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My friend and I are spending six days in Budapest early next month and wonder what we should not miss in the area. - Jan Douglas
Budapest is right up there with Prague when it comes to beauty, history and cosmopolitan culture. Dubbed the Queen of the
Danube, the city is crammed with Baroque and Art Nouveau architectural whimsies, and has an undeniable air of romance.
Highlights include the view from Castle Hill, tracing 2000 years of history at the Castle Museum, going to the Applied Arts Museum, visiting the restored Great Market Hall and other more traditional markets, strolling along the riverside, enjoying a plunge in a thermal bath, and indulging in peerless coffee and pastries at the city's most classic traditional cafe, the sumptuous Gerbeaud.
Why not stay at Budapest's historic Astoria (www.danubiushotels.com/en/budapest-hotels/danubius-hotel-astoria-budapest; doubles from $254), in the heart of Pest.
With just a few days up your sleeve you'll be able to rely on train or bus to get around the sights. The Danube Bend town of Szentendre is only an hour away from the capital by commuter train. It has its own Castle Hill, packed with lovely old houses, notable churches and some good art and artefact museums.
Godollo, which is also on the rail line, makes another good day-trip, and you could visit Franz Joseph's 1760s royal mansion, other baroque buildings and monuments, and the 1920s artists' colony.
Lovely laid-back Kecskemet, accessible by bus or train from Budapest, is ringed with vineyards and orchards and filled with colourful architecture, fine museums, palaces, galleries and museums.
Veszprem, 110km southwest of the capital, has one of the most dramatic locations in Central Transdanubia, with a walled castle and fine churches and buildings. It is accessible by bus or train from Budapest.
The star of them all is Eger, with its beautifully preserved baroque architecture, castle and almost Mediterranean atmosphere. Several trains run direct from the capital daily (2 hours).
Hungary has eight Unesco-protected heritage sites: the castle quarter, the old village of Holloko, the karst systems of Aggtelek National Park, the thousand-year-old Benedictine monastery at Pannonhalma, Hortobagy National Park, the Early Christian catacombs in Pecs, the Ferto/Neusiedler Lake area and the Tokaj wine region.
Of these, Holloko and Pannonhalma would be the easiest to visit on a day trip from Budapest.
Holloko is a 30-minute bus ride from neighbouring Szecseny (two hours by bus from Budapest). The two-street village is reckoned to be the country's most beautiful, with its 13th-century castle and heritage-listed old village.
The historic monastic buildings at Pannonhalma are dominated by Castle Hill and the abbey, and the train to Veszprem from Budapest stops there.Hang on very tight
A friend and I want to go by bus and train from Kathmandu to Delhi. We leave Kathmandu on November 17 and fly out of Delhi on November 25. Can you give us some information on getting there by bus and train and where we could stop on the way? Budget accommodation is fine by us. - Tony Wickens
The most popular route between Nepal and India is the border crossing at Bhairawa/Sunauli. From Kathmandu there are regular buses to the border ($5.50, eight hours). You can also get there from Pokhara. Once you cross the border there are buses direct from Sunauli to Delhi ($13, 24 hours). You can also travel much of the way by train - saving time and sore bottoms.
For instance, you can travel by bus from Sunauli to Gorakhpur ($1.80, three hours) and then by train from there to Delhi ($7.80, 16 hours). You can also travel direct to Varanasi by bus from Sunauli ($5.50, 10 hours).
Keep in mind that the Nepal border post is staffed 24 hours, but the Indian border post is staffed from only 6am to 10pm. Bus travel in Nepal is bumpy, windy, slow and quite hairy in parts. You may decide to opt for a flight. Yeti Airlines operates flights between Kathmandu and Bhairawa daily (around $114, 40 minutes).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade urges travellers to exercise caution in Nepal. because of the uncertain security situation. Although you should be okay on your way to India, you should check on the security situation along the route before you set off overland from Kathmandu. Check www.safetravel.govt.nz
If you do travel by bus you will come very close to one of Nepal's great attractions, Royal Chitwan National Park, but to pay a visit you would have to change buses at Narayangarh.
This beautiful nature reserve protects 932 sq km of forest, marshes and grassland.
It is one of the last refuges of the endangered one-horned Indian rhino and there are sizeable populations of tigers, leopards and rare dolphins. If you visit Chitwan allow at least two days.
There are many budget hotels in Sauraha on the northern fringes of the park, or in the lively tourist centre, which is just south at Sauraha Chowk (also known as Tandi Bazaar).
In Sauraha we can recommend Jungle Adventure World (email jaw-resort@hotmail.com), which is handy to the park entrance and has modest cottages with solar showers for $10.
There's also River View Jungle Camp with tidy cottages and viewing towers that overlook the river ($8).
There are dozens of other places to stay that are just as good.
We recommend you have a look around once you're there and choose the place that best suits you.Way to San Jose My husband and I are planning to explore Central America. We are flying into Cancun, Mexico, and leaving from San Jose in Costa Rica. We have seven weeks and hope to use buses. Could you suggest an itinerary that would cover jungle, hill country and beaches?Robin Groombridge
From Cancun you should head down to Playa del Carmen, a plush but affordable beach town with a lively pedestrian strip and many white-sand beaches.
Just another hour down the coast by bus is Tulum, where you'll find some wonderful Mayan ruins as well as 12km of quiet beaches. The snorkelling is good here. As well, the Coba ruins are just a few hours away by bus.
As you head towards Belize you will pass through Chetumal. Most people keep going to Belize City but it's worth spending a couple of hours in the town of Chetumal to visit the amazing Museo de la Cultura.
We also recommend the jungle-river trip from Orange Walk to visit the Mayan site at Lamanai.
Don't miss the best of all the Mayan ruins, which is at Tikal in Guatemala. We recommend you travel by bus from Belize City to Flores and visit Tikal from here. An overnight stay in Flores is a must.
To see some of the highlands of Guatemala you could fly from Flores to Guatemala City ($70 to $115) or take the bus (eight to 10 hours, $13).
Then it's just an hour's bus ride to Antigua. This city, nestled between three volcanoes, is almost impossibly cute - cobbled streets, mustard-coloured houses with colonial fittings, and a leafy central park.
From Guatemala City or from Antigua you can take a tour to the Copan archaeological site in Honduras.
If you can find the time, make a side-trip to the La Mosquitia region of the northeast. The Mosquitia's pristine natural beauty is awe-inspiring and the region is teeming with wildlife. Bring plenty of insect repellent though - it's not called La Mosquitia for nothing.
You can fly to several towns in this region from La Ceiba for about $60 one way.
From the capital of Tegucigalpa, make your way to northwest Nicaragua. This is the most volcanic region in Central America, dominated by Cordillera de los Maribios, a chain of 10 volcanoes, some active.
The most stunning colonial town in Nicaragua is Granada, nestled on the edges of a lake, founded in the 16th century.
There are national parks and protected areas in the region around Lago de Nicaragua. The jewel of Lago de Nicaragua is Isla de Ometepe, famous for its ancient stone statues and petroglyphs.
From San Carlos, at the southern end of Lago de Nicaragua, you can take a small boat up the Rio Frio to the Costa Rican border at Los Chiles and make your way to San Jose.
A bus or boat from here will get you to Tortuguero on the Caribbean coast. This mini-Amazon is home to plenty of birds and there are turtle nesting sites on the beach.
Lonely Planet's guide to Central America includes all the information you'll need to plan your trip.
Check the countries you're planning to visit at www.safetravel.govt.nz and www.smarttraveller.gov.au
