Cormac's Profile

Name:Cormac Scanlan

Screen Name:Cormac

Current Location:England

Travel Status:At home

Favourite Country:Ireland

Why It's My Favourite Country:Most of my family are based there and I enjoy visiting them

Travel Plans:Nothing on the horizon for the foreseeable future - really need to book my next trip! :)

Countries Planned:Ireland

Top Travel Tips:Despite what some people believe, very low cost flights on airlines such as Ryanair can be achieved, but they require a combination of flexibility, careful planning and minimal luggage. My first tip would be to look way in advance of when you are planning to go. Obviously trying to get the cheapest possible flight price is important, but dont underestimate the value of flights marked "No Taxes." If you can find flights in both directions very cheap and tax free you are most of the way to a getting yourself a very cheap flight. Baggage is an area where you are also stung heavily (with some airlines charging as much as £50 a case). If you can manage to travel using a cabin-sized hand luggage bag only, most airlines will not charge you for this. Checking in online will further reduce costs with most airlines (as they dont have to pay desk attendents), so read up on how to do it (it's a very simple process). Unfortunately you will always have to pay card charges with most airlines, so thats one cost you cant avoid. If you have kept everything else down though, you should be able to get yourself some very cheap travel. Using these tactics I once managed to fly from Stanstead to Dublin for a 4 day trip to Ireland for £8.02 return (1p each way, no taxes, hand luggage only and a £4 card charge for each flight).

More About Me:I am Cormac and I have worked for gapyear.com since 2005. My responsibilities on the site are mostly related to functional & aesthetic design role and the planning and delivery of IT projects related to the website. Outside of work, I am a bit of a self-professed geek, with an interest in all manner of topics from the likes of history, philosophy, physics and evolutionary biology to photography, cinematography. I'm always happy to talk geek stuff, so feel free to drop me a line if you fancy a chat! s

Best Travel Story:In 2003 I scaled Ben Nevis (Britains highest peak) completely on a whim. My friend Shaun phoned me up one weekend and said that his Dad had done the 3 peaks years ago and by the end of the phone conversation we were booking the next cheap available flights with no research, mountain climbing experience or training. Thankfully, it turned out to be a very easy climb and a very enjoyable trip to Scotland.

My Travel Blogs:Photographic Essays by Cormac Scanlan

My Travel Photos:Ichor's Photos on Flickr

My Travel Tweets:@cormacscanlan

My Travel Videos:Cormac Scanlan's YouTube Channel