FRENCH FANCY

IT'S the summer of uncertainty at Europe's airports, with talks of huge queues at passport control, new luggage rules, fuel shortages and what feels like endless disruption.

- BY JOE O'SHEA

So when we wanted to book a late-spring family break, without the hassle of (close to) peak-season airline travel, we looked at the clear alternative for Cork and Munster: the ferry from Ringaskiddy to Roscoff.

With two sailings a week by Brittany Ferries, aboard the Pont-Aven or Armorique, it's a 20-minute drive from Cork city to the port in Ringaskiddy, a 14-hour crossing and you drive off on the other side, right in the heart of one of the most beautiful regions of France.

The cost made sense, around the same as return tickets for the three of us from Cork Airport, but the initial big attraction was being able to throw as much luggage as we could fit into our estate car, beach gear, hiking outfits, clothes for all weathers (and we got everything from mid-May beach conditions to thunder storms) and everything from a hair-dryer to a big cooler box for picnics. When you can load up and take your own car, it's really a Bring Everything holiday.

And as regulars on Brittany Ferries will tell you, coming back, the back axle of our motor was straining under the weight of loads of gorgeous (and cheap) French wine and food from the big Hypermarch outside Roscoff that we hit on the last day. That's not something you can do with Ryanair or Aer Lingus.

CAMPERS

We arrived down to Ringaskiddy as first-timers on the ferry but it was (pardon the pun) smooth sailing from the start. Port of Cork and Brittany Ferries have the job of boarding several hundred cars, campers and motorbikes down to a fine art and 15 minutes after we had stowed the motor on the car deck, we were being shown into our spacious cabin by a friendly crew.