One upside of the credit crunch is that hotels, from budget to five star, are offering deals that would have been unthinkable a year ago. It follows that 2009 could well be the year of the ‘staycation’.

For a bargain, don’t settle for the prices offered online. Ring the hotel and prepare to do a bit of haggling for a cheaper rate or a room upgrade. If you are planning a last-minute trip, it’s worth checking out two websites that specialise in competitive prices: lastminute.com and laterooms.com.

Timing can make a huge difference to price. In the country, midweek will always be cheaper than weekends. In the case of city hotels that rely on business guests, the opposite often applies. Make sure your preferred dates don’t coincide with a major festival or event in the area you wish to visit. You’ll find all major events listed on the website of the Irish Tourist Board www.discoverireland.ie.

If the present €/£ exchange rate continues, consider a trip up North. The north Antrim coast has plenty of things to keep you busy, such as the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, the Giant’s Causeway, the Bushmills Distillery and miles of sandy beaches. For a city break, Belfast rivals Dublin in terms of shopping, restaurants, chic boutique hotels and visitor attractions from the Titanic Boat Tour to Hard Hat Tours and, for a glimpse of old Belfast, the Historic Pub Tour.

If being pampered in luxurious surroundings appeals to you, consider a spa hotel. Catering for the top end of the market, they are feeling the pinch and could be open to offers. To narrow your search, log on to www.spaireland.com, which recommends 45 of the best spas around.

For a spa-type experience at minimal cost, take an away-day and treat yourself to an age-old Irish tradition, the seaweed bath. In Enniscrone on the Sligo coast, Kilcullen’s (www.kilcullenseaweedbaths.com) is Ireland’s last existing Edwardian bathhouse. You take an old-fashioned, cabinet steam bath before sinking into a bath of seawater and seaweed freshly gathered that morning. The session ends with an ice cold sea water shower.

Top choices
Here is my personal choice of excellent, family run places to stay around Ireland and to suit every pocket:

• B&B, Kerry: 55 John Street, Dingle, Kerry; breakfasts to die for – owner Stella Doyle is an award-winning chef (www.stelladoyle.com)
• Country house hotel, Galway: Cashel House, Cashel Bay, Connemara; glorious coastal setting with beaches, garden courses, horse riding, sea fishing, trout and salmon fishing and gourmet food (www.cashel-house-hotel.com)
• Stately home, Mayo: Enniscoe House, Ballina, Mayo; a family home in the grand style with fishing, golf, gardens and heritage centre (www.enniscoe.com)
• Crème de la crème, Limerick: Glin Castle, Glin, Limerick; ancestral home of the 29th Knight of Glin – simply Ireland’s most illustrious billet (www.irelands-blue-book.ie/glincastle.htm