GO ASK JOAN: All your travel questions answered by JOAN SCALES
Hiking holidays in Spain
We would like to do a week-long walking holiday in Spain in the next few months. I’d like it to be relaxing and would prefer if our luggage was transported. It’s a budget holiday, so I would like to get the best value for money. – YD, Dublin
Autumn is a perfect time for walking in Spain, with the weather pleasantly warm and comfortable.
I have a few suggestions of how to find such a trip. Uwalk.iein Navan (tel: 046-9068686) is the agent in Ireland for hfholidays.co.uk. During autumn they offer a number of walks in Spain, both guided and self-guided.
Easily accessible from Ireland are walks in Catalonia, Valencia and Majorca. The holidays are normally for a week and the price includes half-board hotel accommodation. Most days there are guided walks, usually a choice of an easy or harder walk.
Prices are from about £550 (€695)pps including guiding and transport to walks. Flights to Spain in September and October should be under €200.
The Alpujarras mountains in Andalusia are very popular for walking and Las Chimeneas near Mairena is an ideal place to base yourself for a walking break. It is a collection of village houses with views across the hills and to the sea. Each day you can set off walking with a picnic and carefully written route notes to explore the eastern Alpujarras. Other activities on offer include cooking classes, yoga, horseriding and just chilling out. The cost per week is from €550 full board, see Alpujarra-tours.com.
I picked up a hiking guide at a travel show some months ago for the western Costa del Sol, the area from Torremolinos to Manilva and inland to Istan and Benahavis. It has about 20 self-guided walking routes for varying levels of fitness.
You can get copies online on this link: bit.ly/NWM5YF
There are great value walking holidays to El Hierro, the smallest of the Canary Islands, in October and November with Shane Gray. Flying to Tenerife you will be met at the airport and taken by ferry to the island to stay in a tiny fishing village and have five days of guided walks on the island. The price is €382pps, and there are flights to Tenerife with Aer Lingus or Ryanair. Details are on
Cruises in the eastern Med
We are interested in doing an eastern Mediterranean cruise in late October/early November for about 12-14 days, and would appreciate information in relation to best value, itinerary details and all costs, hidden and otherwise. – LM, Cork
There are plenty of cruises in the eastern Mediterranean at that time of the year, most sailing from Venice or Athens. November is less expensive than October, and there are some good sale fares around for this period.
Cruise lines operating in the region include Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Azamara and MSC Cruises. In terms of price, I would rate them, from cheapest to most expensive: MSC, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara. Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth offers a Greek Isles and Ancient Wonders cruise at this time and would be the most expensive.
The price of a cruise depends on a number of factors: how you get there, which cabin you choose, which meal plan, whether tips are included, whether there is a service charge on beverages etc. In terms of value MSC are well rated, as are Royal Caribbean, the difference being MSC is more European oriented, while Royal Caribbean carries mainly American and British passengers.
Look at the websites first ( msccruises.com, azamaraclubcruises.com, royalcaribbean.com, celebritycruises.com) and see the itineraries to get a firm picture in your mind of what you want to cover. Then talk to an experienced cruise agent, such as Carmel Aylward in King Travel, tel: 01-8453 600 or cruiseholidays.ie, tel: 021-2429 555.
Big Apple sure do take a bite
I am planning to go to New York with two teenage boys, aged 16 and 17, for a few days before taking them to Nyack and then on to Vermont to stay with friends. We are planning a two-night stay in New York, on October 23rd and 24th.
When I check on the usual websites like booking.com it seems impossible to find a triple room for two nights that's not really expensive. Ideally, we would like to stay in Manhattan as our stay is very short. We will probably eat out so we don't really need an apartment. – JC, Cork
Manhattan is a victim of its own success and even though there are lots of new hotels in New York, there are lots of visitors too. That week in October is not just midterm here but also in the United States and Europe. You will find that hotels are expensive: expect to pay more than €150 per night. The rate exchange is also affecting the cost.
The best way to find cheaper rooms is to try websites that do not give you the hotel name, such as hotwire.com, priceline.com, and lastminute.com's secret hotels. Hyhohotels.comgives a comparison of rates from the various hotel discount websites.
Applecorehotels.comhas five hotels in and around mid-town with rates from $250 per night, including breakfast. The Broadway Hotel ( broadwayhotelnyc.com) is at West 101st Street and cheaper.
For budget accommodation that will include hostel-type rooms, see hostelworld.comand hostelbookers.com. Staying in Brooklyn or Queens will be less expensive.
Email queries with your name and address to jscales@irishtimes.com