As much as we’re tempted to break into Chris Rea’s classic, we’re sure you already know the lyrics! What we’re really here to do, is look at the experience and impact of different travel options for making your big Christmas trip home.
Maybe you drive from Limerick to Sligo back to see family every year, or your annual journey may cover the south east coast – going from Bantry to Waterford to see school friends each holiday season. Whatever your ‘big trip’ entails and whoever it’s to spend time with, we understand why it’s an essential journey. Maybe it’s just time to consider how you get there…
With millions of combinations of car brands and ages, trip lengths and geography, as well as available alternatives, there are far too many variables for us to give every comparison. Plus we’re sure you’d rather we spent our time ensuring you get an exemplary scrap car recycling service! However, what we can do is take a realistic look at an average trip that could be taken across Ireland in time for Christmas, and see how driving measures up to the main alternatives.
We’re going to focus on the big comparable issues – the cost, the environmental impact, and the time and convenience…
Clearly there are many external factors that could affect these trips – from road closures, rail strikes, severe weather conditions, lost baggage and families falling out with the whole seasonal shabang being cancelled while you’re en route! But for this example, we’re going to work on the basis everything works pretty much as it should and Aunty Moira hasn’t chucked out the ham and told everyone it’s off!
We’ve based our theoretical trip on a route from Balbriggan, north of Dublin, to Killorglin in Co. Kerry. That journey is 341km by the most direct road route, as recommended by Google maps, or approximately 294km as the crow flies!
Covering a swathe of the country from the North East to the South West, we’re hoping at least a section of this journey will be familiar to some of you.
We’ll be working out the stats based on one of the most common cars found on our roads – a VW Golf, around 9 years old (according to SIMI over 900,000 cars on Irish roads are 9 years old or just above). That typical car will be compared to the most convenient rail and flight services local to both towns, all travelled within a week of Christmas by one person.
Obviously you could be making the trip as a couple or family, which could mean splitting fuel costs or adding on additional plane seat costs – all of those things you need to consider based on your personal circumstances.
The cost of your journey is likely to be a huge factor in deciding what method you choose to travel home. In some cases it may even be a barrier to you travelling at all. But the Christmas season is one that sees people make huge efforts to see family, so it may just be something you’ve always just covered as part of the overall spending over the festive period.
 |
The cost of using your car |
Such a long trip would undoubtedly have a ‘wear and tear’ cost to consider, but we’re just going to look at fuel costs… At the time of publishing, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com, the average price in Ireland for Gasoline 95 is around 1.73 EUR per litre and according to Fuelly.com a 2015 petrol VW Golf will do an average of 13.6 kmpl (32 mpg). We then used the V3Cars.com Fuel Cost Calculator to work out the total fuel cost, which comes to €43. The recommended Google Maps route in this case also involves a toll on the M7 that is currently charged at €2.30. So the total basic cost of the car trip is €45.30.
You also need to add the inevitable service station stops for a coffee, and fuel prices do vary across the country, but this is the figure we’ll use for comparison, and of course it would only increase marginally, even with three passengers in the car.
 |
The price of your plane journey |
Flight costs can vary substantially depending on when you travel (and the timing of your purchase!) but we’ve picked a flight on the Monday before Christmas – 23rd December, departure at 9.30am. A Ryan Air flight from Dublin Airport is quoted at just €25.99 one way. Not much over half of the car’s fuel costs!
However, we need to be realistic about these options and of course, if you’re travelling for Christmas it’s likely you’ll need to add a bag to that seat… It’s an additional €25 for a 10kg bag, but if you’ve asked Santa for a new winter coat this year, or you’re taking home gifts for numerous nephews and nieces, you may need to go for the 20kg option (which is only a few euros more at €31.99). So, we’ll call the overall main flight cost €57.98.
If you can’t get a lift, the cost of getting to the airport, and parking if you’ve driven yourself, should also be considered. Although for this example, Dublin Airport is only a 20 minute drive away from Balbriggan. There is a cheap bus service or parking, if pre-booked, is reasonable, but it’s still an added expense.
 |
Tracking the cost of your train tickets |
Searching late November, the cheapest train fare with Iarnród Éireann for 23rd December was €26.39. That fare was sold out at peak times but the most expensive, flexible ticket was still only €35.39. The price we’ll base our comparison on is the semi-flexible ticket at €28.39 and roughly half of the cost of a flight with baggage.
Of course, a train ticket is subject to the same increases as the basic flight cost when it comes to needing additional tickets if you had people accompanying you, getting to the station and maybe parking, so it can quickly become a less economically appealing option! For this particular route, the closest train station to our destination in Killorglin, is actually Killarney, so there would be a small additional travel cost as a necessary add-on.
Although journeys like this would no doubt fall into an emotional category of ‘essential travel’ it’s more important than ever to consider the environmental impact of our chosen transport method. We’ve based the environmental stats on the carbon footprint of the single, one-way journey.
Different CO2 calculators, including the figures supplied directly by travel companies, give vastly different answers. So, to enable a better comparison we’ve used the same calculator for each travel method – it’s available at carbonfootprint.com and was recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency.
|
Driving’s impact on the environment |
Obviously there would be a huge variance in this figure comparing a small electric car with a twenty year old diesel 4×4! However, we’re sticking with averages, and our 9 year old VW Golf running on Gasoline 95, which was estimated as producing 50kg CO2. This is undoubtedly a high figure and one that makes many drivers uncomfortable, especially when you consider the emissions doubled by the return journey.
|
Flying’s impact on the environment |
Many flights declare their carbon footprint along with times and prices. Ryan Air didn’t offer the stats for this specific flight, although the company does offer an option to offset your emissions.
Carbonfootprint.com estimated the flight as 40kg CO2, per passenger, which although high, surprised us that it compared favourably to driving. (It should be noted that some other tools we researched to calculate the plane journey’s ‘footprint’ estimated the total CO2 emissions much higher, for example, GreenTripper.com estimated a significantly higher 163kg).
|
Your rail journey’s impact on the environment |
Rail travel is known to have a relatively low carbon footprint compared to road and air travel and this journey is no exception. Carbonfootprint.com estimated the journey from Balbriggan to Killarney (which was as close as you can travel on a train to Killorglin) was just 10kg CO2. Even allowing a large margin of error, that stat is impressively low, and the comparative carbon calculator tools we researched didn’t come up with a figure above 17kg.
Convenience is tricky to score, as it’s a personal perspective. One person may think the stress of finding a parking space at the train station is more than made-up-for by being able to sit and read their Kindle undisturbed for hours. Another may think that being able to take as much luggage (or Christmas gifts!) as they can fit in their car, is a big tick for convenience, but having to stay alert for several hours of driving makes it a far too stressful choice.
What we can compare are the expected travel times and specific convenience issues you would have to consider and weigh up for this journey.
|
Is driving going to dampen your Christmas spirit? |
Google maps suggests a route via the M7 and estimates a travel time of 4 hours to cover the 341 km. While it’s a long car journey by most people’s standards, it would be managed within half a day, even with stops.
It may be that you don’t have the time or energy to do anything other than a direct journey, but at least your car gives you the option of stopping en route. Whether you take in some history at King John’s castle in Limerick, or fit in some last minute Christmas shopping at Kildare Village as you head out of Dublin, there’s plenty of places of interest as you travel across the country!
Driving obviously gives you the most flexibility with your travel plans, and as we’ve mentioned, you can fill it to the brim with Christmas gifts and as many festive outfits as you want to take without any baggage restrictions.
|
Plane sailing for the season? |
If you are only looking at the flight time, a plane ride is always going to win hands down, and with a total of just 55 minutes in the air, this journey is no exception. However, you do have to consider the time that has to be spent getting to the airport, and the recommended arrival time to allow for check in and security, which still stands at two hours for domestic flights.
Once you are on the plane, you can switch off and enjoy steward service. Also, as it’s a domestic flight, you wouldn’t have to dread passport control queues. But if convenience is what could swing your decision, bear in mind that restricted luggage and of course the final leg of the journey which you still have to do.
|
Train times ticking the box? |
Our chosen train journey, from Balbriggan to Killarney (the closest train station to Killorglin) is due to take 5 hours and 3 minutes. But the biggest issue with this trip is the three changes that you would have to make. A different train journey may be a simpler route with a direct line and a far more preferable travel time, but as this is a comparison with other travel options, it’s the best available. It also requires a final leg to get to the end destination, which is another twenty minutes on the road to get to Killorglin.
The train journey obviously doesn’t come close to competing with a plane’s travel time and in this case, including the changes, is an hour slower than driving (non-stop).
Convenience wise, a train journey can be a pleasure, but that can be dependent on the services available – if the buffet car isn’t open, your seat reservation has been lost and the wi-fi isn’t working, it might not be the experience you thought you were choosing. However, you can always ‘switch off’ and take in the scenery, or even have a nap, and that might sway your preference!
Undoubtedly, the train trip is the winner when considering your carbon footprint and protecting the environment. This travel method also wins hands down for cost, even taking into consideration the additional leg. However, in this case, it has to be noted that with a significantly longer travel time and a few changes within the journey, it ranks bottom for time and convenience.
When it comes to time, flying seems to be a clear winner, but once you’ve added on your extra travel to and from the airports and the time you have to spend in departures, it actually brings the total time close to driving. Cost wise, the flight is certainly reasonable (it’s actually the cheapest option if you can travel without luggage!). However, some people feel the stress of flying and the pre-departure experience takes the edge off the supposed convenience of a cheap plane journey. The biggest issue with choosing a flight is the carbon footprint, which is becoming a moral dilemma to many. While the estimated 40 kg CO2 per passenger doesn’t sound as high as you may have expected, every seat would have to be filled to make that figure true.
On the face of it, a car journey doesn’t take the win in any category, although if you drove this route non-stop, you could potentially beat the other methods on time. Arguably, driving takes the trophy in the convenience stakes if you like the idea of being in charge of your own route, rest stops and door to door service. But the glaring issue here, and frighteningly close to flying (!) is the emissions. So, the sooner we can all swap to cleaner transport the better.
