Ask Lonely Planet: Mid-air snooze versus sparkling views

Flying from London to the Italian port city of Genoa is the quickest route between the two places. Photo / Wikimedia Commons image by William Domenichini

While we are over in London I have decided to do a Mediterranean cruise, starting from Genoa, Italy and going through the Middle East, and doing a round trip. What is the cheapest and easiest way to get from London to Genoa either by plane or rail?
Krystall

It mightn't be the most environmentally friendly option, but flying from London to Genoa is quicker, easier (especially if you're hauling luggage) and cheaper than travelling by train.

No-frills airline Ryanair has direct flights from London Stansted airport to Genoa, with prices starting from about £44.26 ($97) one-way per person, including taxes, fees and charges.

Bear in mind that Ryanair charges extra for all checked luggage: £10 for the first bag, and £20 each for the second and third bags.

British Airways flies direct from the more conveniently situated London Gatwick airport to Genoa from around £47.70 one-way per person, including taxes, fees and charges and one piece of checked luggage.

Flying time between London and Genoa is two hours. Tickets on both airlines are cheapest when booked well in advance. The website www.skyscanner.net is also a good way to keep tabs on cheap flights worldwide. For a few extra dollars, you might want to consider a carbon-offsetting scheme such as climatecare.org.

Once you've landed in Genoa, Volabus runs an hourly shuttle service from the airport to the city's main train station, Stazione Principe FS. Journey time is 20 minutes. Tickets costing €4 ($7.96) are sold aboard the bus, and can be used on Genoa's public transport system. More information is available at www.airport.genova.it (in Italian and English).

Travelling by rail between London and Genoa is certainly rewarding, however. All routes start with a Eurostar channel tunnel crossing to Paris. After changing trains (and stations) in Paris, you'll need to change again in either Nice or Milan.

It can be a spectacular ride if you use day trains (breaking your journey at hotels overnight), particularly between Zurich and Milan, which takes in a breathtaking stretch of the Swiss Alps and sparkling Italian lakes. Train tickets are also cheapest when booked well ahead. Up-to-date information on various rail options from London to Genoa, including departure and arrival times and costs, are detailed on the excellent independent website www.seat61.com.

Set for Fiji's fittings
I'm travelling to Fiji next month from New Zealand. I need to know if I need to buy a plug adaptor for my laptop, camera charger, etc, to fit electricity outlets at the resort.
Dewald Immink

Electricity is supplied at 240V, 50Hz AC in Fiji. Many resorts have universal outlets for 240V or 110V shavers and hairdryers. Outlets use flat two- or three-pin plugs as in Australia or New Zealand.

Other practicalities to consider for your trip to Fiji, if you are travelling with an expensive camera or computer equipment, is to carry a receipt to avoid possible hassles with customs when arriving home.

If you are going to be visiting the island of Taveuni, bear in mind that electricity is supplied by generator. Upmarket resorts have 24-hour power; however, some budget and midrange places only run their generators in the evening, usually between 6pm and 10pm. Keep a torch handy.

Finally, don't leave home without the following: insect repellent, which is sold only in city pharmacies but needed most elsewhere; plenty to read as bookshops are only found in the cities; reef shoes to protect yourself and the reefs that surround most of Fiji's islands; Zen-like patience to cope with Fiji time, which is more official here than GMT; wedding rings if you're here to get hitched; your own snorkel and mask, because they'll probably get a daily workout; checking the current visa situation and keeping abreast of the current political climate; a waterproof camera to capture your marine encounters and make your friends jealous; sunscreen and a raincoat to combat tropical climate conditions; seasickness tablets if you don't have sea legs.

Traversing Europe in winter
We are hoping to catch a ferry from Greece to Italy and travel through Italy and France back to Paris. What is it like travelling through all these countries in winter? How safe are these countries and is there anything we shouldn't miss?
Jenny Murray

Your route sounds fairly straightforward, until you get to Serbia. Then you have the options of heading west, via Montenegro or through Kosovo, to reach Albania (and then Greece), or else heading south from Serbia through the Republic of Macedonia to get to Greece.

Unless you're really keen on seeing Albania, I would suggest the latter route. It's much less hassle and there are also plenty of interesting things to see and do. Although winters here of late have been notoriously unpredictable, there are mountains to cross through Montenegro and northern Albania, which are often covered with snow. Although a new highway is being built from Albania to Kosovo (to solve the problem with mountainous terrain), it is unfinished. And, while the ongoing political tensions in Kosovo between Albanians and Serbs do not often endanger foreigners, you may be subject to border delays.

On the other hand, the highway south from Serbia through Macedonia is modern and flat. Even when it snows, there are no problems. The journey from the Serbian border to the Greek one on this route takes three to four hours. Then you are an hour's drive from Thessaloniki, Greece's hip and cultured second city.

Fortunately, the new Egnatia Odos highway cutting across northern Greece to the Ionian Sea is completed, and even though it passes through the Pindos Mountains, is generally safe for winter travel. It finishes at coastal Igoumenitsa, which is where you can catch a ferry to Italy. Alternatively, you can continue south from Thessaloniki to Athens, and then to Patras in the Peloponnese, from where other Italy-bound ferries depart.

You've picked an interesting time to visit this region. There will be few tourists in most places and you will no doubt get a sense for the more authentic local life and customs. Winter is the time for different music and wine festivals and animated, costumed carnivals with pagan roots, such as the ones at Vevchani in Macedonia, and Xanthi, Kastoria and Patras in Greece.

There is also good skiing to be had; along with the better-known places in Austria and Germany, you have Jahorina and Bjelasnica in Bosnia, Mt Kopaonik and Zlatibor in Serbia, and Mavrovo and Kozuf in Macedonia.