Keeping brass in your pocket
Barcelona is a beautiful city and it is a pity you have been put off by what you read about the petty crime there. It is a problem in Barcelona and one that the Spanish police should tackle more firmly. Many thousands of people visit Barcelona every day without incident, but I can understand your worry with a family group. It is hard to keep an eye on everyone.
I can suggest a few places close to Barcelona to stay and perhaps you could brave it for a day, if just to see Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. A tour bus will give you a good trip around the famous landmarks.
In Barcelona province, on the coast is Vilanova ila Geltrú, a smallish town, with a medieval quarter and nice beaches, see vilanovaturisme.net.
The town of Badalona is very close to the city and has a lovely promenade and beach. My daughter was in the city of Girona a few weeks ago and is still raving about it. It is about an hour from Barcelona. Another lovely city is Tarragona, with great Roman architecture and beaches nearby. See tarragonaturisme.cat.
Stopover in the US
We are travelling to Prince Edward Island next July. Can you suggest the best way to go, as we would like to visit the States either going or coming back. We hope to stay for three weeks.– JP, Belfast
The best way to go depends on whether you travel from Belfast or Dublin. From Belfast, you can take United to Newark and spend some time in New York or travel onwards from there. The flight from Belfast will be around £650 (€805) return and the Prince Edward Island flight from an airport in the New York area (which may not be direct) will cost about $450-550.
If you travel through Dublin, you can take the Delta service to New York, stop there, or go somewhere else, and then fly Delta to Prince Edward Island. A ticket from Dublin to New York and Prince Edward Island (YYG airport code) return, with stopovers in both cities, will cost about €820.
The other advantage of travelling from Dublin is that you will clear US custom and passport control in Terminal 2 and arrive in the US as a domestic passenger.
Send your questions with your name and address to jscales@irishtimes.com
