ASK JOAN:All your travel questions answered
A taste of Tuscany
Following on from John Wilson’s ringing endorsement of Tuscany in the Magazine (August 4th) as a wine destination, do you know of any wine tours from Ireland heading that way? – BMK
The good news is that there is a week-long wine tour of Tuscany, departing Dublin on October 7th, led by a representative of Mitchell Son wine merchants. You fly to Bologna with Aer Lingus, then spend two nights in Florence, with a guided tour, and have an opportunity to explore the city.
The next five nights are spent in Siena in the NH Excelsior Hotel, with guided tours to vineyards and wine tastings in various wine producing areas in Tuscany. Some of the visits will be to places mentioned by John Wilson in his piece: Brunello di Montalcino, and Montepulciano.
The tour costs from €1,349pps, and you can book through the Travel Department, (tel: 01-6371600; thetraveldepartment.ie). Details are also available on mitchellandson.com.
Baby’s first holiday
We are planning our first week-long trip abroad as a family in October. Our daughter will be six months old by then. In the past we have avoided package holidays and have loved exploring far and wide in the countries we have visited. We wish to travel within Europe (three-hour flight max), avoid Ryanair, hire a car, do some exploring from a base hotel . . . and would prefer warm weather and seaside location . . . any suggestions gratefully received. – C, S and baby J
If you’re looking for sunshine in October, that limits the number of places you can go. However, there are some nice locations which fit the bill for what you want.
If you are open to the idea of using a tour operator, falconholidays.iewill take you to Majorca and the Costa del Sol, with prices from €300 self catering to €1,000 for top-class hotel accommodation. Some of the Falcon villages have facilities for babysitting.
Topflight has holidays available to Lido de Jesolo and Sorrento, where you can explore the Italian coast and enjoy the sea. Crystalholidays.iewill also have an extensive selection of hotels and self-catering along the coastline from Naples.
During October Aer Lingus will have flights to the following coastal cities: Malaga, Majorca, Barcelona, Nice, Naples, and Venice.
If you want to book your flights, accommodation and car hire separately, I suggest that you look at Majorca as a possible destination.
It is still warm in October and there are many lovely places to visit. It is an easy island to get around and there are a great number of hotels and accommodation to choose from. The area around Alcudia and Pollensa is lovely, with a very nice shallow horseshoe bay. Some parts of Majorca can be quite hilly though, so not ideal for pushing a buggy.
Another coastline to explore is that of the south of France. You can fly into Nice and base yourself either there or in one of the many lovely towns along the coast, east or west of the city. Cannes can be better value in October, and strolling along the Croisette is perfect for people watching.
Flights to Naples will continue through September and October and are reasonably priced. You could hire a car and explore the spectacular – and hairy at times – Sorrento peninsula. You can also take some boat excursions from Amalfi and Positano.
City break in the Baltic
My wife would like to take a city break for three to five nights to Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia from mid-September to mid-October. What do you suggest? – VR, Dublin
Ryanair operates services to Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius a number of days each week and the fares are very reasonable. On the Ryanair site you can also book hotels and there is a good selection in each city, from about €45 per night. You could be looking at a break for two for €400-600 for up to five nights. Aer Lingus have flights three days a week to Vilnius for about €160 return.
Otherwise there are a number of travel agents that can put together a package for you for around the same price. Check out citiescapes.ie, ebookers.ie, and lastminute.com.
If you had a week to spare in September you could visit all of these cities with Thetraveldepartment.ie, which offers a tour of the Baltic cities for €999pps.
The break begins in Helsinki, flying with Aer Lingus. After a city tour, you take a hydrofoil to Tallinn for a three-night stay. Following this, there will be two nights in Riga and, in Lithuania, a night in Kaunas and a night in Vilnius. Each day there will be guided tours of the cities. The price includes half-board accommodation in four star hotels.
Email queries, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com