Ask Joan: Toronto to Boston overland, Paris to Rome by air and Alvor by road

Three of us fly into Toronto mid September and fly out of Boston mid October. Can you advise us on the best way to travel from Toronto (after spending a fortnight there) via Maine and down into Boston? We have no itinerary planned so would love some guidance from you as to places to visit etc. Hiring a car could be an option but we would prefer public transport. BM, Dublin
You could explore the northeast by train and bus, and the first stop worth considering is Niagara Falls. It is only three hours by train and bus from Toronto and well worth the visit. See viarail.com for train times and fares.

There is a lovely town on southern Lake Ontario called Niagara on the Lake. It is the centre of wine making in this region and you can take tours of the vineyards, see niagaraonthelake.com.

From Niagara you could consider travelling east through New York state to visit Buffalo, Syracuse the university town, Saratoga Springs, famous for horse racing and Albany the capital of New York State. To follow this route, connect with the Amtrak Empire Service from Niagara Falls, Amtrak.com. See visitnewyorkstate.net.

Consider continuing on to the lovely city of Montreal which will give you a taste of French Canada. Explore the sights before taking a bus to Portland in Maine, with Greyhound. com.

From Portland it is possible to join the Downeaster train service by Amtrak that follows the coast. Along the way you can stop and explore towns such as Dover, Exeter, Durham and Woburn. This service links Portland to Boston. See visitmaine.com.

I will be staying in Paris with my family (we are two adults and three children) for two weeks in August/ September, and we would like to visit Rome for a few days from our Paris base. What would be the best (and cheapest) way of doing this, both in terms of how to get there and where to stay? We will have our car in Paris, but would prefer not to drive to Rome. LMC, Belfast
Ryanair operates from Beauvais airport to Rome Ciampino and the fares are quite reasonable in the first week in September, at under €100 each. Vueling. com also has reasonable flights from Orly to Rome Fiumicin. Book the earliest flight out and the latest flight back to take advantage of the time.

Regarding accommodation, the following can be found on Booking. com and cost €258-€498 for two nights for the whole family: Notti a Roma B&B, Hotel Sweet Home, Bollo Apartments, Fiftynine Luxury Apartments and Hotel Sant Angelo.

We have been invited to a wedding in Alvor, Portugal in June 2016. We don't want to fly. Is it possible to take a ferry and drive? BF, Dublin
There's no reason why you could not drive to Alvor, once you allow plenty of time for the journey. From Ireland your option will be to take the ferry to either Wales or France from Dublin or Rosslare.

If you go through England you can then take a ferry to France or Spain or board the Eurostar train.

Brittany Ferries operates a range of services to France and Spain, brittanyferries.com. Use services like the viamichelin.com and guiarepsol.com/en to plan your route.

If you book the ferry to France early, it will cost in the region of €400 return with two passengers; expect fuel, tolls and a stopover on the 2,000km route to cost at least €350 each way.

Send your queries to jscales@irishtimes.com