Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

QUESTION
I am about to make a plan for a trip to the Doiran military cemetery, which lies in the northern Greece. My great-grandfather is buried in this cemetery. Me and my wife is planning to fly to Thessaloniki and then hire a car there. At Thessaloniki we plan for a short stay, may be only a couple of days, but we wish to enjoy a relaxing end of the trip to somewhere else in the region.
– Laura Vickers, Sutton Coldfield

ANSWER
Better visit Greece in the months of May, June, September or October. These are the best time to visit Greece. At this time the weather of Greece is warm. From Thessaloniki, about three hours of drive lies superb and little-developed beaches of the Sithonian Peninsula.

You can stay somewhere between the roads Sarti and Panagia. From this place you can be staring straight at the Athos Peninsula. The Athos Peninsula is a World Heritage Site now and it is dominated by 20 working monasteries. It is a wonderful and pleasant site.

Thessaloniki - Greece

Oops! Only male visitors are allowed and that too only 10 and non-Orthodox each day. Of course permits is required to be arranged, sometimes more than six months in advance.

Well, if beaches are not your taste then consider driving south and west of Thessaloniki to a place called Litochoro. It is in the shadow of Mount Olympus, the highest peak Greece.

If you walk or climb on it, you will enjoy a lot. If not, even then it is a relaxing place for a few days. There are several ancient sites close to it. Few miles out of Thessaloniki is Pella. This place is the birthplace of Alexander the Great and it was also home to some of the wonderful mosaics. If you simply stroll around the town you may discover some.

QUESTION
Hi, I want to know the differences between the gap-year schemes in Australia and New Zealand. Is it that one longer than the other and what is the age limit for it?
– James Lydeard, by email

ANSWER
Both the place operates Working Holiday Visa schemes. These visa schemes are available between the ages group of 18 and 30.

Let us first talk about the Australian visa. It allows traveler to stay in Australia for a maximum period of one year. As of now the visa costs A$230 (about £120). Travelers can easily work there for up to half the year with each employer. Employees in industries such as farming, fishing or construction can apply second year renewal of the visa.

The basic differences between the Australia and New Zealand visas are that the NZ visa is available for 12 or 23 months and it costs only NZ$120 (about £50). Moreover, the New Zealand visa can be applied for once you are in NZ. In the case of Australian visa, travelers must apply for it from outside Australia.

Selinunte in Sicily, Italy

QUESTION
Me and my wife are planning for a sightseeing tour to Italy. Till now I did not find any company providing us what we are looking for and we would definitely appreciate your help.

What we plan is to spend some, say, 4 to 6 weeks touring Italy and the major offshore central Mediterranean islands such as Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica. From there after 6 weeks, may be, we would like to depart in mid-April next year, though we are flexible here.

Now what we need is that our starting and finishing point should be in the southern France. Here we live part of the year. Again we are flexible here. The options that we have are:

(01) To drive to the places and organise hotels and ferries ourselves.
(02) To rely on the public transport like trains, boats and planes.
(03) To keep on looking for a travel company that could organise our whole trip as planned.
(04) To find such travel company that can provide us a series of inter-inked trips.

– Tom Craven, by email

ANSWER
Keeping in mind the superb public transport, I would suggest you both to undertaking this journey mainly by train, bus and ferry. This will first of all save your money on either car hire or getting to Italy in the first place and you won’t have to find somewhere where you can leave your car after you are done with the stressful part of driving into big cities. Oh yes, if you nee a car for exploring some remote areas then you can easily hire a car for a few days from major cities.

The valuable suggestion is that an InterRail pass allows unlimited travel for 8 days within a month and it costs only £199 for second class and for the first class it const not more than £275. The passes are available from Rail Europe. Keep in mind that if you are planning for visiting fewer places and that too for longer then you may enjoy having point-to-point tickets in advance at around same price.

InterRail, Europe

On ferries there are some discounts with this pass. Well, on routes like Reggio Calabria to Messina (Sicily) and Trapani (Sicily) to Cagliari (Sardinia) there are no discounts.

Now let me come back to the route. Start with taking a train from your home in southern France to Genoa, Venice or Trieste or else you can hop on a flight from the UK. There are easily available budget carriers for all these cities.

Now, after this head south down the mainland. Next travel up through Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica and then catch a ferry to Marseille, Toulon or Nice from the north of the island.

ALSO READ
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