JOAN SCALESanswers your travel questions
Can you help us fine a holiday home in Bray?
Q Every July and August for more than 30 years my family and I have gone on holiday, self-catering, in Bray, Co Wicklow. We had been staying self-catering for the past 11 years, in a house on Putland Road in Bray, but the proprietor has passed away. We stayed last July in a self-catering property provided by Imagine Ireland, and though the accommodation was very nice it wasn’t really suitable. My family and I love Bray and its people. Its location has always provided us with many touring alternatives. Can you help us find a holiday home?
JT, Antrim
Bray has always been a very popular place for holidaying. In recent years, however, there have been fewer self-catering properties to rent. Mrs S Murphy has a number of properties in Bray, with availability during July and August. You can contact her on 01-2862184.
Q We are travelling to Moscow for a week, from June 16th to 23rd. We are two adults, a two-year-old and a three-month-old. I have searched all hotel websites looking for accommodation, but when I look at reviews I get conflicting information. Have you any suggestions for accommodation, possibly a hotel (on a BB basis), but not expensive? We are willing to pay up to 800 for the week. All prices for hotels that I checked are in or around this price.
M MP, Kilkenny
Moscow is the world’s most expensive city for accommodation, and if you have found something for €800, perhaps you should take it. Most hotel rooms cost from €300 per night. Reviews are often conflicting – read as many as possible and make a decision based on instinct.
If you would like to stay in an apartment then I suggest you contact Enjoy Moscow (www.enjoymoscow.com), a small private rental company run by an American named Richard Moncher. It has apartments in central Moscow for $150-$290 (about €110-€210) per night. It can also help with visa letters. (You must have a visa for travel to Russia.)
Hostelworld (www.hostel world.com) also has a small selection of budget hotels, BBs and guest houses that would fit your budget. Some of these have been reviewed by guests.
As for travelling with children, I can direct you to www.babytravelshop.ie, which has checklists to help you plan for packing and flying. Also, www.stickyfingerstravel.com has good advice.
Q Could you please find out if Aer Lingus has stopped flying to and from Newcastle, as it no longer shows up as an option on the website? I can find no information to confirm either way.
DP, Dublin
Yes, the Aer Lingus service to Newcastle ended on April 30th. Ryanair (www.ryanair. com) flies to Newcastle every day from Dublin. Also, from Cork there is a service on Friday and Sunday with www.jet2.com.
Q My adult son and I would like to visit Canada for two weeks in September. Neither of us drives, so we would like to rent a two-bedroom apartment or house in Toronto city centre, and from there use public transport to travel about. We’re trying to do this as cheaply as possible. Also, is there a good BB system in Canada that we could avail of?
HC, Kilkenny
You can see a variety of properties for rent in downtown Toronto at www.homeaway.com and www.vrbo.com. Both websites have a mix of downtown apartments and houses at a wide range of prices.
You can see details of modes of transportation, maps and ticket types in Toronto on www3.ttc.ca. For travelling from Toronto you can check out rail services at www.viarail.ca.
For bus services, see www.coachcanada.com.
There is a list of bed-and-breakfast accommodation at www.canadatourism.ca, with links to each property and booking details.
Go contact
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com