The ancient city of Petra deserves a two-day trip to do it justice. Photo / Alan Gibson
We wish to travel to Egypt, Petra and Dubai during the school holidays in January, and we're wondering how to get to Petra and Dubai from Cairo. As Petra does not have an airport, where would be the best place to stay to explore Petra?
- Jyoti Shankar
Overland travel between Egypt and Jordan is complicated because of Israel's position, squeezed between the two, so the easiest option would be to fly.
Royal Jordanian flies from Cairo to Jordan's capital, Amman and Emirates handles the route from Amman to Dubai.
Incomparable Petra is a three-hour bus ride from Amman. The site's service town is Wadi Musa, around 3km from Petra's entrance gates. Minibuses and service taxis head to Wadi Musa from the Wahadat bus station in Amman's southern suburbs.
To travel the short distance to Petra from Wadi Musa, pick up a minibus or private taxi.
With its classical columns and pediments sculpted two-dimensionally into rose-red cliffs, it's hard to believe that Petra is for real and not something dreamt up by a Hollywood set designer with a penchant for sci-fi time travel.
The site was the capital of the Nabateans, a mysterious Arab dynasty active from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD. The beautifully carved facades of their temples and tombs lay undisturbed for 1000 years until the site's discovery in 1812.
Petra is so remarkable, a visit of a couple of days is best if you really want to get a feel for the place.
Accommodation used to be limited at Wadi Musa but these days the choice is quite good, with the cheapest period from late May to September.
Most hotels offer free transport to and from Petra, and some hotels are within walking distance of the site.
The following multistar places can sometimes have good offers: Movenpick Petra and the Petra Palace Hotel.
Before heading off, be sure to read the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's travel advisories for the countries you're visiting.
On the road again
My colleague and I are attending a conference in San Diego, flying in and out of LA. We have two weeks to spend and it has been suggested that we hire a car and drive to wherever we decide to go. Do you have any suggestions for "must-see" places we can drive to and accommodation for when we arrive? Is this a wise plan for two unaccompanied females?
- Joy Heads
Southern California is generally a safe bet for female travellers - just use the same common sense you would at home and you should be fine.
Just so you know, Thelma & Louise was set in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Arizona, not California.
For some online travel tips, have a look at the Journeywoman website.
You'll be slap bang in the right place for one of the world's iconic seaside drives: the Pacific Coast Highway, running 385km from Santa Barbara (north of Los Angeles) south to San Diego.
The drive will take you through a swag of towns immortalised in songs and movies - Ventura, Malibu, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Laguna Beach, San Juan Capistrano, La Jolla and Ocean Beach.
It's generally accepted that the most scenic stretches run between Santa Monica and Malibu, between Dana Point and Seal Beach, and between Ventura and Santa Barbara.
If time allows, you could also do the trip inland to ritzy Palm Springs (two hours from Los Angeles on the I-10 freeway) and, if you love over-the-top grandeur, you could travel north of Santa Barbara to visit Hearst Castle at San Simeon on the central coast.
Don't miss highlights: the beaches, the art-crammed Getty Centre in the Santa Monica Mountains (admission free), the zany Ocean Front Walk at Venice Beach, seeing the homes of the stars in Hollywood, visiting posh Santa Monica and its famous pier.
Other things include: trying out the surf at Huntington Beach, dropping into the wonderfully preserved mission at San Juan Capistrano, relaxing on California's Riviera at Laguna and, of course, exploring San Diego's museums and old town.
When it comes to accommodation, you'll find plenty of reliable hotel and motel chains scattered along the route.
Non-chain options include cute Hollywood-style bungalows at Manzanita Cottages in Laguna Beach, the classic Sea Shore Motel in Santa Monica, Santa Barbara's Cabrillo Inn motel and Spanish Mission bungalows at Casa Cody in Palm Springs.
Ask your airline about a car-hire package or go through an online operator such as Car Rental Express.
A fortnight's car hire can cost as little as $520 for a mid-sized vehicle, or $800 and upwards for something fancy like a Ford Mustang convertible, although insurance costs can add considerably to these rates.
Get on your bike
We want to cycle part of the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St James), perhaps from Leon to Santiago, which we estimate would take about a week to do comfortably. Because we are travelling elsewhere in Europe we do not want to take bikes and our timing will be fairly tight. We do not want to go on a fully supported tour but we also don't want to spend a lot of time getting our hire bikes back to the depot. Do you have any suggestions?
- Fiona Ross
With architectural beauties such as the Romanesque Iglesia de San Isidoro and Gothic Catedral de Santa Maria La Blanca, Leon is one of the star attractions of the fabled 783km pilgrims' route across the top of Spain.
From Leon, the route passes through such highlights as the medieval bridge at Hospital de Orbigo, the mountain gateway town of Astorga with its Gaudi Episcopal Palace and Camino museum, the impressive castle at Ponferrada, the beautiful green landscape of Galicia, the Benedictine monastery at Samos and, of course, Santiago de Compostela with its lavish Catedral del Apostol on Praza do Obradoiro.
You could cycle this route very comfortably in a week following a self-guided itinerary.
Being able to pick up a bike in Leon and drop it off in Santiago de Compostela would be perfect, but unfortunately it's not too easy to arrange.
Bicycle rental isn't too common in Spain, though you generally have more luck renting mountain bikes (bici todo terreno).
One company that promises to deliver and pick up anywhere in Spain is Bikeiberia. Tour'n'Ride offers bike rental anywhere in Spain and return to Santiago.
Another option would be to purchase a self-guided cycle holiday. Hooked on Cycling has a seven-night Leon-Santiago tour.
Or you could join an organised cycling tour with a bicycling tour operator. Companies specialising in this route include Bravo Bike and Saddle Skedaddle.
Itineraries can be flexible and tour programmes are tailored so you get the most out of the experience of cycling this famous route.
If all else fails, you could take the train from Santiago to Leon (five hours) to return your rental bicycles.
Websites and chat rooms devoted to the route include santiago-bicicleta, Camino de Santiago and the Confraternity of St James.