I have a Holliday Query. My wife is 5 months pregnant and we want to
go away on a 2 week holliday the last 2 weeks in August. The following
is our dream requirments.

Within 3-4 hours flight of Dublin
1 Flight preferably
Small high quality Hotel in secluded location with great beach and watersports.
If you could look up hotels which have recieved quality recent quality reviews.
Good restaurants located nearby so we do not have to eat in hotel all the time.
Will consider any country that has sun - preference Portugal / Spain / France
Would also consider high quality villa / Boutique hotel etc.
Please can you help.
Kevin Nowlan

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Request for Question Clarification by leader-ga on 06 Jul 2004 08:17 PDT

Hello Kevinnowlan-ga:

I would definitely like to help here. I have worked as a vacation
consultant in the past. I will try to come out with ideas. If you like
those, I will post an answer. In the mean time, there are several good
researchers out here and one of them might have a better idea. I will
keep in contact. Thanks.

Hello and thank you for your question.

I offer the following suggestions that meet your requirements and
should also provide good value for the money.

I found these at
www.expedia.co.uk
All of these include airfare from London.  Because they are package
deals I suggest you start your trip by flying from Dublin to London
and continue from there.
The cheapest flights from Dublin to London are on Ryanair
www.ryanair.com
but because Ryanair lands at Stansted and these trips depart from
Heathrow or Gatwick you may need to use a more expensive carrier from
Dublin to London to make an easier connection.

As for the vacations themselves, consider these:

1.  A lovely hotel in the Algarve (I like this best)
Hotel: 
Vila Gale Nautico
    This hotel is located only a few yards from the splendid beach of
Armaco de Pera, about a half-mile from the center of this charming
fishing village, and 6 miles from the picturesque resort town of
Albufeira.
After a full day exploring the lovely sights near the village, retire
to the hotel?s modern health club and relax in the Jacuzzi or in the
tropical indoor pool.
Visit the nearby rural village of Pera, a gentle reminder of the
typical sleepy Algarve, then treat yourself to a fresh seafood dinner
by the beach.
    Flight: 
19:40 Depart London (LGW)
Arrive Faro (FAO) 22:20  Sun 15-Aug
Duration: 2hr 40min    British Airways 6888  
 Direct flight
12:15 Depart Faro (FAO)
Arrive London (LGW) 14:50  Sun 29-Aug
Duration: 2hr 35min    British Airways 6881  
 Direct flight
11:00 Depart Faro (FAO)
Arrive London (LHR) 17:50  Sun 29-Aug
Duration: 6hr 50min    Iberia 8167  / 7448 
 Connect in Madrid (MAD)
  Cost including airfare from London:
£1,431.48 
Average price per passenger:  £715.74 
Book your trip online or call our customer service team on 0870 050 0319

[There are many other hotels available at similar prices; I will not
list the hotel alternatives here but they are easy to find at
expedia.co.uk]

2. Costa del Sol 
     Hotel: Hotel Los Monteros
On the ?Golf Mile.? Rich with Andalusian ambience, this luxury hotel
is located on the Costa del Sol?s ?Golf Mile,? five km (three miles)
from Marbella and 13 km (eight miles) from Puerto Banús.
     Flight:
20:15 Depart London (LGW)
Arrive Malaga (AGP) 23:55  Sun 15-Aug
Duration: 2hr 40min    British Airways 6950  
 Direct flight
09:10 Depart Malaga (AGP)
Arrive London (LGW) 10:45  Sun 29-Aug
Duration: 2hr 35min    British Airways 6941  
 Direct flight 
       Price including airfare and standard double room:
£2,703.00 
Average price per passenger:  £1,351.50 

[Again, there are many other hotel choices at expedia.co.uk
also, this is not the cheapest flight--I chose it to save you multiple stops]

3.  Nice, France (this is not a secluded location although the beach
is private. I include it for completeness and for the opportunity to
dine in Nice, France for two weeks)
     Hotel:
Hotel Negresco
One of the most famous landmarks in Nice, the hotel was built in 1912
and is classified as a National Historic Monument.
Guestrooms are individually decorated in historical styles ranging
from Louis XIII to Art Deco.
After sunbathing on the hotel?s private beach, guests can enjoy
concierge service for everything from manicures to excursion planning.
     Flight:
19:00 Depart London (LGW)
Arrive Nice (NCE) 21:55  Sun 15-Aug
Duration: 1hr 55min    British Airways 8135  
 Direct flight
22:35 Depart Nice (NCE)
Arrive London (LGW) 23:30  Sun 29-Aug
Duration: 1hr 55min    British Airways 8136  
 Direct flight 
     Price for hotel + airfare:
£2,697.42 
Average price per passenger:  £1,348.71 
[This is a standard double room, many more expensive upgrades are available]


I believe that any of these three alternatives, either at these hotels
or at others that you can choose from the expedia site, will serve you
well.

I considered several European islands as well, but I decided that
because your wife is pregnant you are better off remaining within
range of civilized medical care.  Please let me know (via request for
clarification) if you would like me to provide further alternatives
among any of
Las Palmas Canary Islands, Ibiza or Mallorca

Thanks again for bringing us your question.  If you find any of the
above unclear, please request clarification.  I would appreciate it if
you would hold off on rating my answer until I have an opportunity to
respond.
Sincerely,
Google Answers Researcher
Richard-ga

Search terms used:
Expedia.co.uk

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Clarification of Answer by richard-ga on 10 Jul 2004 07:31 PDT

I should note that the flight time in choice #1 exceeds what you asked
for.  So in that sense although I liked #1 the best, you may need to
omit it in making your final choice.
-R

I found some flights direct from Dublin to the following places:

Alicante (ALC) with Aer Lingus (EI)
Barcelona (BCN) with Aer Lingus (EI)
Faro (FAO) with Aer Lingus (EI) and Ryanair (FR)
Girona (GRO, Costa del Sol) with Ryanair (FR)
Murcia (MJV) with Ryanair (FR)
Reus (REU) with Ryanair (FR)

Websites:
Aer Lingus - http://www.aerlingus.com/
Ryanair - http://www.ryanair.com/

To check out a choice of low-cost airlines look at this site
-http://cheap0.com  - you select the airports and they list all the
budget airlines operating there.

For a rental try -  http://rentalsfrance.com/ - they list special
offers direct from the owners.

If you fancy Portugal take a look at this site. It offers something a
bit different from the normal Portuguese holiday option:
http://www.flap-holidays.com

If you want watersports and maybe go self catering, maybe have a look
at http://selfcateringapartments.elitepm.org.uk | They can organise an
apartment, plus airport pickups plus, they can organise rental on baby
chair/pram etc.