Your questions answered
Q My husband and I would like to spend a week in the lesser-known Canary Islands of El Hierro or/and La Gomera. You recently covered trips to La Palma.
I wonder if you have any information on flights to these islands. Is it best to fly to Tenerife and then arrange a flight onwards, or could you go by ferry? How long would that take?
AC, Dublin
El Hierro and La Gomera are the smallest of the Canary Islands and there are no direct flights to either. You can island hop using the inter-islands air service with Binter Canarias, www.bintercanarias.com. It can be a bit pricey; the ferry services are less expensive.
You can get to La Gomera from Tenerife by boat from the port of Los Cristanos, three times a day. It is only a short journey. El Hierro is also accessible from Tenerife, from the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the north of the island. The service is available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and takes around eight hours. Ferry services can be booked on www.naviera-armas.com.
Tourism information for both islands is available on www.turismodecanarias.com, where you can find details of accommodation, maps and ideas of things to do while visiting.
Q We are looking to go to San Sebastian in Spain soon, possibly the last two weeks in June or early July. We would like an air-conditioned apartment or hotel, about three-star standard, on or near the beaches of La Concha or Ondaretta. Can you help?
EOB, Dublin
The following is a list of hotels that are all either beside or within a short walking distance of Ondaretta and La Concha beaches: Hotel San Sebastian, Barcelo Costa Vasca, Mercure Monte Igueldo, Hotel Niza and NH Aranzazu.
You can also get a leaflet on hotels and accommodation in the San Sebastian area from the Spanish Tourist Office, 1-3 Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2, 01-6350200.
Self-catering accommodation nowadays is usually rented via internet sites. As you wrote to me, you may not have home access to the internet. Your local library may be able to help you get online, where you will find a selection of properties to rent in San Sebastian on the following sites: www.rentalia.com, www.iha.com and www.homelidays.com.
Q My daughter, myself and a friend would like to go to Paris during the first week in July. Could you give us the name of a convent or monastery or self-catering accommodation (cheap) which would suit us? It should preferably be in the city centre or on a train line.
TB, Wicklow
There are a few convents and monasteries that take guests. Sacre Coeur in Montmartre has Guesthouse Ephrem and you can contact them on pax@sacre-coeur-montmartre.com.
The Benedictine nuns also have a guesthouse near Sacre Coeur, Prieuré Saint-Benoit scholastique, 3-7 cité Sacré-Coeur, 00-33-1-46-061474. Rates are around €30 per person sharing.
The city of Paris operates two reasonably-priced residences to make the city more accessible for visitors. They are called the Centres Internationaux de Séjour de Paris or CISP and are well located for visiting the city. The rates for a three-bedded room are around €27.40 per person, bed and breakfast and €35.90 per person half board. 00-33-1-43-589600 and www.cisp.fr/cisp/index.asp. There is also another accommodation centre for visitors operated by FIAP Jean Monnet. This is a hostel on the Left Bank and close to the metro. Rates are around €34 per person sharing a three- bedded room. 00-33-1- 43131717, www.fiap.asso.fr.
There are several internet sites listing self-catering accommodation, including www.homeaway.com. There is a good selection of apartments on this site to rent in Paris around your dates with prices in the €80-140 per night range.
Q I am travelling from Hong Kong to Osaka in June and the cheapest flight I can get is with a stopover in Shanghai. On one of the legs, the time between flights is 12 hours so I will need a place to sleep. I am wondering, with a 24-hour transit visa, can you leave the airport to go to a hotel or do I have to apply for some type of visa in Ireland? Do you get the transit visa at the airport?
EF, Cork
Visas are not required for aliens who hold air tickets to their final destination and have booked seats on international airliners flying directly through China, and who intend to stay in a transit city for less than 24 hours without leaving the airport.
If you want to leave the airport you must apply for the relevant visa, which costs €30. For application details see http://ie.china-embassy.org/eng.
Another option would be to bed down in the hourly hotel in the transfer area. You will need to provide your boarding pass before registering. It is also possible to reserve a room in advance by calling 021-68346480 (locally) and 00-86-21-68346490 internationally.
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com