JOAN SCALESanswers your travel questions
Where could we teach English for a few months?
Q We are in our 60s, very fit and healthy. I am a retired teacher and my husband has taken a year off. He did a Tefl course and is enjoying teaching English. We would love to go to Spain or a Spanish-speaking country for a few months to teach English and improve our Spanish. We could pay for our flights but would like accommodation in return for our teaching or help to find a cheap small flat close to the college or campus.
CB, Dublin
I know of one place in Spain that provides what you are looking for, but usually for only a few weeks at a time. Vaughan Town operates on the basis that you get a holiday in return for talking in English to Spanish speakers, to help them improve. The students are usually businesspeople, students and academics; the courses are held in El Barco de Ávila and Salamanca. See www.vaughantown.com.
You could also contact I-to-I, an Irish company that organises volunteer travel abroad, including for the teaching of English. It has a variety of trips to South and Central America. See www.i-to-i.com or call 058-40050.
Q I want to take an elderly relative to Lagos in Portugal. She lives in the UK and for medical reasons cannot fly. We would need access to lavatory facilities during the journey.
CC, Wicklow
You can take a ferry from Portsmouth, in southern England, to Bilbao, in northern Spain, with PO (www.poferries.com) or to nearby Santander with Brittany Ferries (www.brittanyferries. ie). The crossing takes between 20 and 26 hours. You will have a cabin, and your relative should be comfortable on the ship.
From Santander or Bilbao it will take at least 11 hours to drive to Lagos. The best idea would probably be to break up the journey with a stopover along the way. As most of the journey is on motorway, there will be regular places to stop for comfort breaks. Viamichelin.com is a great website for planning a car journey.
Q We are trying to get to Tropea, in the Italian region of Calabria, this month. Could you give any ideas on how to get there or websites that could help?
FOD, Dublin
Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies from London Stansted to Lamezia, in Calabria, on Mondays and Fridays, and the fares are good value in May. This route will mean a night at a Stansted Airport hotel. You can take a train (www.trenitalia. com) from Lamezia to Tropea.
Or you could fly to Naples with Aer Lingus (www.aer lingus.com) from Dublin every day of the week except Tuesday and Thursday. You can then take the train from Naples to Tropea; the journey takes about five hours and costs about €33 each way. This route will mean spending a night in Naples.
Alternatively, you can fly to Rome every day of the week with Aer Lingus or Ryanair and take a train to Tropea; the journey takes between six and eight hours and costs from €47 to €73.
You can also fly from Rome Fiumicino to Lamezia with Air One (www.flyairone.com); it will cost about €207.
Q I note from Ryanair’s website that if you have a Visa Electron credit or charge card you can avoid booking charges with Ryanair. I cannot find an Irish bank that issues them, however. Is there any other way of securing one?
DF Dublin
Visa Electron is not available from Irish banks. Even if Visa Electron cards were available in Ireland, they would attract stamp duty and reduce the value of Ryanair’s waiving of its handling charge , which is only for a limited period anyway.
Go contact
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com