Departure lounge: Five travel deals to book, including two new summer routes direct from Cork
Explore some of this week's best getaway opportunities
It may have changed hands since my visit, but having stayed in this remarkable location, close to the equator, I can confirm the absolute beauty and remoteness of this luxury outpost. The newly launched Halcyon Maldives is a secluded sanctuary across two untouched private islands in the Gaafu Alifu Atoll. Marking Autograph Collection’s debut in the Maldives, it offers pure escapism away from flight paths, light pollution or shipping lanes. Immersive and relaxing, enjoy guided snorkelling with a marine biologist, coral planting, sunset fishing, bespoke dining and its Five Island Experience, taking guests on a guided journey across the Huvadhoo Atoll, with visits to a historic site, for tea in a Maldivian home and a sunset dolphin cruise. B&B €763 per room per night including private pools and butler service.
Two new reasons to explore Bristol this year. With a short direct flight from Cork, the cool city’s Upfest, Europe’s largest live street art festival, takes place May 15-31. With large-scale murals, live painting, workshops and events, up to 100 new artworks will transform Bristol, the only UK city named in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2026. And if you want to stay somewhere cool, turn your GPS towards Mad Swans in The Mendips. The new countryside hangout offers stylish eco-cabins, two restaurants, 12-hole golf, padel and pickleball, a driving range and more. A hip holiday spot just 80-minutes from Cork.
Aer Lingus is rolling out seven new summer routes, including two from Cork. Fly direct from Cork to Nice on the French Riviera or Santiago de Compostela, on the legendary camino pilgrim trail. Nice flights will operate twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from May 2, with Santiago de Compostela flights departing Cork on Mondays and Thursdays, from June 1, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays in October 2026. Dublin fliers will also find new summer routes to Asturias in northern Spain, Oslo in Norway, Montpellier in the South of France, Tours in the Loire Valley, and direct flights to Inverness, opening up the Scottish Highlands year-round.
How lovely are the rooms at the newly refurbished Killarney Royal Townhouse in county Kerry. Part of Scally Hotel Collection, the townhouse sits in the middle of Killarney town, just minutes from Killarney National Park, the Unesco Biosphere Reserve with its majestic lakes, forest trails and mountain views. The hotel’s Natural Pause Package, created to help you slow down, includes a two-night stay and guided walk through Killarney National Park with a local expert. Back at the townhouse, relax in the calming bedrooms or dine at Fig, a new casual dining space. B&B from €285 per room.
A spa designed for families? Tell us more! Owned by the Perathoner family, the four-star spa hotel, in Austria, is part of the Dolce Vita Hotels collection in the lesser-known regions of South Tyrol. Feldhof’s spa facilities are thoughtfully adapted for younger guests, with lower-temperature saunas and steam rooms, a Young Spa menu offering children their first introduction to wellness and a 280m² adventure playroom, outdoor water slides and a large fun park, as well as supervised children’s and youth programmes. Through Dolce Vita Hotels’ signature hotel-hopping concept, when guests book one hotel, you benefit from the facilities and services of all four, free of charge. That means access to 41 pools, 35 saunas, 31 relaxation rooms and 5 SkySpas, and dining in a different restaurant every night. From €177 pp, includes breakfast, afternoon buffet and dinner.
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