Your Questions Answered
Q We are a family of four - our children are eight and 10 - with some camping experience. We'd like to camp in the wild in Ireland, by the sea or a lake. (Don't worry: we're spotlessly clean and bring our rubbish home.) I've looked at various websites for inspiration and am none the wiser. Where we can have a back-to-nature experience for a night or two?
EC, Meath
Wild camping is great fun. Look for remote sites: up mountains is usually a good bet. I've found the Wicklow Mountains, the Nire Valley, in Co Waterford, and the Mournes, in Co Down, good places to camp. Brittas Bay, in Co Wicklow, is another popular spot.
You can camp wild in Wicklow Mountains National Park (www.wicklowmountains nationalpark.ie/WildCamping.html).You can also camp in some forests owned by Coillte (www.coillte.ie); the forestry service has wild campsites in Curragh Chase Forest Park, in Co Limerick, and Lough Key Forest Park, in Co Roscommon. Six forest sites in Northern Ireland allow camping; see www.forestserviceni.gov.uk.
Hilltop Treks (www.hilltop treks.ie.) is organising a family camping weekend in
Co Wicklow on August 25th and 26th. It will be mix of wild camping, hiking, sightseeing and outdoor activities. It costs €99 for a family; bring your own tent and supplies.
Q Since I retired, in 2008, my wife and I have dreamed of heading off for an extended break from early January to mid February. We would like to avoid a long-haul flight - so not Florida or South Africa - but we'd like warm sunshine, with a minimum of rain, and to stay in an apartment or hotel by the coast, with an interesting hinterland, reasonable public transport and golf courses within easy reach. I have heard rumours of pockets of southern Spain with very clement microclimates at the time we want to go.
PMB, Dublin
Two places in Spain spring to mind. They are the Mar Menor, in Murcia, and Almeria, in Andalusia.
Murcia has more than 300 days of sunshine a year, very little rain and an average winter temperature of 16 degrees. It is also home of the La Manga golf and sports resort. You can rent winter accommodation quite reasonably. See www.murcia villas.com and www.murcia ciudad.com/ingles. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies to Murcia from Dublin and Shannon.
Almeria has one of the sunniest, warmest and driest climates in Europe, with more than 320 sunny days a year. Winter temperatures tend to stay between 15 and 22 degrees during the day. Rain comes in heavy bursts during winter.
You'll find a good selection of golf courses in the Almeria area. Mojácar is one of the more developed tourism towns, and there's a good variety of accommodation to rent. See www.andalucia.com, www.spain-holiday.com and www.ownersdirect.co.uk. So far there are no direct flights to Almeria this winter. Malaga is the nearest airport. Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) flies there from Dublin, Cork and Belfast; Ryanair flies from Dublin and Shannon.
Q My sister and mother would like to go to eastern Europe or Germany for a holiday at a thermal spa, as my mother suffers from arthritis. They would like something as close as possible to a package holiday. They'd like to go in the second half of September.
SB, Dublin
Hungary has more thermal spas than any other country in Europe, so a good destination for your mother and sister could be Budapest, the capital.
A number of hotels in the city cater for people who want a wellness holiday, and the thermal waters are said to help arthritis. The Corinthia Hotel (www.corinthiahotels.com) and the Danubius Health Spa Resort Margitsziget (www.danubiushotels.com) are two that are popular with Irish people. Malév Hungarian Airlines (www.malev.com), Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.com) and Ryanair (www.ryanair. com) all fly to Budapest.
The other wellness-spa destination I have been to is in Austria: the Gastein Valley also has thermal waters and, unusually, a "healing cave" said to be very good for arthritis. Its benefits were discovered years ago when silver miners who worked there in harsh conditions were found to be very healthy and to live long lives. Warmth, high humidity are, surprisingly, the radioactive gas radon are credited with the healing effect. See www.gasteiner- heilstollen.com.
A number of local hotels offer week-long half-board packages that include treatments, massages and doctor's consultations, from about €618 per week. The nearest airport is Munich, which Aer Lingus (www. aerlingus.com) flies to from Dublin, Cork and Belfast. A car transfer from the airport costs about €60 return per vehicle. See www.gastein.com for hotels, packages and transport. You could also contact Topflight (1890-240170, www.topflight.ie), which can organise this type of holiday.
Go contactE-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com.