Your questions answered.
Q My wife and I planto fly to Dubrovnik on September 27th and spend three to four days there. We want to hire a car, drive up the coast to Zadar. We would like to fly home from there on October 6th after spending a few days in Zadar.
Can you suggest somewhere to stay in Dubrovnik and Zadar. Also do you know of places that we could stay in and visit between the two?
VR, Dublin
Dubrovnik is a walled city bordered by the sea and mountains, and a Unesco Heritage Site. It is a lively place where there is lots to see and do.
The walk around the walls is a lovely experience. There are few hotels within the city walls but one to try is Hotel Stari Grad (hotelstarigrad.com).
Just outside the walls is the Hilton Imperial (hilton.co.uk/dubrovnik). The Palace Hotel is about four kms from the old town and all of the rooms have sea views (dubrovnikpalace.hr).
On the route north, towards Zadar, there are a number of places you could visit and stay in. The first is the Makarska Riviera, which is a beautiful stretch of coast with white pebble beaches. If you fancy doing some island hopping, then head for the isles of Hvar and Brac which are easy to get to by ferry.
Gradac, which is about 40kms from Makarska, is also worth visiting and Biograd na Moru, which is closer to Zadar, is a lovely town.
The city of Split is another Unesco World Heritage site and Diocletian’s Palace is a must-see. Log onto split.info for tourism information.
Zadar is an ancient Mediterranean port city with Roman streets. The old town has many archaeological treasures, from medieval and Renaissance periods.
The Hotel Adriana offers good value (falkensteiner.com) and while the Villa Nico is outside the town, it does have lovely sea views (hotel-villanico.com). For tourism information on Croatia, the national tourist office site is croatia.hr/en. You may find it useful to talk to Croatia Tours in Dublin for deals in hotels and also about car hire: 01-878 0800 and croatia.ie.
Q I am going to Greece in September and read in an article that if there is a Turkish Cypriot stamp on your passport, you cannot enter Greece. I have been to Turkey but not Cyprus so presume my passport is okay? I have a British passport.
SMG, Co Leitrim
It will be fine entering Greece with the Turkish stamp. Greece refuses transit and admission to anyone who holds travel documents that have been issued by the area of Cyprus not controlled by the Government of Cyprus, which means north Cyprus.
Q We are four women in our 80s who want to go on a nice relaxing cruise. We would like to leave from Dublin Port and arrive back there. We have heard that the Naval Association organises wonderful cruises and we wonder if you have any information about them? We are flexible on cost and the time of travel.
EG, Dublin
The next Irish Naval Association cruise is next May and it is going to the Norwegian Fjords, north Germany and Denmark on the MSC Orchestra.
The trip will be for eight days and arrives into Copenhagen for flights back to Dublin. It costs from €1,195 and you can get details from Terry Cummins, 92 Taney Crescent, Goatstown, Dublin 14 and 087 9873884.
Alternatively there is a cruise that leaves Dublin on October 9th and will last for nine nights. This does return to Dublin Port. The ship is the Ocean Countess and it will sail south to Portugal, Spain and Morocco.
During the journey there will be opportunities to visit Lisbon, Gibraltar, Tangier and Santiago de Compostela. The cruise will have a distinctive Irish feel with guest entertainers from Ireland. It costs from €999pps and you can book with John Galligan Travel on 01-207 6555 and jgt.ie or through Cruise118 on 01-5220100 and cruise118.com.
Q I am driving alone (in an open-top car) from Roscoff to Biarritz and back in September. I wonder if you could suggest a stop-over or places to visit, to break the journey? Any scenic routes or good lunch spots would also be of interest.
GC, Galway
The weather in September should be nice for the drive and hopefully you will get to keep the car roof down. The journey from Roscoff is almost 900kms and will take around nine hours, so a stop or two along the way is important. The Michelin route planner is a good tool (viamichelin.com).
One nice stopover would be the Medieval Breton town of Concarneau. It is one of the largest fishing ports in France and a popular seaside resort. You can walk around the ramparts and old walls of the town.
La Rochelle in Charente-Maritime, with its colonnaded streets and houses dating from the Middle Ages, is also lovely. Bar Andre in the old port of La Rochelle has been recommended (barandre.com).
- Send your questions with name and address to jscales@irishtimes.com