An Irish Spring

Alaska was an incredible albeit cold summer vacation for 2018, so when it came time for 2019 trip planning, warmth was on the docket. Shorts, warmth and sun were in the plans until an advertisement for Ireland caught our attention. $699 for 8 days with lodging, airfare and a rental car. Really?

The reviews for Great Value Vacations(GVV) who offers this special on Groupon appeared to be good. Not great, but a majority of people only leave negative reviews. Some of the issues were long wait times to get in contact with GVV and their call center. Other complaints included vouchers arriving just before people left for their trip. None of the reviews included people with flight, place-to-stay, or rental car issues that kept the traveler from making their destination. After more careful review and due diligence, we pulled the trigger and bought the Groupon.

Once you purchase the Groupon, the process is simple to book your trip. First off, select the dates you want, next go to the Great Value Vacations website and redeem your voucher. You will see your air tickets, rental car voucher and more. Two tips to make travel a little more convenient include upgrading your seat selection to a preferred location. This was a slight up-charge on Air France, however Terri and I will get our preferred seat for the lengthy portions of the flight. One other upgrade was choosing a rental car with an automatic transmission. Neither of us are wanting to drive a manual on the opposite side as we are accustomed to.

So far all has gone well with the initial process. Let's hope the rest goes as smoothly.