Ask Joan: Where will we go for our 60th birthday party reunion?

Myself and my college friends are mostly 60 this year. We wanted to go away in Ireland for a weekend, in August or September. There will probably be about 10 of us. We would like accommodation within two to three hours' driving of Dublin, self catering but able to go out to dinner one night, within walking distance of a town, walking trails and it would be lovely to be close to a music festival. AK, Dublin.

There are a number of festivals that would appeal to you. In Kilkenny it is Arts Week from August 7th-16th with a great programme of events. There are also some very lovely restaurants to try such as Campagne, Zuni and Rinucinnis. There are food and walking trails in and around the city. See Kilkennyarts.ie and visitkilkenny.ie. For self-catering properties see kilkennycityonline.com.

In September, Galway has the Oyster Festival and Culture Night to enjoy. The fun is mighty for the Oyster Festival, September 24th-27th, see galwayoysterfestival.com. Culture Night will be the week before, Friday September 18th and the full programme is not yet available, see culturenight.ie for details. Galway offers a great variety of things to do and some very fine restaurants such as Cava Bodega, Aniar and the Gaslight Brasserie at the Meyrick Hotel. There are some good big properties at Oranmore on airbnb.com.

My friend and I are planning a short trip to Liverpool at the end of the summer to indulge our Beatles passion. We are both of an age where creature comforts are important, but we are still sufficiently active to attend the occasional gig. TH, Dublin.

You should definitely consider staying in the Hard Days Night Hotel, a Beatles tribute property. The hotel is devoted to all things Beatles, but tastefully done. There is lots of memorabilia, art and photographs. You could book the ultimate Beatles Package which includes two nights B&B, entrance for the nearby Cavern Club, passes for the Magical Mystery tour, the Beatles Story and a private taxi tour of the Fab Four related sites in Liverpool. It costs from £404 (€550) for two and can be booked on harddaysnighthotels.com and +44 (0) 151 236 1964.

You might like to plan your trip during International Beatleweek which runs from August 26th-September 1st. There are lots of gigs and events during that week that will bring back memories. See cavernclub.org/beatleweek and visitliverpool.com. Ryanair fly to Liverpool from €40 return.

I’m thinking of taking time off from work next March for a five-week trip travelling alone. I’m female in my 30s. Somewhere outside of Europe where the weather will be nice in March would be good. Budget is tight so I wouldn’t mind living out of backpack. DC, Cork.

The French islands of the Caribbean are beautiful and not too expensive to get to in March, especially if you book from Orly, where the fares are cheaper, i.e. around €500 in March return. Add on €100 for the Dublin-Paris leg. Best value accommodation would be with hostelworld.com, hostelbookers.com or airbnb.com, budget around €50 per night.

The other side of the world like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bali are also good value, talk to trailfinders.ie and sunway.ie for airfares. You can use budget carrier Airasia.com for hopping between places in SE Asia.

There is plenty of budget accommodation and a bit cheaper, around €30 per night.

Send your queries to jscales@irishtimes.com