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Two of us are planning to visit the Canadian Rockies, ending up at Prince Rupert. We then need to get to Seward in Alaska to join a cruise back to Vancouver. What are our options for travel between Prince Rupert and Seward? Can you tell us how big Seward is, regarding accommodation etc?
L. Wilson
After Vancouver, Prince Rupert is the largest city on the mainland BC coast. With one of the highest precipitation rates in Canada, Prince Rupert is affectionately known as the City of Rainbows.
Sure, it might rain aplenty, but in a setting surrounded by stunning mountains, nestled at the mouth of the Skeena River with its magnificent fjord-like coastline, who can complain?
You're heading to equally stunning scenery in Alaska. Flanked by spectacularly rugged mountains, overlooking the equally impressive Resurrection Bay, Seward is the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park.
Founded in 1903 as an ice-free port at the southern end of the Alaska Railroad, it is a charming example of an Alaskan frontier township.
These days Seward is a tourist town with a population of around 3000. Rates soar in-season (May to August), but you'll have a good choice of accommodation.
Options range from motel-style rooms right on Resurrection Bay at the Breeze Inn (www.breezeinn.com; standard room from $170) to hotels including the heritage Hotel Seward (www.hotelsewardalaska.com; rooms from $125) and the waterfront Hotel Edgewater (www.hoteledgewater.com rooms from $125). For more info on the town, visit the Seward website (www.sewardak.org).
You could sail from Prince Rupert to Skagway and on to south-central Alaska on the mighty Alaska Marine Hwy (www.alaska.gov/ferry), but as you're planning to join a cruise back to Vancouver you might find it more convenient to fly.
Alaska Airlines (www.alaskaair.com) flies from Ketchikan to Anchorage ($288 one way), Alaska's major regional air hub. You can sail from Prince Rupert to Ketchikan by ferry on the Alaska Marine Hwy ($75, six hours).Anchorage is a spectacular train ride away from Seward on the Alaska Railroad (www.akrr.com; four hours, $98). In fact, the Anchorage-Seward section is considered the railway's most scenic highlight.
My friend and I want to go to Hong Kong and Phuket. It's very expensive to organise from New Zealand, so I was wondering whether it would be a good idea to travel to Hong Kong first, and then book a flight to Phuket from there. If it was possible, I would want to book a one-way flight to Hong Kong then fly to Phuket after five days or so, then return to New Zealand from Phuket. What is my cheapest option?
Maria Conlon
What perfect holiday destinations - shop till you drop in Hong Kong, then chill out on the beach at Phuket! Dubbed the Pearl of the South, Phuket is Thailand's largest, most populous and most visited island.
A whirl of colour and cosmopolitanism, Thailand's only island province revolves around tourism, but it still retains a spark of the real Thailand.
Hong Kong still has a reputation as a flight bucket shop, but these days it's just as easy to find bargains by browsing online brokers such as www.farecompare.com and www.expedia.com.au.
A multiple-destination booking covering your itinerary is quoted from around $3360, rising to around $4730 and up, flying with a swag of airlines including Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Singapore Airlines and Lan Airlines.
What transportation options are there if one wishes to travel between Cuba and the Bahamas? Does one have to return to the mainland, say Mexico City?
Graeme Dryland
Most visitors to Cuba arrive by air, on scheduled flights operating out of Canada (Montreal, Toronto), the Caribbean (Nassau, Santo Domingo, Montego Bay), Mexico (Mexico City, Cancun), Central and South America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela) or Europe (London, Paris, Madrid).
Flights to Havana from Nassau in the Bahamas can be booked online through CubaJet (www.cubajet.com; return from $610) or Cubana de Aviacion (www.cubana.cu).
Travel in Cuba can involve anything from sipping mojitos at an all-inclusive resort in Varadero to scraping the spit and sawdust off your shoes outside the Casa de las Tradiciones in Santiago.
There is nowhere in the world like Havana. From the resplendent Spanish colonial architecture of the Old Town to the spectacular dilapidation of Havana Centro, it's a city of stalwart survivors and masterful musicians rocking to the beat of the rumba. Before heading off on your trip, see what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade has to say about the places you're visiting at www.safetravel.govt.nz.
We are attending a wedding in Newcastle-on-Tyne and are thinking of taking the North Sea ferry to Norway. Do you have any suggestions for a round-trip two-week itinerary from Bergen that would take in the fjords, the stave churches and Alesund?
Stuart Gregory
The best option would be to hire a car, which will give you the freedom to get sidetracked by the breathtaking beauty of the landscape along the way.
Don't expect to drive more than around 60km/h, so take that into account when you plan your itinerary. On the plus side, days are long in summer.
A possible Bergen-Alesund itinerary heads inland from Bergen via the pretty lakeside town of Voss. Continue to Gudvangen, from where you can take a ferry to Kaupanger, passing through the World Heritage-listed Aurlandsfjorden and Nryfjorden fjords. A stone's throw from Kaupanger is Sogndal, a good jumping-off point for day trips to visit the historic stave churches in the region.
If you'd like to know how glaciers were formed, take a break from sightseeing to visit the Norwegian Glacier Museum in Fjaerland. Continue on to Hellesylt via the Briksdalbreen glacial tongues. The crossing from Hellesylt to Geiranger is probably the most breathtaking ferry trip you'll ever take.
Your route continues from Geiranger to Andalsnes, via the spine-tingling hairpin bends of Trollstigen (Trolls' Path), which should give you a few thrills along the way. Situated on an impossibly picturesque coastal peninsula is your final destination before backtracking to Bergen: the coastal town of Alesund.
You could follow a similar route back to Bergen and take a couple of day trip detours along the way.
For more information on side trips and itinerary ideas, have a look at www.fjordnorway.com.