Your questions answered by JOAN SCALES
Q We would like to visit Passau, in Bavaria, this year and would be grateful for any information regarding possible tours to this area or details of the nearest airport and reasonably priced accommodation. Also, we would be interested in taking a river trip while there.
AD, Dublin
Passau, which is in the southeast of Germany, on the border with Austria, is at the confluence of the Danube,
Inn and Ilz, so it’s known as Three Rivers City. The nearest airport for Passau is Munich. Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) has a service each day from Dublin and three times a week from Cork. You can travel from the airport to Passau by bus and train (see timetables on bahn.de). You’ll find information on accommodation and guided tours at Passau’s tourism website, english.passau.de. It has a good selection of places to stay for all budgets.
There are daily trips on the three rivers; you can see timetables and details of how to book on donauschiffahrt.de. The Crystal Ship, decorated with Swarovski crystals, is worth a look.
Q We want to go hillwalking in La Alpujarra and maybe the hills outside Nerja, in Spain. We have the use of a house in La Herradura, so we are looking for a club or group that go walking or someone to help us get acquainted with the regions. There are lots of places offering accommodation with walking included, but we would prefer to do our own thing. We intend going in April.
LBP, Dublin
April should be a lovely time of the year to go walking in the Alpujarras. I have not been able to find a walking group but have two suggestions.
The first is Nevadensis, a company that organises walks in the region; you can use it for a day or two to find your feet. E-mail guias@ nevadensis.com or call 00-34-958-763127.
The other is someone who is very experienced in the Alpujarras and is collaborating on producing a guide to the region at the moment. Enrique Ferrer can be contacted by e-mail at coordinadorguia@taincentivos.com or by phone on 00-34-651-882467.
Q We are a group of girls who want to go away in September for four nights. We are thinking of a cookery course in Italy, Spain or France. We want to fly from Dublin and not to have to travel very far from the airport when we get there.
MD, Dublin
Fuengirola, on Spain’s Costa del Sol, is a lively town with lots to do. There is a good choice of accommodation, and it is also only about 30 minutes from Malaga airport. One of the newest restaurants to open in Fuengirola, Roca Tranquila (00-34-952-196067, rocatranquila.com), also runs cookery courses. Though only open a year, Roca Tranquila is making waves in food circles on the Costa del Sol. The classic mansion, or Cortijo, though newly built, looks like it has been there, sitting high on the hill over the town, for years. If your group numbers more than 10, you can organise a private class.
A day spent in the kitchen is followed by sitting down in the lovely restaurant, enjoying the views and eating the results of your labours. It costs about €100 per person, including food and wine.
GTI (01-8434734, gti-ireland.com) will be running its popular Italian cooking tour to Tuscany from September 11th to 14th, at Villa Casagrande, in the Chianti region. As well as learning to cook traditional Italian dishes you will be able to use the pool and wellness centre at the hotel, in the medieval village of Figline Valdarno.
There will be plenty of opportunities to eat out and shop. You can also take a train to Florence if you have time. The cost of the holiday is from €750pps.
Q My family of four would like to go to Lesbos, in Greece, this July. We already have accommodation but would like to know if there are any charter flights or other options to fly directly from Dublin or get a boat from Turkey.
ER, Dublin
There are no direct services from Dublin to Mytilene (also Mytilini), in Lesbos. Aer Lingus has a service three times a week to Athens, where you can transfer with Olympic Airlines (olympicair.com) or Aegean Airlines (aegeanair.com) to Mytilene. You may need a night in Athens for this routing.
There is also the option of taking a ferry to Lesbos from the port of Piraeus; the crossing takes about 12 hours. A fast ferry service operates in the summer; it takes about seven hours. See greekferries.gr.
There are charter flights from London Gatwick and Manchester to Lesbos in the summer. These flights operate on Thursdays. You can see details on firstchoice.co.uk and thomsonfly.com.
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com