some games really a neccesity ..

[zinedineontour]

Steve is a con artist of the highest order and will chase it up as i know someone who actually lives near rugely and is gonna suss out for me what the story is .. Ill letyou know if i hear anything further ..

[gspain]

I think people like above just book with travel agents cause the tickets are guaranteed end of ... so for wales in cardiff or czech in prague where we are likely to get only 2000 tickets and they will be gone straight away where can people guarantee to see game apart from using agents ... last resort and for some games really a neccesity ..

But they don't have tickets.

Block bookers have first call from the F.A.I. They can buy them then like the general public. They don't guarantee tickets - read the T&Cs. They can't...... Sure they use local contacts and buy locally if it is on general sale eg Basle 04 and Paris 04.

BTW Treacy does get tickets but for games where they are in short supply he will limit to regulars only.

[SuperDub]

We use to travel with 747 for a number of years but just got tired of problems arising on every trip. The final straw was when they stuck us in a hotel up the side of a mountain in tirana. They have lost many regulars over the years because of problems that keep arising on their trips.

Since then we have travelled independently to most recent away games. We used Celtic Horizen Tours to travel to israel and found them to be well organised.

[Reddladd]

For the upcoming matches it won't be too hard to organise low cost trips and we'll have dates tomorrow week. So there's a week end then to start checking flights and hotels.
The point is that some destinations are difficult to get to and to save time and hassle it can be easier to use travel companies e.g. Faroes, Georgia, Albania etc.
If you only have the bare 2/3 days and need to be back at work then a package is the best option.
One thing I don't like about the package deals is usually the charter flights are cramped with no leg room and that's a huare on a long flight.

[Forever Dreamin]

DIY travel is the only way to go! 747 only get tickets form ticket touts or agents ouitside Ireland, the FAI do not give them an allocation. Ray Treacy gets a small allocation and in fairness to the guy, while his prices are excessive he stays in the best of hoels and gives the best of service and most of those travelling with him have been doing so for years. You see the same faces with him always so they are entitled to their tickets.

Very rarely can tickets not be got for away games and apart from the 1st game in Basle its a long time since there was a ticket famine for an away game.

Best airlines for me are Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Easy Jet, Lufthansa and Aer France. In emergencies BA and only if all else fails a charter and stand uo for the flight cos the seats are too blood small for a fat lad like me!

[zinedineontour]

DIY travel is the only way to go! 747 only get tickets form ticket touts or agents ouitside Ireland, the FAI do not give them an allocation. Ray Treacy gets a small allocation and in fairness to the guy, while his prices are excessive he stays in the best of hoels and gives the best of service and most of those travelling with him have been doing so for years. You see the same faces with him always so they are entitled to their tickets.

Very rarely can tickets not be got for away games and apart from the 1st game in Basle its a long time since there was a ticket famine for an away game.

Best airlines for me are Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Easy Jet, Lufthansa and Aer France. In emergencies BA and only if all else fails a charter and stand uo for the flight cos the seats are too blood small for a fat lad like me!


yeah that first basle only got tickets in the swiss end cause my bro was living in geneva at the time .. the second basel had tickets to beat the band was literally giving them away as everyone was saving themself for paris me thinks ... think prague will be a ******* to get tickets for as well as cardiff otherwise should be ok ..

[Forever Dreamin]

All going well we wont play wales away till next Sept (07) or Oct, if they are well out of contention tickets may be a lot easier to get.

[pineapple stu]

I only booked with Global Travel for Cyprus because it was working out at only about €50 cheaper to book by yourself, and that did not include any transfers from airport-hotel-airport.
Did you just pay E50 to get a taxi from Larnaka Airport to the town centre then? I think I paid £5 (about E7) with just myself in the taxi. Doesn't that defeat your point?

[Colie]

Obviously the above people have some connection with the lad ..
Obviously you shouldn't make ridiculous statements like that. For the record, my comments earlier in the thread of having nothin to do with Global are true.

[Junior]

Did you just pay E50 to get a taxi from Larnaka Airport to the town centre then? I think I paid £5 (about E7) with just myself in the taxi. Doesn't that defeat your point?

to be fair he was probably talking about transfer to and from the airport and to and from the game.

Not advocating his choice, but I can see why he made the decision

[gufct]

with libra Travel ex Belfast 1 week wed to wed(YOUR BACK AT 10.50 the mornind of the Czech Game) for the Cyprus game about €420 a head. We actually went for a fortnight last year what memories booked 1st thing this morning and cant wait.

[4tothefloor]

Did you just pay E50 to get a taxi from Larnaka Airport to the town centre then? I think I paid £5 (about E7) with just myself in the taxi. Doesn't that defeat your point?

Why would I have paid for a taxi when my transfers were included in the package? :confused: My transfers to and from the game were also included (Paphos to Nicosia). So add them all together and it's E50 there or thereabouts. Plus we stayed in good Apts with plenty of other Irish fans, we met up with some crazy lads from Cork, Dublin and Sligo. There was only two of us travelling so would have been a bit boring had we ended up in apartments with just regular tourists. So for the E50, all things considered, it was worth it. So not defeating my point ;)

[pineapple stu]

Why would I have paid for a taxi when my transfers were included in the package? :confused: My transfers to and from the game were also included (Paphos to Nicosia).
Didn't realise transfers to the game were included. My taxi was my transfer, which is why I was comparing the two. Still, don't think you saved very much, if anything. Group taxis worked out great value - something like a fiver each from Larnaka to Nicosia with eight of us in the car.

[Baslebrush]

Travelled to Basle (first game) and Paris with Abbey Travel. Have to say we had no problems. Obviously it was a rip off but we were gauranteed tickets. I know in the paris case it didn't matter but in the basle case it was well worth the extra money. Met loads of devastated fans who got let down on tickets.
I think this is the major issue. If you don't have block-bookings etc. you can't be gauranteed tickets and that's essentialy what you're paying extra for.
Also as we tend to go in a gang of 10 or more it can be awkward booking on-line. Most of my mates don't have C/Cards so I would end up paying for the lot and chasing the rest for the money. Another advantage with travel agents is that it doesn't have to be paid in full 'til 6 weeks before travel. Gives you a chance to tip away at it week by week.
Bottom line though. If I was gauranteed tickets I'd never use a travel agent.

[reder]

Only ever dealt with them on a few occassion. Went to Switz away with Abbey travel in the euro's last time and it was a mess, we were based in a hotel right beside the airport on the flightpath IN ZURICH. Nothing turned up on time. Only used them cos we were stuck. Another time booked travel with Stephens Green travel and got a call 1 week before the game to tell me that the flight had been cancelled due to lack of interest. 747 are just a crowd of chancers, was warned by umpteen people never to use them. Sure look at the germany game, 600-700 for a package, rip off.

[Fubar]

Went to Roy Keane testemonial with Bernie Travel (only way we could get tickets) 3 complaints
1: Much more expensive
2: They said there would be live entertainment in the hotel after the match from 11:30 to 1:00. Went to bed at 12:15 cause there was no sign of it.
3: The bus to bring us to the ground from the hotel was 3 quarters of an hour later then they said they would be so we ended up hanging around outside the hotel instead of being able to get something to eat.

My advice dont travel with travel agents unless there is no other way of getting a ticket.

[highlight100]

May be the only way to get Germany tickets,once it is a reliable carrier though....

[gspain]

A little birdie in F.A.I. reception at lunch for 5 minutes witnessed 2 calls enquiring re Stuttgart tickets and a well known Travel Agent in person trying to charm the receptionist and beg for tickets. Interestingly he didn't try and ask for anyone in the office. He didn't get any joy and he appeared to be really under pressure and upset while leaving. If you're booked on a trip with a Travel Agency that begins with 3 digits then I suggest you get your "guaranteed" match tickets asap.