Ask Joan: travels with my mum and a destination to beat Japan

I have a few weeks to play around with in September and early October and I'm trying to decide what to do. I was in Japan last year so it's going to take something special to top that. I was looking at Namibia, Oman or Trinidad. Does the time of year suit any of these places? How do you get to Namibia and would a single traveller be able to join a tour? Any of the destinations would have to involve adventure activities. – BC, Cavan

The best season to see Trinidad is from January to May. September may be a bit too humid and wet. Explore.co.uk has a trip to Oman from September 21st that might be of interest. The seven-day tour begins in Muscat and then travels around the country from the coast to Nizwa. There will be camping in the sand dunes and sailing on a dhow having seen dhow building. The trip costs from €1,415 without flights.

Namibia a country of deserts and deserted coasts and the weather in September -October will be the best for game viewing though dusty. It is accessible on a trip from Cape Town with G Adventures. The 12-day trip has plenty of natural adventures, crossing lunar scenery and leaving footprints on the highest sand dunes in the world. You would also get to see the Etosha National Park where game viewing is possible.

Staying in a mixture of hotels, guesthouses and camping it will be a real opportunity to get up close to nature. The price is from €1,399 not including flights. The tour ends at Windhoek, where you could stay on to enjoy the colonial architecture. See gadventures.com.

Any suggestions for a holiday for my mum? She's in her 80s, pretty active but very hard of hearing. This makes it difficult for her to socialise and makes her a little unsure about situations she doesn't know. We have suggested she goes on an organised tour, even for a long weekend, to see whether see enjoys it. She's not convinced and in particular she's concerned she would miss scheduled events as she wouldn't hear announcement of the arrangements. – MG, Dublin

A weekend or a few days away with a tour group is probably a good idea. Usually there will be someone in charge or a group leader who can be advised in advance to make sure your mother joins in and does not miss anything.

PAB Travel has a good variety of holidays in Ireland and their guests are usually an older age group. They are experienced at providing a good time for everyone, see pabtravel.com.

Other trips that can work well for people hard of hearing are cruise holidays. Ships normally carry the necessary equipment for cabins such as vibrating alarm clocks, door lights and sirens. The ratio of staff to passengers is also higher making is easier to have your mother looked after.

A river cruise might be worth considering. A chat with a good cruise agent might be helpful, see cruisecapes.ie or cruiseholidays.ie. What's the best way to travel from Malaga to Alicante at the end of September? There does not seem to be a direct rail route. – WB, Belfast There is a rail connection to Alicante from Malaga via Cordoba. The service operates three times a week on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday and will cost around €67. You can see the timetables on renfe.com. There are daily bus services for the 650km trip and it costs around €45, see the timetables on alsa.es. Send your travel queries to jscales@irishtimes.com