Your questions answered by
JOAN SCALES
Q We are in our 60s and would like to do some independent travelling over three or four weeks. We have booked a one-way flight in March to Malaga, in Spain, where we intend to spend a week and do some sightseeing. What are our options to go east (air, sea or overland) and visit Sicily, Malta and Greece before returning to Cork?
Have you any advice about accommodation in Malaga?
FF, Limerick
Malaga is an interesting city, and you will enjoy exploring it. You can also take the train and buses from Malaga to spots along the coast. A day trip into the mountains would be fun, too, and Ronda, an ancient city of Andalusia, is worth seeing.
The Petit Plaza Palace Hotel (hthoteles.com) is just off Calle Larios, the best shopping street; its rooms cost about €75 in March. Alternatively, Hotel Molina Lario (hotelmolina lario.com) charges about €100 per night. As you are going to stay for a week, an apartment could work out better value; see homeaway.com.
Heading east from Malaga, I can suggest a number of ways to cover your journey. Fly from Malaga to Rome with Vueling.com for about €80. You will probably have to stay overnight in Rome. From there your choices to get to Greece are by air with Agean Air (aegeanair.com) or by train to Ancona, Brindisi or Bari and then by ferry to Greece. This will give you the option of visiting Corfu, too.
Head for Athens, where you will have plenty of choices. Stay in the city and explore the new museum or head to some of the islands. Aegean Air has good services to many islands for about €60.
Getting to Malta from Greece is going to cost a bit more, and you will have to travel back via Rome for connections. Use Aegean Air from Athens; then, from Rome, easyJet (easyjet.com) has good-value flights to Malta for less than €100.
From Malta you can take the ferry with Grand Navi Veloci (gnv.it) or Grimaldi Ferries, (grimaldi-ferries.com), for a sea journey to Palermo or Catania, in Sicily, where you could spend a few days before flying back from Catania to Dublin with Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) and onwards to Cork. You could also fly from Catania to Rome with Blu-express.com or Windjet (w2.volawindjet.it) and take the Aer Lingus service to Cork.
With this itinerary, bear in mind the days of the week, as not all flights or ferries operate every day. It will also be during the Easter period, and prices will go up and routes will be busier. Be careful of airports into and out of cities. Rome has two airports, Fiumicino and Ciampino, and flights can depart from either, depending on the airlines you are using. For the sea journeys you can check European ferry routes on viamare.com.
Q My father is 74 and very active. He likes history, sightseeing and tours rather than sunbathing. He would like to go on a trip with other like-minded seniors if possible – perhaps a group trip, guided tour or cruise with an itinerary and where all meals are all laid on. It is his first time travelling alone. He is keen to travel the week of March 8th.
JH, Dublin
I have two suggestions that your father may like. Both will fit in with his dates. The first is a trip to Italy and Switzerland, visiting Lake Como, Milan and St Moritz for seven days from March 8th. Accommodation is at the four-star Grand Hotel Cadenabbia, on Lake Como, and includes breakfast and dinner each day. The week also includes three guided tours. It costs from €569, with a single supplement of €89. Details from 01-6371600 or thetraveldepartment.ie.
The other option is from Citiescapes (01-2941000, citiescapes.ie). It departs on March 9th for a nine-day trip to Egypt, with city tours and a cruise on the Nile. Over the nine days your father would get to visit Cairo, staying at a five-star hotel, sail from Aswan to Luxor to visit sights of ancient Egypt, then visit Hurghada for a two-night stay at the Hilton resort on the Red Sea. The cost is from €1,599, with a single supplement of €400.
Q I have tried to get information on the new airport at Gazipasa, in Turkey, and what airlines will be operating there, but to no avail. I have e-mailed the Turkish tourist organisation and TAV airports in Turkey, without getting replies. Maybe, with your contacts, you might have a better result.
CQ, Dublin
I contacted the representatives for Turkish tourism, and this is their reply. “The latest news in the Turkish press regarding this is that the Mayor of Alanya said that the first flight to Gazipasa airport is to fly by May 22nd by a German tour operator to bring a group of 150 German tourists to Alanya.”
Tav airports has not updated its website (tavairports.com) since last year. Abbey Travel (01-8047100, abbeytravel.ie) will be operating charter flights to Alanya’s main airport this summer from May to September, with fares from €359.
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com