Larry W
Unregistered User
(7/13/01 9:23 pm)
Reply
Get the Vouchers or Not?

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I am planning a trip to Ireland in September and have found your site very worthwhile. I will be self driving and in looking at various travel agents sites, their self drive packages usually include some form of vouchers for B&Bs.

My question is it advantageous (economics or otherwise) to get these pre paid vouchers? I assume I could make my own reservations at various B&Bs based upon recommendations (your book, this site, etc.). I will also want to mix some lodging such as a nice night at one of the castles.

Prepay vouchers or do my own?

Michele Erdvig
ezOP
Posts: 134
(7/14/01 12:21 am)
Reply
It Depends

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Hi Larry,

Glad to hear you are enjoying my web site. I hope it makes your trip planning a little bit easier.

Vouchers are a difficult subject because there are so many different kinds being offered by various travel agents. Sometimes they can be a good deal and sometimes not.

I always suggest that you look at the fine print before getting them as there can be restrictions and extras such as having to pay an additional few pounds for an en suite room (which most are nowadays). Also with some vouchers you cannot make reservations and that could be a problem in places like Dublin, Galway, and popular places. You will be limited to places that take vouchers - not all B&Bs do. And since you want to do a mix of accommodations be sure that you can get a mix of vouchers that might include B&Bs in the Town & Country Book, guesthouses, castles, etc.

Sometimes the whole package deal can make the vouchers worthwhile. At other times the vouchers are overpriced. So you will have to do your homework carefully and add up costs to see if you are getting a good deal.

As a rule of thumb, paying for a B&B on your own will cost on average 19-25 pounds per person. There can be an extra charge for a single person in a double room (this varies widely among B&Bs).

What it all boils down to is that only you can decide whether vouchers will be advantageous to you or not. Do lots of comparison shopping before buying and understand that vouchers have their limitations.

For another discussion about vouchers see the "Q&A Archive" on this forum, page 4, under the subject "Vouchers" about two-thirds of the way down the page.

Happy travels,

Michele