Free Guide Lists Ireland Discounts

Mature travelers planning a trip to Ireland should check out the Irish Tourist Board’s free brochure, “Mature Guide to Ireland.”

For those 55 years and older, the guide lists discounts from hotel chains, country inns and the popular farmhouses that provide visitors with huge and varied breakfasts.

Discounts for local transportation (cars, buses and trains) are included, plus discounts for escorted and sightseeing tours.

Another free brochure lists more than 100 Irish farmhouses that offer low-cost overnights. Not all, however, offer senior discounts.

For a free copy of the brochures, contact the Irish Tourist Board, 757 3rd Ave., 19th Floor, New York 10017, (800) 223-6470.

Southern California’s Marriott hotels, resorts and all-suite hotels are offering a “Senior-Sunday” package for people 55 years and older.

These specials offer senior guests an overnight on Saturdays and an “early bird” dinner for two, with prime rib or seafood, from $49 to $159, depending on the hotel. Compared to regular rates, which vary among hotels, the Senior-Sunday rate amounts to a discount of 30% to $40%.

Most prices are about $79, such as at the San Diego Marriott La Jolla and San Diego Marriott Mission Valley. Senior-Sunday rates at San Diego Marriott Suites run $121 for a deluxe two-room suite. Costa Mesa Marriott Suites charges $49 per couple.

Although the offer is good year-round, reservations will be subject to space availability. For more information, call Marriott’s reservation number: (800) 228-9290.

Mature travelers who are bingo buffs should know about the special $34-a-night rate at Indio’s Rodeway Inn near the Indio Bingo Palace. The $34 rate is for either one or two people and includes admission to the bingo palace. For more information, call Indio’s Rodeway Inn, 84096 Indio Springs Drive, Indio, Calif. 92201, (619) 342-6344.

Seniors who enjoy motor-coach tours but who are turned off by the “single supplement” can check with Cosmos Tours, which is selling budget-priced trips through most travel agencies. Cosmos guarantees that it will match up singles with room partners. If Cosmos cannot find a roommate to share a twin-bedded room, the single traveler gets a room at no extra charge.

British-based Cosmos Tours covers much of North America as well as European countries. Although it is not exclusively for seniors, the company says that more than 70% of its business comes from the mature traveler market.

North American tours are to the Canadian Rockies, coast-to-coast between Long Beach and New York City, plus New England, the U.S. and Canadian Atlantic Coast, Texas and Louisiana. European tours are to Spain, England, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy, Norway, Sweden and other nations.

Check with travel agencies for a Cosmos brochure or call the company at (213) 386-6288 or (800) 221-0090.

It’ll be cheaper by the dozen for mature travelers who want to visit Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and Hungary this fall. Yugotours is offering five departures on each of two tours, one combining Yugoslavia and Russia, the other Yugoslavia and Hungary.

Both have been designed for mature travelers 50 years and older. Groups will contain at least 12 people. Departures for the Soviet Union-Yugoslavia tours will be weekly from Oct. 7 through Nov. 4, and Hungary-Yugoslavia Oct. 5 through Nov. 2.

The Yugoslavia/Soviet Union tours feature Moscow and Leningrad and cost from $1,598 to $1,998 per person, double occupancy, for 22 days. The 17-day Yugoslavia/Hungary tours cost $1,398 to $1,698 from New York City. Both trips include round-trip air fare from New York. Air fare from Los Angeles to New York is extra. For more information, contact Yugotours at (213) 383-2438 or (800) 872-8598.