Apple CEO Tim Cook is banking on sales of iPhones in China to help make up for slowing growth in other regions.Credit: Getty Images
I AM HOLIDAYING IN FRANCE AND ITALY IN OCTOBER. I HAVE AN IPHONE 4 AND PROPOSE TO PURCHASE A PREPAID SIM CARD IN ITALY. IS THAT A SIMPLE PROCESS? DO I SIMPLY REPLACE THE CURRENT SIM CARD WITH THE PURCHASED ONE? WILL THERE BE A NEW NUMBER FOR THE PHONE, AND DO I RETAIN CONTACTS ETC? I ALSO USE AN IPAD, DO I REPEAT THE SAME PROCESS WITH THAT SIM?
S. APPEL, BEAUMARIS
Purchasing a prepaid SIM card in Italy is relatively easy. Although there is no facility for doing this for arriving passengers at Fiumicino Airport you can find TIM outlets all over the city and they offer a good deal on prepaid SIM cards. If you take a train into the city you can also find a TIM outlet on the upper level of Rome's Termini Station. The Italian government requires proof of identity when you buy a SIM card there and your passport will do the job.
str19-tripo US National Parks Service Natchez Trace Parkway Yellow wildflowers at the Gordon House site
Your prepaid SIM card will not work in France, you'll need to buy another card when you get there.
Simply slip your new SIM card into the slot in your iPhone and you're away. A paperclip is all you need to pop out your current SIM card since you've probably lost the drawer-release tool that comes with your iPhone, mine went years ago. Staff in the store will usually do this for you.
You will have a new number and your contacts are stored on your phone rather than on your current SIM, so they will be available when you switch to another SIM card. Same goes for messages, apps and any other information you have on your phone.
Boutique Maille, Rue de la Liberte, Dijon, France.
You can also install a new SIM card for your iPad, but it might be simpler to tether your iPad to your iPhone with the new SIM card installed. Go to Settings on your iPhone, find "Cellular", tap "Personal Hotspot" and you will get a code to link your two devices, which allows you to use your iPad to access the internet via your iPhone, exactly as if it had a SIM card installed. You could carry out this tethering process before you depart, the link is permanent until disengaged.
WE ARE A COUPLE IN OUR LATE 60S PLANNING TO DRIVE TO WASHINGTON D.C. IN MAY 2016. WE'D LIKE TO DRIVE THROUGH AT LEAST ONE NATIONAL PARK ALONG THE WAY. WE THOUGHT WE MIGHT DRIVE FROM NASHVILLE TO WASHINGTON. COULD YOU ADVISE ON THIS ROUTE, SUCH AS WHERE TO SPEND NIGHTS, THINGS TO SEE? WE HAVE 5-10 DAYS, AND MORE IF NEEDED.
M. TEO, OATLEY
Even five days is quite long to devote to the 1070 kilometre drive between Nashville and the national capital. Since you seem to have plenty of time in hand, and if scenery is a priority, you could consider a longer drive along the Natchez Trace Parkway. This is a classic, ambling drive along 715 kilometres of quiet road that takes you through some of the loveliest landscapes in the American south between Natchez in southern Mississippi and Nashville. As well as a beautiful drive, the parkway is one of the touchstones of U.S. history, a natural corridor through the Old Southwest as it was known at the time, used by Indian tribes and pioneers and designated as a postal route as early as 1801. You can find plenty of information to help plan your itinerary on the Natchez Trace Parkway website http://www.scenictrace.com [scenictrace.com]. The site also has a handy Visitors Guide available for download.
If you wanted to extend your trip even more and sample another great American city you could fly into New Orleans, spend a couple of days there then pick up a hire car and start driving north to Natchez.
Four nights is a sensible minimum for driving the Natchez Trace. If that's too long, you might revert to your Nashville-Washington D.C. plan and consider the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park, which runs for 170 kilometres along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Skyline Drive involves just a slight detour of Highway 81, the main route you'd be taking between Nashville and Washington D.C. The Skyline Drive website http://www.visitskylinedrive.org [visitskylinedrive.org] has plenty of information on the route and places of interest along the way.
NEXT JUNE I WILL BE IN PARIS FOR A WEEK AND I WAS THINKING OF STAYING THREE NIGHTS IN THE MARAIS AREA THEN TRAVELLING TO LYON OR DIJON FOR TWO NIGHTS THEN BACK TO PARIS FOR TWO NIGHTS IN A DIFFERENT AREA. GOOD PLAN?
C. MONAHAN, MELBOURNE
Dijon is a lot smaller than Lyon and if you have only a couple of nights to spare it's far more manageable. Also, since Dijon is pocket-sized, easily walkable and packed with rustic charm it makes a fine contrast with the big-city glamour and dash of Paris.
Rather than putting Dijon in the middle of two bites at Paris, I'd be inclined to spend five nights in a single location in Paris, then travel to Dijon and return to Paris only for your flight out. Packing up and getting yourself to a different hotel or apartment is a tedious business that saps time and energy from the more appealing aspects of travel, such as lounging about in cafes. The Marais is a fine address but you pay a premium for staying in this chic and artsy quarter. Go just to the north to the Republique area and you'll pay less, with cool in abundance.
CONVERSATION OVER TO YOU…
The question was "The Uber ride-share service has changed the way I travel and in cities where it's available I'm never using taxis again. How about you?"
P. Nicholson writes "I've used Uber ride sharing a few times in Europe and it's been great, I really like the ability to see how far away your car is when you book and track your ride as it approaches. Prices throughout European cities seem to be better than using taxis, especially in London. It's a big win for travellers but I fear for the service now that taxi drivers are mounting successful campaigns against it in places like Paris."
From J. Franklin, "In parts of the world where taxi fares are artificially inflated because they are a lucrative investment for the plate owner – Sydney take note – Uber provides a wonderful alternative at a highly competitive price. I now pay around $30 to get to Sydney Airport from home, in a taxi the cost is usually $45. And Uber vehicles are cleaner and better maintained."
C. Laffin writes "As a solo female traveller I feel very secure using Uber even in places like New Delhi since both I and Uber know exactly who is picking me up, where I'm going and when. If anything untoward were to happen, there's a cookie-crumb trail every step along the way, and the driver knows it. Having said that I've never experienced anything less than polite and courteous service from Uber drivers."
Next question: Got a favourite travel book, whether it's Gulliver's Travels or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?
Send response to tripologist@fairfaxmedia.com.au. The best response will win a Lonely Planet guidebook.
SEND US YOUR TRAVEL QUESTIONS
Include your name and your suburb or town and send it to tripologist@fairfaxmedia.com.au All published questions will win a Lonely Planet guidebook.
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