Why a ferry trip means an Easter treat

With the days starting to get lighter as the darkest days of the year and the Christmas festivities occurring at that time fade into memory, many people will be starting to look ahead to their next holiday.

Easter, of course, comes at a time of year when it tends to be rather warmer than at Christmas. Exactly how much better may depend on the fickleness of the spring weather, plus whether it is in March or April. For those using British time (including Ireland), days will be longer the later it is not just because of the Earth shifting on its axis, but also the switch from Greenwich Mean Time to British Summer Time.

But for many people, the Easter period is a chance to get away overseas, where the weather may in many cases be reliably warmer.

This year, Easter is in April, with Good Friday on the 6th. It means the daylight hours will be longer and the weather is likely to be a bit warmer than in March. Indeed, with some very warm Aprils in recent years, it might be a very good month for a trip.

All this could make it an Easter when a greater number of people than normal will be keen to get away for the long weekend. Airports may be extremely busy and peak times could see the queues at the check-in desk being very long. That lovely break in the sun just might come at the cost of an awful lot of time standing around waiting in sterile environments, where the stress and frustration of it all may be heard very audibly among some younger travellers.

Ferry travel, of course, is less stressful. Fewer security checks, armed people with scary uniforms and scarier weapons and, inevitably, delays. Getting on and off is quicker and a great joy of ferry travel is that off-peak is just that. In many airports, the crowds and the queues will be big all day at the busy times of the year.

For people looking to undertake the trip at the most comfortable time, one great way to do it could be to plan ahead, buying tickets well in advance and taking time off from work in the normal week, so that instead of a last-minute Thursday evening dash to a crowded airport, everything can be readied for an easier, less busy getaway at a convenient but off-peak time.

Similar plans can, of course, be applied to other very busy times - with the Whitsun bank holiday normally being hectic around the end of May. In this year's case, the normal bank holiday has been moved, with June 4th and 5th being successive holidays to celebrate the queen's diamond jubilee. The other congested period will be in late July and the start of August, when the school holidays begin.

Early bookings can be a great way of avoiding stress and also a great way of spotting some special offers.

For instance, it may be worth checking if Stena Line still has any of its special offers for an Easter break in the Netherlands, having recently noted this can be cheaper than flying with KLM to Amsterdam from London or Birmingham.

Other early booking examples include those from Irish Ferries, which is offering up to 15 per cent off on a number of hotel stays, with a third night for free, cottages with a second week free and free children's places across the board.

So there is a clear choice: You could book late, take a plane, battle through the crowds and stress and pay more. Or you could book early, save cash and enjoy a nice easy ferry trip at an off-peak time, able to roam around the boat instead of being cooped up in a tin can.

There may be little doubt about what is the easier way to start that holiday break.

Posted by Mark Robinson