Your Questions Answered by JOAN SCALES
Q I am celebrating a significant birthday in April and would love to go away somewhere in Europe for the weekend to celebrate privately. I’m looking for a four- or five-star hotel with a really good restaurant either nearby or in the hotel. A real bonus would be a seaside location with nice walks along the beach.
Anon, Dublin
The first hotel that springs to mind is Villa Belrose (villa belrose.com), near St Tropez, on the French Riviera. It has a fantastic location, high on the hill at Gassin, overlooking the Mediterranean, with a lovely pool and terrace. The views are incredible. It is small, intimate and very private, with about 40 rooms. It is a five-star hotel with a terrific Michelin restaurant.
It has a package from April of two nights’ bed and breakfast with dinner one evening, plus a massage, for €515pps. You can fly to Nice with Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) or Ryanair (ryanair.com).
By April the sun will be shining in Majorca, and a short break on this island could be perfect. L’Avenida (avenida-hotel.com) is an eclectic Spanish mansion with a chic makeover. It is in the charming town of Soller, which has a great selection of restaurants. It is also only a few minutes’ tram ride from the beach at Puerto de Soller. Rooms cost from €225 per night in April. Ryanair flies from Dublin to Palma de Mallorca four times a week.
Q I am thinking of taking my family to California in July. We have three children, aged 19, 17 and 13. Can you recommend a nice area with lots to do and good self-catering accommodation? Bodega Bay, an hour north of San Francisco, was mentioned as a possible destination.
DM, NI
Bodega Bay is a good base to explore the surrounding areas of Sonoma and North Coast, as well as being close to San Francisco for day trips. Activities in the area include river and sea kayaking, cycling though the miles of wineries and exploring farther north, up into Redwood National Park and Avenue of the Giants.
This area of northern California also has some fantastic beaches that are far more rugged than their southern California counterparts but no less beautiful.
An alternative in northern California is Lake Tahoe, a four-hour drive inland from San Francisco. It’s home to resorts like Heavenly and Squaw Valley, which are
better known as winter ski destinations. In summer, however, the lake is transformed into a “beachside paradise”, offering activities including mountain-biking, kayaking, golf and sailing. It is hard to find somewhere better to go parasailing than on Lake Tahoe for great views of the surrounding snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains.
Self-catering apartments are available all around the lake, including in Heavenly and Northstar-at-Tahoe. Try homeaway.com and vrbo.com for rentals.
For southern California I would recommend a stay in Orange County, where the beachside towns of Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach offer a variety of accommodation for the perfect southern California experience.
Activities here mostly centre around the beach – surfing, volleyball and rollerblading on the boardwalk. Not far away is Fashion Island, one of the most famous malls in the US, and for the young at heart Disney’s California Adventure Park is close by, in Anaheim.
Orange County is also close to the both Los Angeles and San Diego. You can also drive into the desert around Palm Springs, including Joshua Tree National Park. See visitcalifornia.com.
Q Have you any updates on the proposed ferry sailing from Cork to northern Spain? I read somewhere last year that this service was being planned.
MB, Cork
The good news from Port of Cork is that a ferry service to northern Spain is imminent. It is scheduled to begin in time for this summer. The rotation will be two trips per week to Spain and one trip to the French Atlantic coast, to a port on the Bay of Biscay. Check portofcork.ie for updates.
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com