Do you have a travel query you need help with? Email it to been.there@guardian.co.uk, or try our travel talkboard.

March 29:

Help! We are two families with 11-year-old girls and 15-year-old boys, and we want to find a good short break in Britain that'll accommodate four adults and four children without costing the earth! Activities would be good too - any suggestions?
Catrin

BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) organise working holidays in Britain and abroad. They seem to lay on accommodation, and might be a good bet for a cheap and constructive break.
MTill

Why not go old-fashioned and book into a holiday camp? It might sound a bit naff but Butlins and Pontins are both excellent value – surely a massive consideration when there’s eight of you? There’s always loads of organized activities going on at these places or you could always just leave the youngsters to their own devices in the swimming pools or amusement arcades. Plus, you’re by no means confined to barracks, you can always leave the camp during the day to explore the surrounding areas – they’re almost always in seaside areas – and return in the evening for some food, a few drinks and a bit of cabaret!

Given your kids’ ages they might be getting to the point where they’d see all this as desperately uncool but they might find somewhere like Center Parcs a little more sophisticated? If you went to the one in Longleat, for instance, you’d also have all the attractions at the safari park to fill the time with.
Danny Lambert


Having just checked the internet to book a train ticket for May, I was horrified to note that instead of my usual £10 charge for a single from Birmingham New Street to Aberystwyth it has doubled to approximately £20! I don't understand how it can possibly be legal to have an almost 100% rise in this train fare. Also, the only reason I don't catch a train all the way to Aberystwyth from Aberdeen is the extortionate cost of approximately £120 each way. How am I meant to do my bit with my 'carbon footprint' if train tickets continue to rise dramatically in price?! I would be grateful for any advice on where to take this complaint, or any other tips on how to find rail travel discounts and bargains.
Tessa Williams

You seem to be falling foul of the somewhat 'pot luck' nature of buying advance train tickets. While timetables go online up to three months in advance, the very cheapest advance purchase tickets don't go on sale until somewhere around two months prior to travel. So your £10 ticket from Birmingham to Aberystwyth is seemingly still available, it just isn't on sale yet for the May date you specified. Similarly for a ticket from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth: it is possible to find a fare as low as £27.50 on certain trains in around 7 or 8 weeks' time (though no sooner or later). The key is perseverance: while the system makes travel expensive for (I would guess) the majority of people (and in this respect it is far from ideal, I agree), it does nevertheless handsomely reward those willing to hunt down the best price well in advance of their trip. Another couple of tips would be to use the National Rail Enquiries search facility, which does the best job of highlighting the cheapest fares (and allows you to bypass thetrainline.com's various surcharges), and, if you are eligible, to invest in a railcard of some description, which will pay for itself in no time.
Guy Hursthouse


In response to the second question, the best way of finding a cheap fare is to start with a decent website. National Express has just launched their own ticket sales system which is clear and straightforward to use. Another
strategy is to break your journey up into several shorter ones. You can stay on the same train as long as it stops at the intermediate stations. This method takes advantage of the train operators different pricing structures, so you will need a map showing where different train companies operate. Transport expert Barry Doe goes into more detail about how to play
the system here.
Steve Baines


I also noticed a huge increase recently in single fares. A cheap day return Edinburgh-Glasgow cost me £9.80. The single fare on the same Ed-Glasgow train for my daughter cost £9.70! Maybe some enterprising person could set up a kiosk for selling/exchanging/donating return tickets close to the station. That might make First Scotrail change their single fare policy.

When it comes to travelling to Aberdeen, if you are over 55 there is a 'Club 55' (you don't have to pay anything for this, just be 55 or over) during off-peak months such as Nov/Feb/March. You can travel between any two stations in Scotland for £15 return, with one or two restrictions and you don't have to book a seat or specific train. So it might be possible to travel over the border and then purchase the £15 return to Aberdeen or wherever.
Morag

Ms Williams has fallen for the assumption that the £10.00 fare is the 'normal' rate to travel between Birmingham and Aberystwyth, which is not actually the case. The standard fare between the two destinations is £21.30, and the £10.00 fare is a special offer. Special offers, by their nature, are limited. That said, I checked with Arriva Trains Wales, who operate this service, and for several random dates in May, they offered me a £10.00 fare. This fare is the "Arriva Trains Wales Advance Single A” and appears to be readily available.

For travel from Aberystwyth to Aberdeen, again this depends on the exact dates but Arriva Trains Wales offers me a ticket for £27.50 each way. This is a service from Aberystwyth to Aberdeen, via Wolverhampton and Edinburgh. Undeniably a great fare, but it is subject to availability. I have checked several dates in May, and found it available. When this special offer runs out, the next special fare is £36.00, then £47.00.
Billy Shearer

There is only one answer: put the railways back in public ownership.
John Naylor

I wonder if anyone can recommend a means to get train timetables and travel guides for portable media devices. I'm planning a big trip that will encompass China and parts of South America and ideally I'd like to buy a small portable device like an iPod and load train timetables and guidebooks on to it, rather than carry hard copies. This kind of portability would be particularly useful in areas where internet is unavailable. I've been looking on the web but haven't really found what I'm after.
Raymondo

It's a roundabout way but if Raymondo buys an iPod touch then jailbreaks it and installs the Apache web server he can display any pdf file he saves to the device. If he doesn't want to jailbreak the iPod touch, he can take good quality digital photographs of the hard copies and these can also be saved to the iPod touch and displayed on a decent screen. He can zoom into photos to read the detail on a timetable.
Elaine


March 21:

We have been offered a week away from our two small children by helpful grandparents. It’s our first proper holiday away together for years and we really want to get it right. We’ll be going away in late May. Our ideal is a beach holiday with the chance to do some sporty activities but we’re not keen on being in a huge resort. We don’t want to fly too far as we want to make the most of every hour, so 6 hours would be the maximum, but preferably less. We would love a good recommendation for somewhere that could be a bit indulgent without a ridiculous price tag to match.
SallyMaise

Try Bermuda - about on the limit for travel time but you are heading west so you don’t lose much time. Flights back are overnight so you get a full final day. Not the cheapest place but the pound/dollar rate helps at the moment. Snorkelling is just fabulous, reefs everywhere full of fish, coral and hundreds of shipwrecks. The legendary pink beaches live up to their name, lots of small coves to discover. Bermuda Day is on 24th May – the community comes out to party all day long, very colourful.
Steve

The answer to both questions has to be Egypt and the Red Sea, it has everything. Sun, sea, sand, some of the best diving spots in the world, even if you only snorkel, great nightlife with lots of choices and - it's cheap! Also, at a flight time of about 4-5 hours from the UK it's not that far. If you're looking for more than just the sea life then stick around for a few extra days and visit Cairo or take a short trip up the Nile on a five-star cruse ship, it's like nothing you have ever experienced. I came to Egypt in 1994 on a six month work visit, I fell in love with the country and the people and have been here ever since. It's an amazing country, you're never stuck for something to do.
Aidan McKay

Well, I'm afraid that for a really nice mixture of sun, sea, sand, surf and healthy reefs you may need to spend just a little over six hours in a plane.
I highly recommend Bali. The entire island is set up for tourism, the locals are welcoming, laid back and very helpful. The seas are warm, clean and full of life. The luxury end of the island is Nusa Dua; five-star hotels and big prices in the south. There is also a nice stretch along the north-west coast; more expensive yet comfortable hotels but these are very close to the marine national park. Me? I prefer the small fishing villages like Padangabai. It's on the south-east coast. Small, local feeling but developed enough to sport several good dive shops. The reef comes right up to the beach (in fact, there are 3 beaches; one for snorkelling, one for the fishing boats and one small but perfect white-sands beach for swimming and chilling out. I highly recommend taking a dive course with companies such as Geko Dive, Padangbai - they've been there about about 17 years and have always put 15% or more of their profits back into the local town. They're helping to rebuild the local school and have set up extra classes to help the kids. There are plenty of other dive shops around too. If you're willing to fly just a little further and take a dive course, you can see the 120-metre-long Liberty shipwreck off the North of Bali (also close enough to the beach to snorkel to it!). When you've had enough of the beaches, there's the volcano to hike up, the Hindu temples, the shy Barking deer in the forests or the odd life forms that live in and around the Mangroves. Give it a try. It's not that expensive (unless you go for the five-star hotels).
Johnathan


The wife and I like to spend most of the day snorkeling, is there anywhere that you can advise us on? All the people in the holiday industry seem obsessed with mile upon mile of sandy beaches, we like the reefs and rocks all day and then some lively nightlife, lots of eating and drinking at different places.
John

I just spent a weekend in Key West, first visit. It is all of the above! The snorkelling is apparently very good and I guarantee that Duval Street will take care of your evenings. It is like New Orleans by the sea. Loads of various types and levels of accommodation available. Beautiful architecture, very warm and friendly people. Stay in Old Key West - I seriously recommend it.
Gina Trotz

Croatia - no contest. Islands, rocks, warm water, great food, lively places and quiet places. Hvar is a great island, Trogir a great town. Depending upon budget, there are sailing schools and diving schools to consider.
Jerry Knight

How about Egypt? Flights from London are about five hours and easyJet is about to start flights to Sharm El Sheikh. Amazing reefs with lots of fish and corals that can be seen snorkelling - more if you want to dive, but you really don't need to. In Sinai there's Sharm El Sheikh, a main tourist centre, but also Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba as well, all of which can offer good deals. On the mainland coast there is El Gouna, Hurghurda (tourist centre), Safaga and many other smallish resorts. The weather's good and if you fancy a day away from the beach there are plenty of options available: day trips to the Giza Pyramids or to Luxor, desert safaris, sunset with Bedouin... the list goes on.
AStead

I would suggest Bermuda. The beaches there are magnificent for snorkelling (eg Church Bay Beach) and private getaways. Horseshoe Beach is breathtaking and a short 15 minute walk from the main beach area along the shore will take you to numerous publicly-accessible beaches that hardly any people frequent. The sand is pink and the water is fairly refreshing (slightly cold as of last week, but probably getting warmer in few weeks time). Zoom Airlines now flies from the UK, so you should check that out.
Uzaib Saya

If you want to just spend time snorkelling in crystal clear waters for a very reasonable price, I have found that the Perhentian Islands, just off the coast of Terengganu, West Malaysia, offers some excellent bargains. You can get 'backpacker' accommodation or a luxury hotel, but no matter where you stay, the snorkelling is still the same. Lots of tropical fish with Manta Rays, the occasional small 2ft shark and several turtles in deeper water. Food is inexpensive and includes Indian, Chinese and Malay cuisine. To get there, take a flight to Kuala Lumpur. Book in advance on Air Asia for flight to Kota Bharu (prices range from US$10 to US$100 and then a taxi from the airport (US$10) to Kuala Besut which is the ferry terminal for Perhentian. Check out the Corel View resort where you can stay and simply wade out to the coral, rather than have to take a boat.
Mick Hughes (a Brit living in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia)


March 14:

I'm going to Barcelona soon for the first time and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for experiencing Catalan, rather than Spanish, culture? Is it easy to find restaurants serving authentic Catalan food or are they all well-hidden from the tourist trails? Is Catalan widely spoken and would I able to understand it with rusty A-Level Spanish? Are there many options for enjoying Catalan entertainments like traditional music, dancing or theatre? I want to enjoy everything that Barcelona has to offer, including the touristy areas, but I don't want to miss out on experiencing a completely different culture.
Declan

You’ll be sure to have a great time and as a foreigner, your Spanish will be fine. Spaniards speaking Spanish in Barca’ may encounter a few problems mind you! I can recommend a fantastic book about Spain, it’s called Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through a Country's Hidden Past by Giles Tremlett. This will explain my Spaniards in Barca’ comment. It is an incredible book and one that any fan of Spain will go back to time and again – a must I reckon, and sure to deepen your understanding of the whole country and its various people. Barca’ is full of treasures, most of which will be on well worn trails, but try my favourite place. In Poble Nou there is a terrific ramblas that leads from the beach just down from Barcelonetta. (Mapfre Building, Arts Hotel, Big Bronze Fish et al). Try the superb Ice Cream shop halfway down. There’s not tonnes to see but you can experience Catalan culture away from the tourists. The old folk sitting, talking and squabbling; small bars with the Barca’ match and attendant shouting; kids on their scooters going through their mating rituals; the local dogs padding up and down the rambla, as nosey as you. It’s great - a real hidden gem. Don’t expect fireworks but just relax in the charming atmosphere of local people behaving pretty much as they’ve done for ever.
Dr Leroy Santiago

Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to experience Catalan culture in Barcelona, even for Catalans themselves sometimes! Since many tourists who visit the city can’t even tell the difference between Catalan and Spanish culture, or are actually only attracted to the latter, everything that is typically Catalan has been diluted into a mish-mash where you have “flamenco” dancer dolls sold in souvenir shops next to reproductions of the Sagrada Familia, and Osborne bull stickers sold next to Catalan donkey stickers. As for the Catalan language, it is not that easy to listen to it being spoken in Barcelona either. More often than not people will speak Spanish first, and then, only sometimes and only some people, change to Catalan if you show any interest or speak it yourself.

My recommendation, if you want to experience real Catalan culture, eat real Catalan food and hear Catalan spoken, is to visit Girona and the surrounding area. Girona is a region north of Barcelona (you might have heard of it because it has an airport where many flights coming from England arrive) and it has managed to make Catalan traditions its main asset when it comes to attracting tourists.

It’s easily accessible by car (the capital of the region, the city of Girona, is only 63 miles away from Barcelona and it’s connected by a highway) but not so much by public transport. So I would recommend that, if you are spending a reasonable amount of time in the country, you hire a car and spend two or three days in Girona. In this webpage you’ll find everything you need to know about the city and the surrounding area, including where to eat (the region is well known in Catalonia for producing the best traditional cheeses and “embotits” – sausages made of cured pork), festivals and traditions with the dates they take place in, and itineraries and maps. And it’s all available in English too.

As for your question about understanding Catalan, probably a native English speaker would be more reliable, but as a native speaker of Catalan my opinion is that, with some previous knowledge of Spanish and some effort, you’ll soon get the hang of it!
MariaRosa

I studied Catalan for a year as part of a French and Spanish degree; it's very widely spoken in Barcelona and across Catalonia but the majority of places are likely to have signs/menus etc. in both Castilian Spanish and Catalan, which makes things easier. It's not always that easy to understand spoken Catalan because the Barcelona accent (as opposed to that in Valencia which is a lot easier) can sound almost like a Russian accent, by which I mean that most vowel sounds are clipped and shortened, so it can be difficult to grasp what's being said. However, it is a lot easier to read, so A-level Spanish should be enough to understand the majority of menus and other relatively basic reading material. And in any case, most Barcelonans speak Castilian and will do so without (too much) reluctance, so you should be fine. Enjoy the trip, it's a fantastic city!
Oli Humphrey

There are quite a lot of Catalan restaurants not far off the tourist trail. 7 Portes (Passeig Isabel II) is one of the best, but also quite expensive. There are also two good, inexpensive little chains. One consists of Les Quinze Nits (Pl Reial), La Fonda (Carrer del Escudellers) and La Dolça Herminia (Carrer de N'amargós). The other is El Glop: there’s one in the centre of town (Rambla de Catalunya), but the nicest one is in the Gracia district, on Carrer de Sant Lluis - it’s a little more off the tourist trail, but still very easy to reach by metro.

Although Catalan is similar to Spanish, the pronunciation rules are quite different so a knowledge of Spanish isn’t necessarily going to help you understand people speaking Catalan. In my experience, the Catalans don’t expect foreigners to be able to understand the Catalan language (although they’re quite chuffed if you attempt to use “Adeu” and "Merci" instead of “Adios” and “Gracias”). Do bear in mind, however, that many of the people you'll encounter in Barcelona won't actually be Catalan, there are lots of people from South America and from other parts of Spain, so any attempts at Catalan will be lost on them!

Regarding Catalan culture, the best thing to see is the Castellers - people climbing on top of each other to form huge towers, or “castells”. These generally happen more during the summer, though. The tourism websites should be able to advise. Also, there’s the traditional Catalan dance, the “sardana”. You’ll often see groups of old people doing this on Sundays in the main Placas in the Barri Gotic. Again, the tourism websites should be able to advise more.

Also, if you’re going to be there before the end of March, you should try out a Calçotada. Every spring, the Catalans eat calçots (a type of onion, looks like a small leek) - they’re grilled over an open fire, and you eat them with your fingers, dipped in Romesco sauce. They call the related meal a Calçotada. It’s a real Catalan tradition, and the purists head down to Tarragona (where they’re grown), but you can do it in Barcelona too - I think the El Glop chain do them at this time of year.
Charlotte Brooke

In Barcelona you'll find a heavily miscegenated culture where people are happy to speak Spanish or Catalan to you. In fact, as a foreigner, people will automatically speak to you in Spanish, assuming (usually correctly) that you have no knowledge or interest in local culture. However, a few words of Catalan can take you a long way and most people will be thrilled that you've made the effort. With basic Spanish, you'll struggle to undestand the language but with a bit of effort you certainly be able to pick something up, even if it's only Bon Dia (good day), or Adeu (hello/goodbye) and Si us plau (please).

If you want a more authentic experience why not head for Gracia, a traditional working class area that's undergone something of a gentrification over the last few years but still retains something of its essential character. You might find a sardanya going on in one of the squares, a traditional circular dance that locals love to show off to visitors. Join in, they'll welcome you with open arms. The streets are vibrant with youth on weekends, there are great bars around Placa del Sol and along Torrent d'Oller. Do not eat in or around Les Rambles, everywhere is overpriced and a pale shadow of the fare that you could get here before the area became so trendy and the City was gripped by Gaudimania.

Scattered across the city are some of the best, most reasonably priced restaurants in the world. Catalonia has been undergoing a culinary revolution led by Ferran Adria at El Bulli but with disciples in the four corners of Catalonia: Try Commerc 24, the evening tasting menu is expensive but they do a midday menu that is more than reasonable, alternatively for traditional Catalan cooking with a nouvelle twist there's El Suquet d'ell Almirall in the Barceloneta or Convent Dels Angels for some fusion cooking. Sundays, there's only one place to head - down to the Barceloneta with all the other families for a paella cooked to order with the salt from the sea close enough to season your food.
DJ Evans

It would be perilous to make a distinction between Spanish and Catalan culture because the question is highly politicised. But there are many elements of Catalan culture, the language aside, that are unique to Catalonia and not found elsewhere. The sardana is a good example: it's a beautiful communal dance and music which can often be seen in the square opposite the Cathedral on Sunday mornings. "Experiencing" the culture is going to be difficult because it's everywhere and nowhere, and you can't go somewhere within Barcelona and expect to see a segregated, uniquely Catalan atmosphere. Some places are "very Catalan", such as the Palau de la Música Catalana, an incredible modernista building. Concerts and events there are very much loved by Catalans and it's well worth going to one. There's a lot of good contemporary Catalan theatre at the Romea, Mercat de les Flors and the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya. But if the show is in Catalan (90% likely) it would be a struggle to understand - however, it might still be worthwhile to see a show because the quality is very high. Also, the Teatre del Liceu is a bastion of Catalan high culture and might be what you're looking for. But it's not earthy or rustic - it's very grand and it's all about opera.

Barcelona is a gastronomic powerhouse, and there is food for every taste and budget. There are restaurants that take pride in their Catalan identity, such as Can Culleretes (the oldest in the city, and a bit basic, but fun), and Les Set Portes (classic Catalan food in a grand environment, a great experience). I'm a huge fan of La Vinateria del Call near Plaça Sant Jaume - it's very authentic and run by passionate Catalans and the wine list is tremendous, as are the cheeses. Possibly the most famous self-consciously Catalan restaurant is Cal Pep, a place which is a Mecca for foodies, and is deeply Catalan. People rave about it on foodie talkboards like eGullet. But for me, perhaps the most mind-blowing and definitely contemporary Catalan experience is to be had at Quimet & Quimet in the Poble Sec area: Quimet serves the most incredible food to standing-up customers only. If you want to experience something daring and authentic and creative and utterly delectable, go to Quimet (I modestly offer some of my own photos here). Kaiku is also a very fashionable, "creative Catalan" place in a fabulous location, on the seafront in the Barceloneta. It's very difficult to get a table, but it's super-trendy and the seafood and fish are really excellent. Remember, with restaurants it's important that you need to eat at times you're not accustomed to. Lunch would be at about 2pm, and dinner at 10pm. But if you try for tables at 1.30pm or 9.30pm you've got a better chance of getting one. Any earlier than these times and you'll be sitting next to another clueless tourist.

Nothing is more powerfully political and Catalan than a match at the Camp Nou - the huge stadium of Barcelona Football Club. If you're in the city on a Champions League night (next games in Barcelona: Wed April 9 against Schalke 04, and if they win that round, Wed April 23 against either Roma or Manchester United) or on a League night (next games Sun March 23 against Valladolid, Sun April 6 against Getafe, Sun April 20 against Espanyol and Sun May 4 against Valencia) you should definitely go. You can get tickets from any yellow "La Caixa" machine - there's a virtual map of the stadium and you pick the seating section you want on the screen.
Ricard Giner i Sariola

One of the best ways to enjoy Catalan culture if you are here for a short stay is to attend some of the weird and wonderful festivals, particularly those outside of Barcelona. To plan your trip in advance go to www.festes.org (a Catalan language website) or when in Barcelona go to the Palau Robert - the main tourist office.

For traditional Catalan food at reasonable prices, it's best to get out of Barcelona - Vilafranca del Penedes, Girona, Vilanova i la Geltru, Vic - all these towns are worth visiting in their own right and are very Catalan. Vilafranca for wine tasting, Girona for wild mushrooms, beef and truffles, Vilanova for the freshest fish and Vic for pork, sausages and hearty dishes.
Duncan

Although the Catalans generally speak Catalan to each other, Spanish is widely used throughout the city with many signs and menus in both (and many in English too). Your rusty Spanish will be appreciated and helpful in getting a bit more out of your visit, so you need not worry about the Catalan language unless you travel way outside Barcelona itself.

The tourist trails are well documented and obvious - you can find them easily. For a bit of real Barca head up into Gracia district just north of Eixample (the gridded bit). Really pleasant area complete with tons of small interesting shops, cafes, and squares. Easy and fun to get lost in. Shops stay open till about 8pm, so if you go up in late afternoon, you can look around, watch people coming back to their homes, go for a beer and grab a bite - you'll see one facet of how people live in the city at least. It's very local and gives a real feel for Barcelona. Gran Festa de Gracia in August is brilliant - a street party with music, food, street dining and general fiesta-ing on a grand scale.

Check out St Antoni Mercat on a Saturday morning. It's only ever worth checking markets out in the morning, it's a great building and less tourist-orientated then the wonderful Boqueria, and thre are plenty of cafe stalls in there too. On Sundays the food market is closed but outside they sell old books, stamps, magazine and games until 2pm. It's pretty local and interesting (though much is tatty).
Con

In the touristy areas traditional Catalan culture is the exception rather than the rule - though you can find it if you know where to look. As with all large modern cities, Barcelona prides itself on its multiculturalism, so 'traditional' culture is relegated to the provinces.

Food-wise, your best bet is probably the Born area (by Santa Maria del Mar), where you can find restaurants such as Origens 99'9%, serving a modern version of traditional Catalan cuisine, or 'La Vinya del Senyor', a more up-market 'tapas' place. In both of these, waiters speak Catalan - a rarity! Worth visiting (if you're staying in an apartment) is 'La Botifarreria', a butchers' specialising in Catalan sausages. A more classic option is Can
Culleretes, reputedly the oldest restaurant in Barcelona.

My advice would be to avoid 'Els Quatre Gats' and 'Set Portes', as well as just about anywhere that offers 'paella'. A small exception can be made for a couple of places in Barceloneta, such as Can Majó, which cater for many local families over the weekend.

Culture-wise, as long as you avoid Mexican sombreros and flamenco 'tablaos', more or less everything that is left is Catalan. For a more 'ethnographic' experience, it may be worth visiting the Catalan History Museum and taking the bus to the monastery in Montserrat (though you may need a local to explain why).
Ramon

In some way to search for Catalan culture in Barcelona is like searching for English culture in London: It is everywhere and at the same time it is the worst place to find it. I would find it a bit strange to go to the capital of England in the search for Englishness because I think that the best part of London is its mix. So I do not understand that someone wants to come to the capital of Catalonia in search only of what is more Catalan.

Nevertheless if you want to experience the Catalan language and culture then I advise you to go to the villages (Sitges or Cadaqués, for example).
Josehp

I lived in Barcelona from 1986 to 1994 and now live in the town of Girona, so my opinion about Barcelona is also a bit of an outsider’s one. What everyone seems to miss is that in the last ten years there has been massive immigration into Spain - don’t expect to be served in a restaurant or hotel by anyone speaking Catalan, - there are many South Americans or eastern Europeans (not to mention several thousand Brits living in the city). Barcelona has never been very ‘authentic Catalan’ anyway, and now is even less so, but it’s not very Spanish either, it just has its own character. You won’t hear much Catalan on the streets in the centre of town (and if you do, it would only make the rest of Catalonia grimace on hearing their appalling urban accent!). So enjoy Barcelona for what it is - a great, modern, vibrant city that doesn’t really give a toss for tradition.

Go to the footy rather than looking for music and dance. If you must, here’s a website all about the sardana, strangely revered by folklorists. From a local point of view its aficionados are the Catalan equivalent of trainspotters, obsessive and somewhat sad.

What is definitely not Catalan: bull fighting and flamenco dancing, although it has to be said that part of the local population is also into these activities (also considered rather sad).

And if you really want Catalan, get out and about, especially to the hinterland away from the industrial belt around Barcelona: Girona, Olot, Priorat etc.
Robert Hunter

What you call Spanish culture is up for debate anyway, as Spain is a country full of different regional cultures. Barcelona is 50/50 Catalan and Spanish. If you want to go somewhere more Catalan, go to Girona or any of the villages on the journey inland from the Costa Brava or the Pyrenees. There are many amazing and unique Catalan villages with 12th century castles, such as Rupit or anywhere in La Garrotxa.

If you have some rusty A-level Spanish, you’ll probably be able to read some basic stuff, but not understand spoken more than Hola y Gracies/Merci, Adeu. But then again, you probably won’t understand the Spaniards either.

Like any big European city nowadays, many of the waiters and shop assistants in Barcelona are not Catalan or Spanish. A lot of the bar staff are Italian or Latin American. They’ll speak basic English, but once you get to the small villages they’ll understand Castellano (but probably answer back in Catalan). Like anywhere in Spain, if you want good food look for the places that don’t display the menu in English. Bona sort!
Joe

Can anyone suggest a reasonably priced holiday hideout to escape from the forthcoming two weeks of Olympic boredom? I have no interest in sport or the results but would like access to some English speaking TV for the news and other non-sporty programmes. The rest of my time would be taken up with reading or writing and ingratiating myself with like-minded individuals. Is there such a place and, if so, where is it, or is it some well-kept secret? Of course, it may be that I am a miserable, lazy unpatriotic old woman!
Christine Layton

If you're looking for somewhere within the UK, head for Wiltshire. As well as having the option of hopping over to Somerset for some Austen-style literary inspiration in Bath, there are numerous beautiful nearby villages like Laycock, Box and Corsham, where you can wander along pretty streets or relax with a good book under a tree on a sunny day. If you're wanting to head abroad, and you still want access to English-language television, your best bet is most likely a four- or five-star accommodation in a biggish city, as these are most likely to have satellite channels so you can access news and other programmes. Best of luck escaping the sports madness!
PHarrison

Why don’t you consider an organized writing holiday? These often take place in beautifully secluded areas so you’ll really feel like you’ve got away from it all and, given that other people will probably have enrolled on the course seeking the same things as you, you’ll be with the very definition of ‘like-minded indivuduals’. My sister went on one a few years back and she’s really got the bug. She told me about this creative writing course taking place in a yoga retreat in the south of France during the Olympics. Of course, you might not be able to satisfy your need for English-language TV here so, if you really are intent on keeping a channel of communication open to the outside world, here’s another one I’ve found, a screenwriting course held in Wales, also running during the accursed Olympics.
Eddie


March 7:

We are a married couple (aged 66 and 67) looking for multi-trip health insurance worldwide. We're not interested in expensive travel comprehensive - just health and personal accident. We're hoping to do a Canada/USA coast to coast road trip on a limited budget - no bungee jumping, but maybe some white water rafting. We did the trip 30 years ago and want to recover our lost middle-age. Also, any tips on budget car or van hire are welcome.
Anthony Tallack

Join AAA which gives you State by State guide books. You can buy insurance through them and also get free towing and other services. (www.aaa.com). They have a 20% discount on car hire and many hotels (sometimes you need one). Buy a Golden Eagle Passport for $65 which gives access to all US National Parks and more, for every family member in a vehicle. Plenty of camping at amazing spots. Buy through AAA or at www.national parks.org ((888) 467-2757). There’s great river rafting from Oregon to the Carolinas (maybe there is a Rough Guide available). By the way, 67 is still middle-aged! Finally, visit college towns, far more civilized.
Paul

My boyfriend and myself travelled around the United States for six months last year and we found it much cheaper to buy a small RV and then sell it at the end. It is slightly more trouble but we managed to find a dealer online and they helped us with all the relevant registration required when we arrived. Obviously be careful but if you can spare a few days at the start and end of your trip to look for a vehicle you will end up saving a fortune. Even with the vehicle insurance we had to take out a full year policy but got six months refunded when we left (we paid about £300 for the whole year for two people driving a nine-tonne RV). For travel insurance we went with Endsleigh and they were very reasonable and flexible (you can extend your policy or add just a few days or sports cover).
Rhiannon Jones

If your trip to the US and Canada is for several months, investigate the possibility of buying a used vehicle and then re-selling prior to returning home. The cost of insurance will be much lower, and if you buy at a reasonable price, the value of the vehicle at the end of the trip will hopefully not have dropped too much. I have done this with a motorhome, and saved a small fortune.
Kevin Fletcher

Don't go to the States, keep to Canada. The travel insurance would be cheaper and the people are very friendly.
Mark


My partner and I are currently expecting our first child. Rather than stay in England for its first year, we have decided to go off in a camper van around Europe. We leave in summer and plan to come back in spring 09. Exciting as this sounds, it also feels quite daunting, particularly as we will be away over winter. From reading the camping/caravanning books it would seem that Spain has the most sites open during winter - but we would prefer as much as possible to park our camper in smaller, more personal sites. Does anyone have any tips on places to camp/park a camper van, especially during the winter months, in southern Europe? Or good places to wild camp?
Alice, Matt and Crazy Horse

Southern Portugal around Portimao and Lagos is the answer. Warm enough, lots of English spoken, good healthcare if needed, child friendly, cheaper than Spain, good food, great beaches and cheap flights back to the UK if needed from Faro. I spent six months driving a camper round Portugal before finally settling here and had no problems whatsoever. In the winter there seems no need for campsites and you see lots of campers parked up together in carparks although I'd advise against parking up alone overnight on a remote beach near the larger towns. Look at this campsite website.
Trevor Holden

We did the same trip a couple of years ago and found loads of good spots along the way, albeit without a baby. My advice would be to wild camp as much as possible. In France it seems that wild camping is the norm. There are plenty of great spots on the Cotes Sauvage. We started in Soulac Sur Mer and headed south to Montallivet Les Bains, grabbed some good food and wine from the excellent daily farmers' market and wild camped on the lakes a little further south for a couple of days. The beaches, the food, the wine and the people in this area are fantastic so my first advice would be to stop there.

The other wild camping spots that we really enjoyed were around the south of Portugal where the beaches and seafood are amazing - from the south-western Atlantic coast and through the Algarve. Places like Sagres and even the more touristy Lagos have some fantastic surrounding beaches which are perfect for wild camping. These parts are very hot in the summer so being close to the sea is a must. This is really only possible if you are not in a camping ground as they tend to be tucked away further away from the coast.

In Spain the pick of the wild camping offerings is on the Costa de la Luz. Just choose a spot, park up and settle in. Nobody hassles campers in these parts. Wild camping is accepted and unpoliced. Suggestions: Zhara des los Atunes, Bolonia, Tarifa. Immediately to the west of Tarifa town there is a large sand car park that the local travellers call the landing strip (travellers tend to get stuck here, sometimes for years, living out of their vans). It is almost exclusively used by campers but not too heavily laden with people. We found ourselves settling in around these parts for a good few weeks. If you are into more active pursuits then Tarifa is an excellent spot, being a mecca for wind and kite surfing. If not the spectacle will suffice. The tapas bars in town are fantastic as well. Try El Frances for great local tapas; this is where the locals convene daily. They are a friendly bunch and if you are lucky will befriend you and share the best of local knowledge which, as any traveller knows, is the most valuable of all travel guidance.
Charlie Dunlop

We have been around Europe in our camper van during the last two years. I remember a -15-degree night somewhere in the middle of Sweden last winter. It was cold. Our way to look out for simpler sites with fewer 'seasonals' and crappy hamburger joints was to Google all 'ecocamping' sites, looking out for sites with eco food, simpler facilities and eco-type certifications. Our experience has been that the people who want to run such sites usually do it based on ideology or romantic notions of meeting like-minded people. To us, this has been a great success. To prepare for the coldest nights you might look out for sites that provide electricity, then you can use a heater. We do not ourselves most of the time, but to heat a small car is not difficult. Our last trip was close to Norway's great Hardanger glacier where we slept on a gravel road at an altitude of 1100 metres. No problem with heat when there are two of you.
Dori

When I was pregnant, my partner and I decided to use his six months' paternity leave to see parts of the world that we had not yet visited. Four months after our daughter was born we went on a road trip across the US and Mexico down to Guatemala in a VW camper van. It was brilliant! And now that we are expecting our second child we plan to do something similar.

We travelled over the winter as well, but were already in the southern US by December and in Mexico for most of January and February. We travelled a maximum of 100 miles a day and frequently spent a week in the same place. The most thrilling part of it all was that as a first-time mother, rather than being stuck at home, I had a new experience every day, and incredible support from the people we met. In restaurants in Mexico and Guatemala, our daughter was passed from waitress to waitress while we ate dinner, and in the afternoon my partner and I took turns going to Spanish lessons while the other stayed with the baby. Our daughter loved the attention, and is now a very sociable toddler keen to interact with nearly everyone. Having the van gave us such freedom as well. We could cook as we wanted and needed for our daughter and were able to keep to the kind of nap routine we would have had at home. We realised that since our daughter was not yet walking this was an opportunity to grab at! Good luck!
Caitlin

There are many websites which will give information from enthusiasts.
They are:
motorhomefun
mmmonline
motorhomefacts
ukcampsite
Motorhomefacts is the biggest with more than 20,000 members. The first six enquiries are free - after that the subscription is £10 per annum. Cheaper
than a magazine subscription and responses from all of these sites is a lot faster. Happy trails!
Will Redfearn

I recommend the ECEAT organisation. They produce guidebooks listing small and not-very-commercial farms and campsites. We have used a number of their recommendations, from the north of the Netherlands down to southern Spain and have always been delighted (wIth the added bonus of feeling eco-friendly as you do so).
Mick Symonds

We drove down to Calpe a few years ago with our two young children. Not as young as yours will be, but it's definitely the best thing in the world to do with kids. I can recommend one campsite on the Ebro delta, it's remote, it's on a beach and we were the only English visitors to the site, the rest were Spanish or Dutch families. The website is campingeucaliptus.com and is in Spanish only. I don’t know if they’re open over winter but if you want remote, small and Spanish then this is one to try.
Adam Hayes

I have a 65 VW microbus and since ‘94 have toured France extensively with my wife and newborn baby. We have been virtually every year since - the baby is now 14 and my son is 12. Other than the fitting of a proper safety seat suitable for the baby up to six months, I would say it’s all very straightforward and doable as long as you have the ability to boil up water and provide safe travel. To be honest, I’d be more concerned with travelling for that amount of time without decent Euro assistance in case of breakdown and good medical cover (remember to take the baby’s NHS card). Bon voyage!
Ivan Mee

Wow! What an adventurous family! As a mother of two (a two-year-old and a four-year-old) who started her camper van experiences when our first boy was around five months, I must say that I'm in awe at your courage: two adventures in one! Thinking back to the first few months - dirty baby clothes drying everywhere - I must say that I wouldn't have had that kind of courage. When I was heavily pregnant with our second son, we went around Sardinia in the winter and it was BITTERLY cold. My two-year-old was terribly ill with the flu, yet insisted on getting some sand-castle making in the most tremendous gales, on the most amazing beaches! It was wonderfully deserted, but too cold to venture out, and being stuck inside a tiny camper van with a two-year-old is well, unfortunate! He had serious breathing trouble on the ferry home, with no meds onboard, so I recommend having all necessary meds with you, including cortisone, even if you only trust homeopathy. The air is really dry and stuffy with the heating on, so it's bad for tiny tots with the snuffles. There are no campsites open in Sardinia in the winter, but I recommend travelling around the coast and inland too - wild camping anywhere you like with a camper van, if the worst comes to the worst, you just get told to move on (like we were, when we were woken by the market setting up around us!).

Summer on the other hand (my second child was two months old) is a bit too hot, a bit too full of mosquitoes in certain areas, so you may want to head for the mountains, or Atlantic coast of France. Though hot in the summer, Corsica is wonderful too for wild camping, and we enjoyed it thoroughly, despite being warned by Gendarmes that we would no doubt get robbed at gunpoint. Greece is very welcoming and easygoing. Camper vans are generally very well catered-for in France (Camargue, Provence).

As a rule of thumb, I'd recommend looking for family-run agriturismi in Italy, or gites in France, that cater for B&B customers - they are likely to let you use their facilities and are usually in nice rural areas. In the alpine regions near where I live in Turin, there are lots of mountain areas where you can simply camp in nature, without constraints. The only problem you're left facing then is where to empty the sewage, where to get electricity to power your fridge, etc.
Gaea

Why stuff around with a year in a camper van in Europe - get on a plane, fly to Australia, pick up a camper from a bunch of backpackers leaving and spend the year cruising the beautiful east coast of Oz. When it’s get cold in the southern states, just fill up the gas tank and head for Queensland - plenty of campsites and great places to visit - and did I say they understand English (well sort of) and you can get some great mileage out discussing the last two rugby world cups :-) The only downside it that you will like it so much you won't want to go home! Plus, if you are young enough you can get a work visa to pick up casual work along the way if needed.
Jerry

We packed up in 2001 when our daughter was 18 months old and, as an old hand at travelling, thought it would be a breeze. I hadn’t considered the past seven sedentary years in London and the contents of a house to move into a small VW camper van and tent. We left in October bulging and overloaded only to be plagued by the kind of weather you don’t want to be stuck in a small van/tent with a toddler. Maybe the portents were there as we spent the first night at a friend’s house while our daughter was horribly ill, camping out in his kitchen. Doing it at a younger age would have been much better and maybe our daughter wouldn’t have developed the road sickness that allowed her to throw up on my partner after many legs of the trip. We travelled to some beautiful places in Europe, seen briefly before the dark clouds gathered and forced us ever further south into Spain, where six years later, we remain.

As we entered Spain in late autumn and headed south through various mainstream campsites we seemed to be the only people under 60 in these places. We met a great bunch of old-age travellers, people like us who’d sold up and put everything into hitting the road, with a new lease of life in their retirement years. There were tales of traveller camps in southern Portugal and rural Spain, where aspirin was probably the strongest narcotic that was peddled, and most drove enormous ‘Hymer’ mobile homes, picking up Coronation Street from their satellite dishes. When we pulled into one place in Murcia, a couple in an original 60s VW combi practically glued themselves to us as we were also the first people under retirement age they had seen for some time. There’s a great movement going on – an old age revolution on the roads of Spain every winter, although I’m sure there are plenty of younger people on the road too, if you can find them. We did the campsites so that we had the facilities we needed with a little one, but I would rather the van had been more self-contained so we could be off the beaten track more. Pack less, do more and enjoy.
Phil Speirs

Out of season camping isn't too difficult if you know where to look, my wife and I managed for four months in 2005 with no real trouble. There are places called 'Aires de Service' in France (and Italy) where camper vans can stay overnight for little or no money. The facilities vary from nothing at all (being a carpark) to having toilets, fresh water and somewhere for grey-water. There is a book of Aires de Service locations available in most French service stations. It's worth noting that these places were introduced to prevent camper vans from inundating picturesque locations, so if there is one locally it ought to be used.

Equally, wild camping (of a sort) is by no means frowned upon; we stopped in ski areas and high mountain car parks in the Pyrenees, the Alps and throughout Italy. In Sardinia and Corsica we simply asked at coastal hotels if we could use the corner of their carpark. The golden rule is simply to ask someone who looks like they might be in charge.

Finally, do not use the RAC or AA for breakdown cover, they may only cover you up to 31 days at a time, and they often charge hundreds for the pleasure. A German company called ADAC (www.adac.de) offer full Europe-wide breakdown cover for about 80-90 Euros (for a couple), this covers the UK also. Our radiator exploded in Sardinia and during the four days it took to find the parts and fix it, we had a hire car and a generous hotel budget, which is nice if you've been sleeping in a camper for months!
Tom Vincent


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