ASK JOAN:Your travel questions answered
Camping in France
My wife, two children (who will be 14 and 11 next year), and I would like to holiday in France in 2012. We normally holiday in the Algarve or in Italy. We would be interested in a package holiday to an apartment, including flights and transfers, which would be within walking distance of a town and beach, as we like to take a break from driving. A camping holiday would appeal to our children, however my wife and I are not too keen on the idea of the sailing, the long journey to a campsite and would rather not stay in a mobile home. Any ideas on a package-type holiday to France, which would be within walking distance of town and a beach?
– JMC, Meath
Thomas Cook Holidays will be doing this type of holiday for the summer and have six properties around France which could be what you are looking for. The resorts are in Brittany, Dordogne, Languedoc Roussillon, Burgundy, Côte d’Azur and Provence. They are all family-friendly resorts with pools, children’s clubs and outdoor activities. Some also have golf and spa facilities. Transfers are not included in the cost so you would have to make arrangements separately. Depending on the location, it may be easy to get to the resort by taxi or local transport. The following two resorts are close enough to use public transport/taxis:
Domaine du Château La Rochelle is on the outskirts of La Rochelle and near enough to visit Ile de Ré too. There are flights to La Rochelle from Dublin. The resort is a modern apartment complex on a 12-hectare park. Prices, based on four sharing in July, are from around €400pps.
Les Chenes Verts resort at Saint Raphael on the Côte d’Azur has been newly renovated and has direct access to the beach. It is on a wooded site near St Raphael which is the nearest village. A week in July costs from around €500pps. Get the Thomas Cook brochure from your local travel agent or tel: 0818202020, thomascookholidays.ie.
Garden festival in Holland
I read something about a garden festival held every 10 years in Holland. The nearest airport is Germany. Would it make sense to fly to Germany and commute to the festival? Is it easy to get to the garden festival by public transport? Have you any advice about accommodation?
– AME, Dublin
The garden festival is called Floriade, the World Horticultural Expo and it happens every 10 years. This year it will be in Venlo in Holland from April 5th to October 7th, so there’s plenty of time over the six months to plan a trip to see it, though the summer will probably be very busy.
The nearest airport is in Dusseldorf, Germany, and you can get from there to Venlo by public transport. The train from Dusseldorf to Venlo takes around an hour and a half (see bahn.de). There will be a shuttle service from Venlo to the show grounds. See floriade.com for details of tickets and what to expect at the show.
There is good variety of accommodation in the area and you can see a selection on lustforlimburg.com.
From Amsterdam there will be day trips to Floriade, and you would need to allow about seven hours at the showgrounds to enjoy it. You could perhaps combine a trip to Floriade with a trip to Keukenhof Park to see the famous spring flowers. See iamsterdam.com and also netherlands.com.
There is a fabulous cruise with Azamara Club Cruises during the spring that will take in Floriade, Keukenhof, and the Chelsea Flower Show. Over 12 days the ship will visit London, Rouen and Antwerp allowing plenty of time in each city to explore and visit the garden shows. You can see the full programme on azamaraclubcruises.com. It will cost from €2,800pps. Joe Walsh Tours is are offering free flights for booking made by January 31st, joewalshtours.ie.
Walking the Cinque Terre
We would like to spend a week or so walking around the Cinque Terre and Portofino area of Italy, preferably staying in small hotels. We will be using public transport and also need to get from the airport of arrival to our destination.
Can you please advise: where would be best to base ourselves, the hotels available, guided walks and which airport is best to fly into from Dublin and most important of all, a cost estimation for the entire trip.
– TA, Co Meath
There will be trekking holidays in Liguria with Topflight during 2012 and they can be booked on an individual basis. The trips will also be open to walking groups. The sample itinerary will be seven days based in two places, Levanto and Rapello. The routes will be planned for you taking local trains to start the various walking paths. Places and towns you will see will include the Sanctuary Path to Madonna di Saviore, Monterosso, Corniglia, Via dell’Amore, the Parco Naturale, and Portofino by boat. The price for a week is from €475pps, not including flights.
The other suggested itinerary is based in Rapallo and visit Portofino, Margherita, the Ruta di Camogli and Santa Margarita Ligure. The price for a week, not including flights, is from €355pps. Both prices include train tickets in the Cinque Terre, boat trips to Portofino, trail maps and a detailed programme. Details from the Topflight Italy brochure, tel: 01-240 1784 and topflight.ie. Pisa airport would be the best routing from Ireland. Book your flights early to take advantage of best prices and expect to pay up to €200 each in spring or summer.
Email queries with your name and address to jscales@irishtimes.com