I'm searching for family-friendly accommodation in Wales. We are two adults and four children (aged 11, seven, four and two). I'm not interested in a caravan park. Ideally we would love to stay in a self-catering cottage on the grounds of a hotel to avail of the leisure facilities. – ER, Dublin Bluestone National Park Resort in Pembrokeshire is exactly what families love, 500 acres of Welsh countryside with lots to do. The resort is made up of cottages and lodges around a traditional style village, no hotel though.
It has a fantastic variety of indoor and outdoor activities for all the family. The Blue Lagoon water park will keep everyone happy and there is also an indoor adventure centre.
There is a spa and a good selection of restaurants, bar and a shop. There are organised activities for children all ages. Nearby is Oakwood Theme Park which is a great for a day out. There is 15 per cent discount on holidays for next year and a week in July will cost from €1,030 for a self-catering lodge for six, short breaks midweek can be half that, bluestonewales.com.
Where the mountains meet the sea is Aberdovey, on Cardigan Bay in mid-Wales. The Trefeddian Hotel has self-catering properties and guests can use the hotel facilities including the indoor swimming pool. It is close to the beach at Aberdovey and there is plenty to do in the nearby Snowdonia National Park. From €1,000 per week in summer, see trefwales.com and visitwales.com.
As a 40th birthday present for my car-mad husband, I'd like to take him to Munich for a couple of days break and a tour of the BMW plant and museum. Are there specialist companies that organise such trips? – NE, Meath You will have to arrange the tour yourself for Munich and the BMW plant but it is not hard. Aer Lingus and Lufthansa both have flights to Munich, Ryanair flies to Memmingen airport. Or you could book the flights and hotel through ebookers.ie. You're looking at around €210-€270pps for two nights including flights and a good quality hotel.
Visiting BMW consists of three things: the plant tour, the BMW Welt/World and the museum. The plant tours are really popular and you should book that in advance and work the other elements around it. It will take a full day to enjoy the whole experience.
BMW Welt is the principal visitors centre with exhibits, cars, entertainment, a cafe and it is an architectural wonder.
The BMW website is very helpful, see bmw.welt.com/en. You can take public transport from the city centre to the BMW complex; it’s less than 30 minutes by metro. See also the city’s tourism site on muenchen.de/int/en.
My wife and I want to visit Iceland, ideally in mid-June. Are there any organised trips from Ireland in summer? Ideally a package will include Dublin to Reykjavik flights, accommodation, transfers, and a few tours such as the Blue Lagoon, national parks and the Viking parliament. – TOC, Dublin Package tours to Iceland from Dublin normally happen in autumn and winter, as many people want to see the aurora borealis. A new service is beginning in December operated by Easyjet from Belfast International Airport, twice a week to Reykjavik.
Book a package with flights and hotels on holidays.easyjet.com. Book your tours through the visiticeland.com site. Send your queries to jscales@irishtimes.com