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I'm going to suggest Cork, Ireland for the 2014 event. It's not as expensive as Dublin (IMO) and there are lots of places to visit in and around. There is Blarney, and the famous stone, Midleton with it's Jameson distillery, Kinsale, a noted foodie town, Cobh or Queenstown where the Titanic left from plus the various sites in Cork city itself. Of course weather is not a reason to come to Ireland but bring a raincoat and it will be fine! I do have a good friend who has worked in event managment who would help me out but I would most definitely need help as well as I'm first to admit I'm not 100% sure of what's involved. I understand the walking weekend is in Galway as well so I'm not sure if there is the interest. Belfast or Birmingham seem like good options to me too.

Thanks for the proposal, Afric! Cork is certainly one of the serious candidates!

The local price level is definitely an important issue, but even more important are the travel costs and the easiness to get there. Would you please let us know the travel alternatives that would be available for members coming from mainland Europe or North America?! I made a quick search for flights, and found direct international flights to Cork only from Heathrow in London and Amsterdam. All the others were routed via Dublin. (There might be some more connections because flights of some cheap airlines cannot be found using kayak.com or other travel portals).

I don't think the walking tour in Galway in 2013 would be in conflict with any event location In Ireland or Northern Ireland. The walking tour is only for very limited number of members, and the program is totally different... (and most Walkers would come to the Event anyway).

I like the idea of Cork as a location if there are local volunteers available to lead the organisation and booking of the event (I'm not sure where you're based Afric). It has a lot going for it - apart possibly from sun?

A good guide to the availability of direct / indirect flights to Cork is the arrivals and departures boards at Cork airport:

http://www.corkairport.com/gns/flight-i ... ivals.aspx
http://www.corkairport.com/gns/flight-i ... tures.aspx

The airport is served by Aer Lingus, Ryanair and Wizz Air. Aer Lingus provide direct links to many European cities, including London Heathrow, which should give intercontinental visitors plenty of options. Also, bear in mind that Aer Lingus fly direct to Dublin from a number of US cities (with immigration clearance at Dublin airport on the way back out) so for many there will be direct intercontinental flights to Ireland available with various transport options available for the journey from Dublin to Cork - it's less than 3 hours by train or some people might want to rent a car to make the most of their visit to Cork. I guess there are bus links available too.

Ryanair serve a number of European locations and Wizz Air provide direct links to many cities in Eastern Europe.

[Thomson Fly is a charter airline]

Wendy

Hi Jarkko,

With regards to North American travellers I know there are no direct flights from North America to Cork but twice I've flown via London to the US as it's usually not any more expensive than going through Dublin or Shannon but obviously a bit longer. For example when I flew to Las Vegas I got an Aer Lingus/British Airways code share flight to London (or similarly flights go via Amsterdam or Paris where most of the major carriers operate) and our flight from London was with British Airways and our bags were checked through to Vegas.

It is of course possible to get here via Dublin too and perhaps if many were to take that option a before/after event could be held there? There is a confortable and inespensive coach service to/from Dublin called Aircoach that goes direct to/from the airport and takes 3 hours 30 minutes. Cost is about €30 return. Cheaper if booked in advance online. http://www.aircoach.ie/aircoach.fares.php On the way from Cork to the airport the bus also stops first in Dublin city before continuting on to the airport if you wanted to do some sightseeing.

There is also the national bus service Bus Eireann which does the same route for a similar price. http://www.gobe.ie/ and there is also a train connection with trains every hour from Heuston station in Dublin. www.irishrail.ie If you know the dates you want to travel these can be booked from a month in advance, the sooner you buy them the cheaper. Fares start around €20 each way, if you buy on the day I think the standard fair is about €65 return. The journey isn't much quicker than the bus taking around 3 hours.

The other alternative is Shannon airport in Co. Clare on the west coast. This airport frequently serves the US and depending on the final destination in the US it may be easier to get a direct flight from here to one of the major US hubs. It's also in a very beautiful part of the country should those who've seen Dublin want to sightsee in a more rural part of the country after or before the event. To get to this airport from Cork there is a bus route that takes around 2 hours 30 from the airport to the city. http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1272287885-51.pdf this is not an express bus service though there may be others I don't know of at the minute. From their website I see that Shannon serves Boston, Toronto, New York and Chicago directy.

These are the scheduled flights to and from Cork at the moment. This is from the airport website itself. http://www.corkairport.com/gns/flight-i ... ights.aspx
For European flights Cork serves
Alicante
Amsterdam
Barcelona
Birmingham
Bristol
Brussels
Edinburgh
Faro
Geneva
Glasgow
Gran Canaria
Jersey
Lanzarote
Lisbon
Paris
Rome
Gatwick
Heathrow
Malaga
Munich
Nice
Palma de Malorca
Tenerife
Rennes.
These are all with Aer Lingus direct. Ryanair also serves Barcelona (Girona), Gdansk, Krakow, Milan (Bergamo) Vilnius and Wroclaw as well as a few of the other Aer Lingus destinations as well.

Wendy already posted the airport website information above but here it is again. http://www.corkairport.com/gns/flight-i ... ights.aspx

Cork airport itself is about 6 miles outside the city centre and is easy to get to with busses and taxis at the airport. Both the bus and train services mentioned go right to the city centre.

phew! I hope all that info helps!
yes definitely Wendy, I would need volunteers (perhaps yourself?) to take over the running of various aspects and to give me ideas on what needs to be done overall.

burningviolin wrote:yes definitely Wendy, I would need volunteers (perhaps yourself?) to take over the running of various aspects and to give me ideas on what needs to be done overall.

I'm happy to support either Cork or Belfast with whatever practical help I can. I am just a short flight from either city and I wouldn't mind a pre-event trip if necessary to view potential locations etc. My help does come with a health warning though as I haven't yet actually made it to an event - though I would hope to be free from the threat of more surgery by 2014. Meanwhile, as Jarkko says there is plenty of other help and support available from previous organisers and attendees.

Wendy

Jarkko: I don't think the walking tour in Galway in 2013 would be in conflict with any event location In Ireland or Northern Ireland. The walking tour is only for very limited number of members, and the program is totally different... (and most Walkers would come to the Event anyway).

Yes sure we do!

Wybe

Ditto Wybe.

Cork would be an interesting choice, and I'd be happy to lend some (remote) organisational assistance.

I will be happy with both Belfast and Cork. Ireland is a lovely country with lovely people and easily accessible from both Europe and the US.

In case there is any help needed that can be provided from Berlin - count me in. I am also willing to fly in early to the event to help with organizing it or even squeeze in an extra trip beforehand. Just let me know.

- Caren

Hi ... just saw this. Speaking personally Zagreb - where myself, Juraj, Tom, Jurica, Tower of Songs, etc. live - would be a lot easier (if less beautiful perhaps) than Dubrovnik ... but let the potential Croatia crew talk amongst ourselves --- I will try to organise that this week! Paul

I also think Cork would be a very lovely place for the next event.

I would like to add my support for Cork 2014, it would be a great location there is so much to see and do there.
Both myself and Albert would be willing to help out.

Mar

I am hoping to make the 2014 Event and would love to come to Cork. I was there in 1973 and really liked it.
The 3 times I have gone to Ireland I flew with a connection through London.
Ireland is so breathtakingly beautiful with its 40 shades of green and the people one of the most friendly I have ever met.
Thanks Afric
Leslie

Hi,

I was thinking about Belgium...small country, in the center of Europe, wheater's fine I hope by then ! Also good flights from all over Europe and more.
Maybe Ghent, but there's also Bruge, Antwerp, Brussels.
I'd love to organize the whole thing, with some friends ofcourse


Ingrid

I live in Dublin at the moment, and if the meeting will run in Cork, I could help for information for all the persons that will fly in Dublin, or stay here.

Cheers
Piero