My husband and I would like to take our three children (nine, 11 & 13) to the Titanic Exhibition in Belfast during the mid-term break in October. Where should we stay and how can we make the most of our inaugural Belfast trip? – DD, Kilkenny
You are picking a great time to go to Belfast as there are lots of things on that week including the Belfast Festival at Queens, belfastfestival.com. One of the events for the festival is Hannavas – a display of large scale mechanical animals at Botanic Gardens,
Titanic Belfast is a fantastic attraction. Allow a few hours to explore the galleries, book on titanicbelfast.com to get a 5 per cent discount. A walking tour of the Docks area is also interesting.
Crumlin Road Gaol is transforming into the Gaol of Horrors, a scary attraction for Hallowe’en, book on crulimroadgaol.com. The Belfast Giants, ice hockey team will have a match at the Odyssey Arena on Hallowe’en, belfastgiants.com.
W5 at the Odyssey is also a fun interactive science museum. On Sundays mornings St George's Market is a good spot for food and music. See visit-belfast.com for more ideas of things to do.
Hotel rooms for five are rare but the Malone Lodge Hotel has apartments too.
A two-bedroom unit would be ideal for your family and would cost about €500 for three nights, malonelodgehotelbelfast.com.
The following hotels have interconnecting rooms: The Hilton, Fitzwilliam, Ramada Hotel Shaws Bridge, Holiday Inn Express and Jurys Inn Belfast. Websites on visit-belfast.com.
My wife is a big fan of Dolly Parton and bluegrass music and I was hoping to surprise her with a visit to Dollywood, possibly taking in a section of the Crooked Road. I'd like to take our two children with us, wallet allowing. Is it possible to do both Dollywood and the Crooked Road? Where would be best to fly into? Would there be a suitable base or is it more of a road trip? And is there a best time of year to go? – PD, Meath If you like driving and would be comfortable on American roads it would be possible combine both your interests. The nearest airport to Dollywood from Ireland is Charlotte in North Carolina. USAirways.com has a seasonal service each summer, so far prices are looking to be about €670 return. Be ready to book early as this year the fares went sky high.
It is about 205 miles from Charlotte to Dollywood. There you can stay on the theme park or in a nearby hotel. Prices this year for two days ranged from $60 – $120pps for accommodation and tickets; dollywood.com.
The Crooked Road is Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail and mainly follows the western section of Route 58 with some meandering. It is beautiful country and there are lots of small places to stop along the way and experience the music. See thecrookedroad.org.
I also came across a feature in the New York Times by Sarah Wildman in May 2011 which is exactly the route you would like to do. You can read her feature at goo.gl/gvywTI .
Discoveramerica.org has a good section on road trips and you can have your trip mapped and download music to go with it too. Look also at the National Parks Service for places of interest, nps.gov.
Accommodation is reasonable in this part of the US but you might like to talk to a travel agent when you have a good idea of what you would like to do. Flydriveusa.ie 01-8535000, are experienced in planning your type of trip.