ASK JOAN:All your travel questions answered
Indulge after the camino
We are hoping to finish off a walk on the Camino de Santiago at the end of September with four days in San Sebastian. Can you suggest some places to stay and things to do? We like eating out and having a bit of fun. – CD, Belfast
San Sebastian/Donostia in the Basque region of Spain is a beautiful coastal city, famous for its gastronomy. First thing to consider is the San Sebastian Film Festival, which takes places from September 21st-29th, and the cost of hotel rooms during this week.
The fabulous Belle Epoque Maria Cristina Hotel has reopened after a complete refurbishment and is the only five-star hotel in the city. It has a special "Nine Michelin Stars" deal for foodies, which is three nights BB and the tasting menu in the top three restaurants in San Sebastian with three Michelin Stars: Arzak, Akelarre and Berasategui, from €1,296 for two; hotel-mariacristina.com.
The four-star Hotel Londres y Angleterra is in a prime location between the Old Town and the centre of the city, facing the lovely La Concha beach, HLondres.com.
For film buffs, the Astoria 7 Hotel is a modern hotel on the site of the old Astoria cinema. Each room is dedicated to an actor.
Other Spanish hotel groups represented in San Sebastian are Barcelo, NH, Tryp, Hesperia and Husa. Or why not stay in a local pension such as Pension Amalur on Calle San Martin, which you can book through hostelworld.comfrom €60 a night.
San Sebastian has a good selection of apartments to rent and you could try the following websites for places: Friendlyrentals.com, FeelFreeRentals.com, Emyrent.comand Apartmentosarrizul.com.
Evening life in San Sebastian revolves around eating, eating, eating, with some glasses of wine thrown in. Bar counters are laden with fantastic selections of pintxos (tapas) with prices from €1.75– €4.50 each.
Try a few in each bar with a glass of wine and move to the next one. The whole city seems to be on the move all the time. Each bar has house specialities – these are usually written on a blackboard and cooked, and are generally the best on offer.
Bars to try include La Cuchara, Astelana, Zuroko, Gandarias, Fuego Negra and Bar La Cepa. Food can be quite innovative, especially in Zuroko and Fuego Negra. Gandarias has a good steak restaurant.
If you are real foodies, then you may enjoy taking a gourmet tour with San Sebastian Food. They can tailor a tour to your interests including visits to vinyards. A pintxos tour will take you to about half a dozen bars where you get to try the best food on offer with good wine, and food history. SanSebastianFood.com.
Don’t miss the food market underground at La Bretxta, just off Avenida del Boulevard. There is also a farmers’ market on Saturdays. For a fun evening of music and dance, the Whiskey Museum on Avenida del Boulevard is hopping from about midnight when downstairs becomes a nightclub for the non-techno set, and maybe even a sing-song.
Walk off excess calories along the beaches – there are three, Ondarreta, La Concha and Zurriola which is favoured by surfers. Or hike up Mont Urquell to the statue of Jesus and the Naval Museum for the best views of the city. At the other end of Ondarreta beach is Mont Igeldo, with a funfair and funicular train.
Chasing the sun in October
My boyfriend and I can’t take a holiday until the first week of October. We’re looking for somewhere within Europe (ie, not long-haul, we’re on a budget) with sunshine and temperatures over 25 degrees and a beach. A few suggestions from friends have included Greece, Ibiza and Morocco (Essaouira). Where would you recommend? We don’t mind if it gets a bit cooler at night once there’s daytime heat. – TG, Dublin
Most package holidays will have finished at the end of September, as will flights to Greece. Ryanair will continue to fly to Ibiza until the end of October, twice a week, and fares are good value at the moment at under €150 return. The club scene in Ibiza tends to close by the end of September, and the island will be a bit quieter. Accommodation in Ibiza will be good value. Have a look at booking.comfor hotels and apartments from around €225-€350 per week.
Sunway will put Morocco back on its winter schedule from September 22nd, with package holidays to the Agadir area from €424pps per week. They only have five-star properties in Essaouria, with prices from €857pps.
Aer Lingus will be operating a flight on Saturdays to Agadir and prices are around €300. You could make your way from Agadir to Essaouria by bus with Supratours.ma(the website is not great), from the Gare de Autobus near Souk al Had, but there is only one bus a day. Otherwise you could use a Grand Taxis, shared, a reasonably cheap way to get to Essouria.
Turkey will still be available in October with best prices just under €400pps in the Kusadasi area. See also Sunway.ieand Wingsabroad.ie.
Other than that, you should be guaranteed sunshine in the Canary Islands. You will have a choice of using a tour operator or booking it yourself. Flights are available to Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Fuerteventura.
Send questions, with name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com