Go Advice: Joan Scalesanswers your travel queries
Can we take our car all the way to Grenoble by train?
Q We are due to travel to Grenoble, in France, on September 9th, to arrive in the city on the evening of September 11th. We would like to drive through Britain, then take our car by Eurotunnel to France, to head for Lyons or Grenoble – whichever is better for through train travel. How easy would this be?
JD, Derry
The Channel Tunnel is the easy part of your journey. Eurotunnel vehicle trains (as opposed to Eurostar passenger trains) run up to three times an hour, with prices from £58 to £83 (€68 to €97) each way (www.eurotunnel.com).
The Motorail service from Calais runs to southern France, to Nice and Narbonne – not much use for you. The Autotrain links Paris with Lyons until October 3rd: your car goes on ahead; you can take any train you like and pick up your vehicle the following day. The service operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. See www.voyages-sncf. com/services-train/auto-train. The drive from Calais to Paris takes about three hours. You could also put your car on the service at Lille, which is closer to Calais, but you’d have farther to drive at the other end, as your car would be taken to Avignon. Otherwise, the drive from Calais to Grenoble will take about eight hours. You can plan your route on www.viamichelin.com.
Q I read the travel supplement most weekends, and so many places sound so great to travel to. But I have a real dislike of flying. Can you recommend any way of getting over this?
JK, Cork
You are not alone. Many people do not like flying. Some of them have told me that they found Allen Carr's book The Easy Way to Enjoy Flyinguseful. Others have said medication took the edge off their fear.
Depending on your level of dislike, one way to overcome
it could be to take a Fly Fearless course. Run by Michael Comyn, who specialises in stress management, they can include a flight, a session in a flight simulator or both. You can sign up for a course in Cork on September 19th for €180. See www.flyfearless.com or call 1890-200047.
Q We and another family – a total of four adults and three under-threes – are looking for a villa to share in Italy or Spain next month or in early October. We’d like it to be right beside a child-friendly beach in a quiet resort, with nice restaurants nearby.
JW, Galway
It’s hard to find a property that really is next to the sea. Many places that describe themselves as on the beach turn out to be 15 minutes away. I have four suggestions.
Vista Mar is an apartment across the road from the sandy beach in the Majorcan town of Puerto Pollensa. A week at the end of September, including flights from Shannon, will cost from €843pps.
You could also try Villa Cristina, in the Spanish town of Nerja, east of Malaga. It’s 200m from a beach – and has been reduced for the end of September. It will cost from €1,303 per week. You can fly to Malaga from Shannon (or Dublin) with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com). Aer Lingus flies from Dublin, Cork and Belfast.You can book this and Vista Mar through www.james villas.ie or by calling 1890-943909.
If you like the idea of the Canary Islands, Villa Girasol is billed as a luxury house with three en-suite bedrooms and a pool, 500m from the beach. It’s in the village of El Medano, in southern Tenerife, so has shops and restaurants nearby. The house costs from €980 per week. See www.holiday- rentals.com/63618. As with Malaga, you can fly to Tenerife from Shannon (or Dublin) with Ryanair. Aer Lingus flies from Dublin, Cork and Belfast.
My final suggestion is Villa Romana, in the Italian fishing port of Anzio, 50km from Rome. It is 250m from the beach and costs from €790 per week in September. See www.holiday-rentals.com/ 17533. Aer Lingus flies to Rome from Dublin, Cork and Belfast; Ryanair flies from Dublin.
Q I am going to walk part of the Camino de Santiago. As a lone traveller, I was wondering if you could recommend any groups or tours to do this with, for safety. I am hoping to go at the end of September or the start of October.
DV, Belfast
Two companies I know of organise trips: Uwalk.ie and One Foot Abroad. You can join small groups or walk alone, although you will not be alone for long. People are very friendly on the route, and you will find yourself meeting and walking with pilgrims from all over the world. Uwalk.ie has trips next month from €490pps, excluding flights. One Foot Abroad has a guided group on October 3rd, for the final 110km of the French Way, from €590pps, also excluding flights (www.onefootabroad.ie).
The website of the Irish Society of the Friends of St James (www.stjamesirl.com) describes how to get your Pilgrim Passport and what to expect, as well as including pilgrims' stories. Also, you can read Aoife Archer's account of walking the caminoelsewhere in today's Go.
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com.