JOAN SCALESanswers your travel queries
Five friends looking to go off the beaten track in Greece
Q We are five friends travelling to Greece for 16 days this summer. We have booked flights through Athens and are planning on spending a few days there, either at the beginning or end of the trip.
We would love your suggestions as to where else we might visit. We would like to do a bit of island-hopping, a little bit of culture and history, and although we don’t have an enormous budget, we do like our comforts.
Off-the-beaten-track ideas would appeal more than package-holiday locations, although we are fond of people-watching and the option of decent restaurants, cafes and bars, rather than being in the middle of nowhere. We would like to go to two or three different places.
KL, Wicklow
Athens is the perfect place to get some culture and history and a few days’ stay would acquaint you with Greece. The new Acropolis Museum opened last month and is a great addition to the city.
Look for accommodation in Omonia Square or Syntagnma Square areas. See www.hotels.com for good prices. Omonia is a bit cheaper than Syntagma.
When it comes to islands there are so many to choose from that your best bet is to pick a group of islands and do two or three within it. Greece is easy to travel around and find accommodation in, with plenty of guesthouses and tourist hotels. You can travel from the port of Piraeus, just outside Athens, to most groups of islands. Check out routes and schedules at www.greeka.com.
Islands worth considering are the Cyclades, where most of the best-known islands are found – Mykonos, Ios, Paros, Antiparos, Santorini, and Tinos. These get their fair share of Irish visitors. Mykonos is becoming the party island again and has good restaurants.
The islands of the Sporades in northeast Greece are a bit more understated and less encroached by mass tourism. Skiathos, Skopelos, Skyros and Alonissos are all worth considering. Skiathos is quite sophisticated with good restaurants. Skopelos maintains a strong sense of Greek culture and has great beaches.
Q I have booked a two-week holiday to Beijing, including hotel and flights, through Ebookers. I received the standard e-mail confirmation of hotel and flight booking from Ebookers. Will this e-mail suffice for my Chinese visa application or will I need to get extra confirmation from the hotel and airlines?
JS, Dublin
The printout of the electronic bookings will be sufficient for your application for a visa to China. For Irish passport holders who apply for any type of the Chinese visa, the following are required: one completed visa application form (available on website), one recent photograph, a passport valid up to at least six months with blank pages, and a fee of €30. The Chinese embassy can be contacted at 40 Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4, 01-2691707; ie.china-embassy.org.
Q I am part of a girl guide group (there are nine of us), and we are hoping to make a trip to Italy in the October midterm break. We plan to stay one night in Venice and four nights in Rome. Can you suggest any reasonable places to stay in the centre of the cities, and how best to travel?
AD, Dublin
I suggest you book flights as soon as possible, as October midterm can be very busy. You can fly to Venice and Rome with Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) or Ryanair (www.ryanair.com).
Getting between the two cities by train is easy. See timetables and book tickets on www.trenitalia.com. The slower the train the cheaper the fare, and there may be discounts if you have student cards.
When it comes to budget accommodation, www.hostelworld.com is the best place to source places to stay. Expect to pay €18-€30 per person per night.
Most local libraries carry a stock of guide books, which would be useful for doing the planning.
Q I travel regularly to Plovdiv in Bulgaria, but despite many web searches have never been able to find flights there from Dublin. I know they exist in the ski season, but do you know how to go about finding them? Also, do you know if Aer Lingus has plans to expand its direct flights to Sofia into the summer season?
EF, Louth
There are charter flights to Plovdiv with Topflight (www.topflight.ie, 01-2401700) and Panorama (www.panoramaholidays.ie, 0818-204060), but you usually have to buy a ski package to avail of the flights. Sometimes they will sell seats separately, but only on request and not usually for high-season dates.
You may be able to get a seat-only deal through the UK. See who is operating flights on www.cheapflights.co.uk.
Aer Lingus will only be operating the Sofia service from October to March, though things may change if it sees an increase in business.
Go contact
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com