Optimal structures, as well as vertical and adiabatic desolvation energies for sodium,
fluoride, and chloride in clusters with one to three water or methanol molecules are determined
using converged ab initio methods (MP2/aug-cc-pvtz for geometries and CCSD(T) in the
complete basis set limit for energetics). The results, which are in good agreement with previous
calculations and experiments (whenever available), show that in small clusters interactions of
ions with methanol are stronger than those with water. Only upon adding more solvent molecules
the situation starts to reverse, approaching thus the bulk limit where water is a better solvent for
alkali cations and halide anions than methanol.