Your questions answered by JOAN SCALES
Question: I want to take my 16-year-old daughter, now in transition year, to Italy in the week before the midterm break. We have never been to Italy and have been told that Cinque Terre is a beautiful place to visit. We would also like to visit Venice. Can you recommend flight, accommodation and other travel options? Cost is a major factor, so we're looking for simple, reasonably priced accommodation, not five-star hotels.
VB, Dublin
Answer: There are so many beautiful places in Italy it is hard to choose. Cinque Terre is indeed worth seeing, but combining it with Venice will mean a six-hour train journey and spending at least a day of your trip travelling. You could fly to Venice, spend a day or two there, visit Cinque Terre and then fly home from Pisa, which is about an hour from La Spezia. Do it this way around, as the flight to Pisa arrives late at night.
Venice is easy to get to from Dublin, as both Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) and Ryanair (ryanair.com) fly there. (Ryanair can also fly you back from Pisa.) Hotels are quite expensive compared with other places in Italy, so staying a night or two and then moving to another place is a good way to keep your costs down.
Close to Venice are the cities of Modena, Padua, Verona, Ravenna and Trieste, and all are lovely.
Another idea would be to stay in Bologna, a small medieval city with a good train service. From here you can then visit places like Venice, Florence, Parma, Ravenna and Modena, all within a journey of 30 minutes to two hours.
If you want to go to Cinque Terre, La Spezia is about three and a half hours away. Hotels in Bologna are more reasonable, as is dining out. Ryanair and Aer Lingus both fly to the city from Dublin.
I find venere.com good for hotels in Italy. Getting around by train is efficient and reasonably priced, and the website trenitalia.com is easy to use.
Question: We are a family of four going to Chicago in a month's time. Could you recommend a reasonably priced hotel close to all the main tourist attractions? We would also consider an apartment.
TN, Dublin
The Essex Inn (essexinn.com) is opposite Grant Park and within strolling distance of all the city’s main sights. The hotel also has a pool. At the time of writing, rates quoted for the end of October for a double room were from $114 (€77), or a king suite with two double beds and a sofa bed from $214 (€144). Book soon, as the rates are going up daily.
You can rent short-term apartments on vrbo.com. Expect to pay from $150 to $450 (€101 to €304) per night.
An alternative is Club Quarters (clubquarters.com), of which there are two in Chicago. These are hotel suites with self-catering facilities. Rates at the end of October are about €150 per night.
The official website for tourism is choosechicago.com, where you will find special offers in hotels, events and suggestions of things to do.
Question: I am travelling to east Africa in early November for a two-week trek, flying into Kigali, in Rwanda. I am getting conflicting information on my visa requirements. A Lonely Planet guide says I can get one at the airport when I arrive; Trailfinders says I must organise my visa in advance, via the Rwanda embassy in London. This involves submitting my passport for a period of time, which is difficult for me, as I travel regularly with work. I will be moving on to Uganda and Kenya; in both of these cases, I understand, I can get my visa when I arrive. Can you clarify the situation for Rwanda?
BD, Dublin
As you have an Irish passport you will need a visa for travel to Rwanda and you will have to get it in advance. The confusion between Lonely Planet and Trailfinders probably arises because Lonely Planet is written from a British perspective, and visitors with British passports can get a visa when they arrive.
You’ll find details of how to apply on ambarwanda.org.uk. A visa can be issued within 24-48 hours, but you will have to get your paperwork to London. If you are travelling in a tour group, the operator will usually arrange visas. You could also consider using a service such as visaswift.com, which will handle all the paperwork for you.
Question: Can you tell me what the weather in Malta would be like in January?
ID, Dublin
You should expect daytime temperatures of between nine and 15 degrees, with an average of 89mm of rain. This means it is warmer but a bit wetter than Dublin, where average January rainfall is 69mm.
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com