Lord of the Dance
Most popular counties for a staycation in Ireland revealed
Travel

Most popular counties for a staycation in Ireland revealed

THE top locations for Irish people opting for a holiday at home this year have been revealed.

With summer on the horizon, Galway, Kerry and Donegal have been crowned the most popular staycation spots according to new research.

For respondents who took part in the survey by Betfair Casino, county Galway in the west of Ireland was the most popular destination for a holiday in their homeland.

One in three people (or 37 per cent) who took the survey chose the Connacht county as their preferred location.

Coming in at second choice was Co. Kerry in the southwest, with 29 per cent of the vote, followed by Donegal with 22 per cent and Dublin with 18 per cent.

With 17 per cent of the vote, Cork came in fifth place.

Inis Mór, one of the Aran Islands in Co. Galway

When asked their ideal holiday location abroad, the Irish public gave the Maldives as their top choice – with 35 per cent of the vote.

The Caribbean came in at a close second with 31 per cent, while over one in five people chose Greece’s Santorini (22 per cent) as their dream destination.

When quizzed on their biggest travel icks, sitting next to someone with bad hygiene was a top contender for plane travel (34 per cent), while 61 per cent of respondents claimed long queues were their biggest general travel annoyance.

Among the most irritating things to happen on holiday, participants said a lack of air conditioning (42 per cent) was the worst - beating noisy hotel neighbours (38 per cent) and tourists being disrespectful to locals (32 per cent).