Tips and advice: The Tripologist

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This was published 7 years ago

Tips and advice: The Tripologist

By Michael Gebicki
Italy's Cinque Terre.

Italy's Cinque Terre.Credit: Alamy

WE TWO FRIENDS ARE TRAVELLING THROUGH NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ITALY FOR FOUR WEEKS IN OCTOBER, STAYING TWO NIGHTS IN TURIN ON THE WAY TO THE CINQUE TERRE. IS THE TRUFFLE FESTIVAL IN ALBA A MUST-SEE OR IS IT SO CROWDED THAT WE SHOULD AVOID IT? SHOULD WE TAKE A WINE TOUR? IS THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM AN ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE OR SHOULD WE HIRE A CAR TO DRIVE THROUGH PIEDMONT, MAYBE VISIT NEIVE ON OUR WAY TO THE CINQUE TERRE?

B. HODGSON, THE BLUE MOUNTAINS

Italy has several truffle festivals and Alba's white truffle festival is one of the best. It's been going for more than 80 years and it's busy but still well worthwhile. In Italy everyone is a gourmand, it's in the genes but they're not at all pretentious about it. You'll find lots of other Piedmontese regional dishes as well, and autumn is a spectacularly wonderful time to be in Italy with an appetite. A wine tour from Turin would most likely take you through the Barolo region where the wines must be grown on hillsides and it's glorious, especially when autumn brings a blush to the landscape. However from your itinerary, with just one full day in Turin, it looks like you'll have to choose between a wine tour and a day in Turin. Short of going to Egypt, the city's Egyptian Museum is about as good as it gets so that's a definite half-day, and you'll probably want to leave time to take in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, home of the Shroud of Turin.

Kaaawa, Beach, Windward, Oahu, Hawaii.

Kaaawa, Beach, Windward, Oahu, Hawaii.Credit: Alamy

After your two nights in Turin you could then hire a car and drive to the Cinque Terre via Neive, which is a little jewel, and Alba and then on to the Cinque Terre. Total time behind the wheel should be slightly under four hours but the truffle festival is weekends only so it might not fit into your busy itinerary. If it does you'll have a full day but a happy one.

Among other lessons, Italy teaches you the value of not stressing overly much. You can't do everything but it all works out OK. Smile and be grateful for whatever life and Italy deliver to your plate.

MY HUSBAND AND I ARE TRAVELLING TO HAWAII IN DECEMBER WITH OUR FOUR ADULT CHILDREN. WE WILL SPEND A WEEK ON THE BIG ISLAND AND ANOTHER WEEK ON A OAHU. I'D LIKE TO FIND A MORE TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN HOLIDAY HOUSE TO RENT IN AN AREA THAT WILL MAKE A GOOD BASE FOR DAY TRIPS BUT ALSO PROVIDE SOME NIGHTLIFE IF WE WANT TO GO OUT FOR DINNER. WE ARE KEEN TO BE NEAR A BEACH. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Acrocorinth, Corinth, Pelopponese, Greece.

Acrocorinth, Corinth, Pelopponese, Greece.Credit: Alamy

D. CUNNINGHAM, LANE COVE

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WE ARE A GROUP OF SEVEN FRIENDS AGED 50 TO 65. IN OCTOBER WE ARE PLANNING TO SPEND THREE NIGHTS IN ATHENS AND THEN 10 ON SANTORINI. WE WERE PLANNING THREE DAYS IN ISTANBUL BUT FEEL IT MIGHT BE BETTER TO SPEND THAT TIME IN ANOTHER PART OF GREECE, PERHAPS THE PELOPONNESE. WOULD IT BE BEST TO HIRE A MINIBUS AND DRIVE OURSELVES OR IS THERE A BETTER OPTION? WE ARE ALSO CONSIDERING CYPRUS. IS THAT RELATIVELY SAFE?

L. MACFARLANE, EPPING

The Peloponnese is packed with wonders from the ancient world – the Theatre at Epidaurus, Messini, Mystras, once known as Sparta, Mycenae, Corinth and Olympia, original home to the Olympic Games to name just a handful. Driving yourself around would work but for seven with luggage you're probably going to need two vehicles. Even something like a VW Caravelle is not going to cope with that number. Three days is a little short. You'd be better off reducing your time in Santorini, perhaps to a week, and giving yourselves more time on the Peloponnese.

With seven days on Santorini you might take in some of the other Cycladic Islands. Just to the north is Naxos, with its warren of streets seeping through the medieval town to the Venetian fortress. By the standards of the Greek islands the terraced interior of Naxos is an oasis, lushly watered and quilted with olive groves, vineyards and giant fig trees so ancient that they have burst open, and provided the villages with a convenient niche in which to install roadside shrines. Between the two islands is Ios, where Homer came to die, and possibly the most serene and likeable small island in the Aegean.

Nothing wrong with Cyprus, and you need have no concerns about safety, but unless some of your group have a connection with the island the Peloponnese would be a more rewarding experience.

For accommodation, take a look at Jacoline's Small Hotels in Greece smallhotelsingreece.com.

CONVERSATION OVER TO YOU…

The question was "A travel advisory on the Smartraveller website can have implications for your travel insurance. Do you consult Smartraveller when you venture overseas?"

R. Silber writes "Sorry to say we never consult Smartraveller, we prefer reading Lonely Planet guides and TripAdvisor to prepare for our next adventure! This year we're planning to visit Moscow, St Petersburg, Tel Aviv and Istanbul via Qatar for a change."

From I Baker, "I take a look at the Smartraveller site because I understand it could affect my travel insurance if I end up in a country or an area where Smartraveller advises against travel. However I find their travel advisories err vastly on the side of caution. I am sure there are good reasons for that – they don't want to be putting Australians in harm's way, or rescuing them from dangerous situations – but I take their advice and qualify it with my own experience.

For example I would have no hesitation going to Istanbul, where Smartraveller advises "reconsider your need to travel". Why is there no similar warning for Paris, which has been subject to more frequent and more lethal terrorist attacks in the very recent past?"

A. Campbell writes "Smartraveller has an "Exercise a high degree of caution" warning that applies to most of Nepal and India and that's a very blunt tool. In Nepal the main danger is from natural disasters, earthquakes and avalanches, yet there's nothing on the website to put this into perspective. In India the main danger is probably getting sick, but again nothing to spell this out on the site. It needs more clarity if it's to be at all useful, and that's why all but a very few travellers ignore Smartraveller."

Next question: Ever taken a walking holiday, or even tackled a mountain trek? Whereabouts, and would you do another?

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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