The Ireland trip - with some detours.

[OZDUCK]

We have been back from our Ireland trip for a week now so it is time I put together a Trip Report.

Our trip itinerary was to be Perth to Sin in SQ Y, with a 1 night stopover before flying to Helsinki in AY J. After 2 nights fly onto Dublin, again in AY J, with 21 nights spent in Eire & Northern Ireland.Then, Dublin - Helsinki- Singapore in AY J and spend 4 nights in Singapore before returning to Perth in SQ Y. As some of you will have seen in my other posts, this trip didn't quite go to plan as AY cancelled our Sin - Hel flight and after some hassles we were transferred to Qatar Airways and instead had a Singapore - Doha - Helsinki routing, which incidentally has made me a big fan of QTR's J Class service.

While we had a good time I wouldn't rate this as one of our best trips as the weather in Ireland was consistently poor. We were there in May - June and I am struggling to remember a day which was sunny for the entire day. The weather was mostly in the 10C- 18C range with low grey clouds most days and plenty of light rain. A couple of the more scenic touring days were plagued with extra low clouds which meant that we were actually driving through the clouds when we should have been looking at the scenery around us.".

The photos below gives an idea of some of the driving conditions we had on "The Ring of Kerry".





Below is a more scenic photo of Ireland (The Cliffs of Moher) to counter-balance my negative opening.



Anyway, I will now start the TR in proper.

 

[RB]

We have been back from our Ireland trip for a week now so it is time I put together a Trip Report.

Our trip itinerary was to be Perth to Sin in SQ Y, with a 1 night stopover before flying to Helsinki in AY J. After 2 nights fly onto Dublin, again in AY J, with 21 nights spent in Eire & Northern Ireland.Then, Dublin - Helsinki- Singapore in AY J and spend 4 nights in Singapore before returning to Perth in SQ Y. As some of you will have seen in my other posts, this trip didn't quite go to plan as AY cancelled our Sin - Hel flight and after some hassles we were transferred to Qatar Airways and instead had a Singapore - Doha - Helsinki routing, which incidentally has made me a big fan of QTR's J Class service.

While we had a good time I wouldn't rate this as one of our best trips as the weather in Ireland was consistently poor. We were there in May - June and I am struggling to remember a day which was sunny for the entire day. The weather was mostly in the 10C- 18C range with low grey clouds most days and plenty of light rain. A couple of the more scenic touring days were plagued with extra low clouds which meant that we were actually driving through the clouds when we should have been looking at the scenery around us.".

The photos below gives an idea of some of the driving conditions we had on "The Ring of Kerry".

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Below is a more scenic photo of Ireland (The Cliffs of Moher) to counter-balance my negative opening.

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Anyway, I will now start the TR in proper.

Looking forward to reading more. Becomes frustrating when a holiday is plagued by poor weather

 

[kermatu]

Ireland is very high on my to do list - subscribing accordingly.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks RB & kermatu - I must admit I became a bit cheesed of and miserable because of the weather - especially as we started off with a couple of freezing days in Finland - so don't let the occasional moan put you off your plans.

 

[earlyriser]

Looking forward to this to compare to my trip there this past January. I can say that our Ring of Kerry and Cliffs of Moher experiences mirrored yours (weather-wise).

 

[kermatu]

Thanks RB & kermatu - I must admit I became a bit cheesed of and miserable because of the weather - especially as we started off with a couple of freezing days in Finland - so don't let the occasional moan put you off your plans.

I appreciate all TRs, but especially those where perhaps not everything went to plan or the experience may not be as perfect as others'. The effort taken to report back - even if it relives frustrations or disappointments - is valuable.

A key purpose for me of TRs (and indeed this forum) is sharing information and experiences. Negative experiences / things to be aware of are always useful.

I have some distant family in Ireland so that's the prime reason for me wanting to visit, but I assume would also be pretty easy to just hire a car and wander so keen to see what might be good.

 

[OZDUCK]

Late last year GLIDER (thank you) posted about cheap Business Class Fares on Finnair from Singapore to various European cities. So we bit the bullet and booked a Y trip to Dublin. We paid about $2,730 each for SIN- HEL - DUB return, which I still think is good value. The Per - Sin legs were booked on SQ Y for just over $500 each - if we had booked this same trip starting in Y from Perth the price would have been about $4,500 each. The Per - Sin legs would have been in Domestic Y on a QF 737 - 800, which I don't consider to be worth the extra money.

Our son dropped us off about 45 minutes early for our 0625 flight - he was on his way to work - so naturally the flight was delayed for a bit over an hour. Because of the delay we obviously lost our slot at Changi and spent about 30 minutes circling in very bumpy storm clouds. A snap of the flight path shows the convoluted final part of our trip.




We stopped in the Holiday Inn Express at Katong. This was very cheap for Singapore - S$129 a night and the included breakfast was far better than I thought it would be. The rooms are small, but fine for 1 or 2 nights and only about a S$16 - 18 taxi ride from Changi. The hotel also provides a "Handi-Phone" with free local calls and free calls to a number of countries, including Australia.

Please excuse me lying elegantly on the bed, but you can get an idea of the size of the room from this photo.



As usual, Singapore provides some interesting buildings to observe. This was the Parkroyal on Pickering.



The next morning we got an e-mail from Finnair saying that our flight was cancelled - about 15 hours before it was due to depart. The e-mail said that an updated travel itinerary would appear later on the "Manage Booking" option on Finnair's site. This never happened and I joined Twitter to try to get some help but while they responded I seemed to be getting nowhere. The local phone number went to hold and was never answered so I eventually rang their Finland call centre. They offered me a Cathay flight via Hong Kong which would leave earlier and get in later but at least it would get us to Helsinki. All seemed fine until I asked "Is this in Business Class" - there was a pause then I was told that "all the Business Class seats available to Finnair had already been booked and the seats were in economy". I pointed out that I was travelling on a J ticket and expected them to honour it. She then hunted around and offered me the option of Qatar via Doha in J, which I accepted. This was actually a blessing in disguise as I found Qatar to have the best J class I have experienced - I must admit I have only been in J on QF in the early 2000's, CX last year and MH this year so I haven't a lot to compare.

We got to Changi early and finally had a chance to eat at the "workers food hall" in the basement. This was very good food and cheap about S$4.50 to S$5.50 - the same price as suburban food halls.

Nasi Padang



Putu Mayam



We checked in and spent some time in the DNata lounge which is ok and at least I had a shower after a bad day. We then boarded a very new A350 and the holiday really began.

 

[OZDUCK]

Much more relaxed we sat back seats 1 A & 1 E on the Qatar A350. They are laid out in "reverse herringbone" like CX. This seat seemed a bit more spacious than the CX one with slightly more width in the leg cubby hole. I didn't like the fact that the IFE monitor was fixed (at least I couldn't figure out how to move it)- as the glare from wife's screen across the aisle was noticeable when the cabin was darkened. It also seemed a little less private than the CX 777 seat. But I found it more comfortable overall so I am certainly not complaining. The cabin crew on this flight, and the next one from Doha to Helsinki, were friendly and proactive during the 8 hour flight from Singapore to Doha. They were definitely a cut above the CX crews I had on four flights last year.

The two of us settling in at the start of the flight. As you can see I should be paying a large weight surcharge. We got a nice amenities kit, pyjamas and chocolates in a box on both flights. We are one of those couples who are happy to sit separately, it was only in Y on SQ that we sat together.



The food was also very good and in such quantities that even I ended up refusing some meals by the end of the 2 flights.






We had a very pleasant 8 flight, with the exception of the normal turbulence over the Bay of Bengal. The flight arrived at Doha at about 0300 and we parked about a 20 minute bus ride from the terminal. We had to walk fast, if not quite run, from one end of the terminal to other. We never had a chance to look into the Business Lounge there and what we saw of the airport was not particularly impressive. It was crowded, a bit grubby and didn't look a like a terminal that was only a few years old. Within an hour we were on a bus to our next flight. I was a bit concerned as it was an A320 but I need not have worried as it had very nice lie flat seats as well. They were very comfortable but this time the foot hole was a little narrow for my big feet to be entirely comfortable. Note the chocolates alongside me - we have yet to eat them. It was a 4 and a bit hour flight from Doha to Helsinki and it was another good flight with good cabin crew and food.

 

[kermatu]

Looks very nice for an A320.

 

[OZDUCK]

Looks very nice for an A320.

It was excellent especially compared to the Finnair A321 & A320 we were on for the next 2 flights. Another photo for interest - or otherwise. As you can see they are quite spacious for a narrow body aircraft.

 

[kermatu]

Haven't flown QR before sadly, but keen to try at some stage. I'm quite amazed actually at the space in your pics.

I have flown Finnair A321s in J and it is just Y with an empty seat (which I knew in advance so no dramas, and the service and food were pretty good).

 

[OZDUCK]

Haven't flown QR before sadly, but keen to try at some stage. I'm quite amazed actually at the space in your pics.

I have flown Finnair A321s in J and it is just Y with an empty seat (which I knew in advance so no dramas, and the service and food were pretty good).

Yes the space did surprise me.As you said J in Finnair was Y with an empty seat. But, from reports from regular fliers, the food quality of late has been reduced. The food we got was basically IKEA cafe food. The breakfast was not up to SQ Y standards and the lunch was meatballs & mashed potato. - I will put up photos later.

 

[OZDUCK]

We arrived in Helsinki about 0845 - roughly 2 hours later than we originally were due to.

A couple of Photos of Helsinki from the air, showing the huge number of island around it.





Helsinki Vantaa Airport



It was about 3C when we arrived but the Immigration Officer assured us it would warm up and it did - to 10C. We were queried about our travel plans at Immigration and he was amused/impressed when I pulled out my binder - of the sort prepared by many of us - with the Itinerary and every Hotel, Transport option and booked activity filed and annotated. The airport was easy to use and we were on the train within 45 minutes of landing and it is about a 30 minute trip into town.

The airport station is underneath the Terminal buildings. For 21 Euro you get a 48 hour (not 2 days) Regional Ticket which covers the trip to or from the Airport and all trips on any tram or bus inside the region - all the places any tourist would be likely to visit in a 2 day trip. The weather was grey and chilly and the trees were pretty bare.



We were able to book into our room at Helsinki Holiday Inn at about10.00 - it was less than 100 metres from the side exit to the Central Train Station and good value for Helsinki.

 

[VPS]

subscribed with interest

 

[craven morehead]

Just catching up

 

[OZDUCK]

Helsinki is pleasant enough city without having many architectural highlights. It looks like what it was - the provincial capital of a Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire. The location on the Gulf of Finland with the islands and archipelagos around it is its main attraction. Because it was so grey & bleak we didn't take many photos and many of those have somehow disappeared. On our return stopover it was sunny & bright and the city looked much nicer. I will put these photos up later.

However, there is one big drawcard - the World Heritage Site of Suomenlinna built from 1748 on when Finland was part of the Swedish Kingdom. It is built over 6 islands and entry to the fortifications is free. It is about a 15 minute ferry ride from the Helsinki waterfront. As long as you use the correct ferry the trip is covered by the Regional Transport Ticket. It is not just a museum site. About 900 people live on the islands and there is small school as well.




There are now Apartments in these old garrison buildings.



From one island to another



Inside the gun galleries



19th Century Russian Guns

 

[OZDUCK]

Some more of the sea fortress of Suomenlinna

They were rifled breach loading guns. I am very elegantly wearing my beanie in the background.


These were the houses of the Russian Trading Post




From one island to another again



Some more fortifications with the Garrison Church in the background. This photo was taken on from the Tallinn ferry which goes past the fortress. It was very foggy that day.




Some school children were being

given a history lesson - I assume. The Finnish language is pretty much incomprehensible to me. It is related to Hungarian rather than German or French. The local population seem to all be pretty comfortable with English. A couple of 10 year olds had no trouble talking with us. As usual I felt embarrassed by my monoglot status.

 

[OZDUCK]

A few photos of Helsinki to prove we actually visited the city.

Senate Square with Helsinki Cathedral in the background. The statue is of Czar Alexander 2 - known as the "Good Czar" in Finland as he granted Finland some autonomy within the Russian Empire.



The Art Deco Central Railway Station at 8pm



One of the major thoroughfares - the bare limbs of the trees still make me shiver. On this part of the trip this was about as busy as any street got in the long evenings - probably about 9 pm.


Another street with the railway station in the background. The building on the right is pretty reasonable example of the style of the older buildings in the city centre - certainly no high rises.

 

[LadyC]

Thanks for the Helsinki tips (especially about the airport train). I am there in less than a fortnight so very helpful

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for the Helsinki tips (especially about the airport train). I am there in less than a fortnight so very helpful

No worries.

Once you leave the airport arrivals hall there are plenty of signs to the train. You can buy 24 hour, 48 hour tickets etc. They do not have to be validated and the time of issue is printed on them so you know exactly when they expire. There are several ways to buy them - including an office or machines. The machines have an English option and are easy to use - except I couldn't figure out how to buy 2 tickets at once and so did 2 separate transactions. My 28 Degrees card worked fine. If the first machine is busy move down the passageway as there is a second machine that was quieter. https://www.hsl.fi/en/tickets-and-fares is a link to the transport website. You will need a regional ticket going from/to the airport so 1 Day is 14 Euro etc. The ticket itself is more like a till docket and I almost lost mine but luckily my wife spotted it on the ground. That being said we were never asked for it and there are no gate, barriers etc at any of the stations. The tram drivers basically ignored anyone getting on or off.

You then go down a longggg way to the platforms - my wife timed the escalator ride back up as taking about 1 min 45 sec. You can catch a train from either side of the platform as it is a "circle" line. One way is slightly faster - by about 3 minutes - but it is not worth worrying about just catch the first one that comes along. They are called the P & I Trains and at Central Station are shown as going to the airport. The trains are long, new, comfortable and fast - but stop at every station into/out of town so are not an "Airport Express" - it is about a 30 minutes trip.

Good information about the trains is on the Trip Advisor Helsinki Forum - https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTop..._airport_train-Helsinki_Uusimaa.html#83782586 is an example of one thread