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Lonely Planet experts answer your questions:
We are a fit couple in our 60s, but not experienced travellers. We want to go to Venice when it is not too crowded and are thinking about March next year, before Easter. Would this be a good time? We
enjoy a quiet wander through back streets as well as looking at landmarks. What should we look out for off the tourist beaten track? And how about budget accommodation and places to eat?
- Rose
Early spring is one of the loveliest times of year to visit Venice - the weather will be getting warmer and the crowds won't be at their peak.
Easter marks the beginning of hyper tourism in Europe, so you're very wise to avoid it. Venice is all about wandering, and its best-kept secrets lie beyond the well-trodden alleyways that link the train station, Rialto and San Marco.
Don't worry about getting lost - just accept that at some point that is inevitable - and head into the maze of lanes and passageways that will take you further and further away from the tourist hub.
You'll discover the real Venice of neighbourhood campos (squares) strung with drying washing, with their ancient covered wells, and populations of cats, children and the elderly sunning themselves in the spring sunshine.
Maybe you'll find a cafe or a bar where it's cheap to have a stand-up meal of tramezzini sandwiches and a glass of red.
Look out for the shopping areas where vegetables are sold from moored barges and the wine shops decant wine by the litre.
Venice has oodles of unforgettable attractions that you just can't miss, so take a deep breath and forge in.
If you make your trips in the early morning and late in the day it will give you some respite from the crowds.
Highlights include San Marco, the Accademia, the Palazzo Ducale, the view from the Campanile, the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the Peggy Guggenheim modern-art collection, the vaporetto trip on the Grand Canal and squeezing in visits to as many of the city's famous churches as possible - at the very least Santa Maria della Salute, the Frari and SS Giovanni e Paolo.
Less busy are the Naval Museum in Castello, the wonderful Ca Rezzonico museum of 18th-century Venice, and the magical islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.
Visits to Padua, Vicenza and Verona (all accessible from Venice by train) are also highly recommended.
Food and accommodation are not cheap in Venice, and the bottom line is that you usually get what you pay for.
Try the reasonably priced Palazzo Odoni (www.palazzoodoni.com; double room $180) in Santa Croce, Hotel al Vagon (www.hotelalvagon.com; double $170) near the Rialto, the Hotel Galleria (www.hotelgalleria.it; double from $209) right on the Grand Canal and Hotel Rossi (www.hotelrossi.net; double from $147), handy for the station off Lista di Spagna in Cannaregio.
When it comes to food, avoid tourist restaurants offering set-priced multi-dish menus in multiple languages. They crop up along the route heading out of the train station and in the area around San Marco.
Instead, look for family run, out-of-the-way trattorias. For a well-priced meal ($11 for two courses) you can't go past Brek, an Italian chain of cafeteria-style restaurants.
The Venice branch is right on Lista di Spagna near the station. Spizzico, on Campo San Luca in San Marco, is another chain, specialising in slices of pizza.
Our family of five adults and three children, aged 6, 4 and 1, are going to Spain next month for three weeks. Can you suggest a central family friendly place to stay in Barcelona for four days and an itinerary for rest of our stay? Belinda Lewis
The most convenient area in Barcelona with a good range of hotels and apartments to choose from is Las Ramblas/Plaza Catalunya/IEixample, just north of the old quarter.
IEixample is full of gorgeous moderna architecture and oozes charm. When booking a hotel, ask about family rooms and the availability of extra beds.
In IEixample, there's the richly decorated Hostal Palacios (www.hostalpalacios.com; room for four $300) or charming Hotel Duxelles (www.hotelduxelles.com; room for four $283).
Also try the Art Nouveaustyle Hotel Nouvel (www.hotelnouvel.com; triple $396) or Hotel Caledonian (www.hotel-barcelona.com/caledonian.html; triple $408), both well located at the top of Las Ramblas near Plaza Catalunya.
Renting a holiday apartment could be a better bargain, with weekly rates from $1700, and it would give you more privacy and flexibility.
Try Oh Barcelona (www.oh-barcelona.com). Others are Apartments Ramblas (www.apartmentsramblas.com), Barcelona Apartments (www.barcelonapartments.com) and Citadines Ramblas (www.citadines.com)
Being based in one spot will mean backtracking at the end of each day so it might make sense to get to know a smaller chunk of Spain.
Usually, Valencia would be ideal but the America's Cup is taking over the town so accommodation is at a premium. If you do visit Valencia, make sure you take the children to the fabulous aquarium (admission adult/child $40/29) at the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias.
Perhaps you could focus on Andalusia in the south, basing yourselves on the coast in fun-loving Malaga.
Good beaches stretch for kilometres and there are some worthwhile museums and gardens.
The centrally located Hotel Don Curro (www.hoteldoncurro.com) has rooms for four for $334 in the high season.
Places of interest include Costa de la Luz, Tarifa, Seville, Cordoba, Granada and Gibraltar.
For more ideas visit Malaga's tourism website (www.malagaturismo.com)
Consider buying a train pass (www.railplus.co.nz) for the family at about $930 for three days.
My wife and I and our two children, aged 9 and 12, will be travelling through Turkey and Greece in October. We have booked our travel arrangements except the link from Fethiye on the Turkish Aegean coast to Naxos in the Greek Islands. What is the most direct ferry route?
- John Wynne
There is no direct route between Fethiye and Naxos, so you'll need to island-hop. Greek ferry schedules are more limited once October comes around, so you either have to plan more carefully or take a more circuitous route than you would in summer.
Your first island-hop will take you from the Turkish Aegean coast to Rhodes, a major Greek Island transport hub.
High-speed ferries leave Fethiye (Anker Travel, www.feribot.net, $119 one way, 1 1/2 hours), as well as Marmaris.
From Rhodes you can then catch a ferry to the Dodecanese island of Kalymnos (sailings most days, $45, 3 1/2 hours).
The it's another ferry from Kalymnos to Naxos (Monday only in October, $51, 5.10am, 4 hours) in the Cyclades.
If you miss that Monday-only sailing, other connections include Santorini, Paros, Vahi and Syros.
The Greek Travel Pages website (www.gtp.gr) has detailed information on ferry schedules, and online booking is available through Danae (www.danae.gr)
Before you go make sure you read the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trades travel advice for Turkey at www.safetravel.govt.nz
Lonely Planet experts are available to answer questions from readers. Email them to: travelinfo@lonelyplanet.co.nz. They may not answer all questions and cannot correspond directly with readers or give advice outside the column.
