Choosing the right place for your summer holiday can be challenging, with more choices than ever and seemingly endless offers available.
Planning a holiday that works for you can be about more than what your room looks like and how close you are to a beach. Add factors like environmental impact, sustainability, accessibility and more, finding a place that ticks all the boxes – and at the right price – can be especially tough.
Travel writer and consultant John O'Ceallaigh joined Dearbhail McDonald as she filled in for Brendan O'Connor on RTÉ Radio 1 to talk about the best and worst cities to visit this summer.
Some cities, despite being popular, are at risk from over-tourism, where a large amount of tourists cause problems with a city's infrastructure, climate, or local community. O'Ceallaigh said, "if we think back to pre-pandemic times, this story rolls around every summer".
He added that roughly 400,000 cruise passengers disembark in Barcelona every month during the peak season. "It's not at all surprising that people are a little bit resentful about that encroachment on their city."
His suggestion is not to avoid popular cities, such as Venice, but to visit in off-peak times when the streets and sites are less crowded.
"I think if you have the financial means to do so you should visit Venice once in your lifetime, it's an Italian fairytale, it's unlike anywhere else on the planet and it's an about two and a half hour flight from Dublin", he said.
"But we do have the luxury of going there in April and having wonderful weather, minus the crowds. It's amazing to me that people would choose, of their own volition, to go there in July when it's 40 degrees and packed with cruise passengers and tour groups from China and Asia, America.
"We have this romanticised view of places we maybe visited in our past when we were backpacking or on a budget trip and want to go back and experience it a little bit more wholesomely and fully, but San Francisco is having severe problems now with economic deprivation and they have these encampments throughout the city where homeless people and people in dire straits are unfortunately forced to live."
O'Ceallaigh added that the bustling city "really shouldn't be added to anyone's must-visit list for the foreseeable future".
Aside from this are cities that are especially popular and attractive during specific periods in the year, such as Bangkok which is a thriving summer destination but otherwise "plagued by extreme pollution for much of the winter period", O'Ceallaigh said.
As for our own cities, O'Ceallaigh – who is from Galway and lives in London – said that Dublin "has some work to do on its broader global reputation".
"Public transport is obviously a mess, it's extremely expensive and much of its charm is dependent on engaging with locals who are extremely friendly and lovely to deal with, and that's a huge selling point that we have. But I think the expense is a factor that's making the turn for people more generally."
Irish food culture has improved massively, he added, and there are many locations around the country to explore.
"We've got lots to be proud of but lots of work to do, as well I think."
As for where he recommends for a city getaway, O'Ceallaigh suggested Tromsø, a city in the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway. "If you visit in the dead of winter or the height of summer, you have two entirely different experiences." Snowmobiling, dog sledding and watching the Northern Lights are just some of the activities available there in winter, while summertime brings full days of sunlight.
Hamburg in Germany is another option instead of Berlin, and is a "sophisticated" and wealthy city filled with cultural attractions and a thriving nightlife.
In Poland, Gdansk is a medieval city filled with colourful cobbled streets, great food and affordable flights, O'Ceallaigh said.
For more tips on travelling this summer, listen back to the full interview above.
