Ask Joan: Hampton Court flower show, getting to Rhodes, hiring a minibus in Europe

My husband and I would like to visit the Hampton Court Palace flower show in July. There seems to be plenty of options for the Chelsea flower show, but I could not find any package trips for Hampton Court. Is it feasible to travel to the show independently.
– AME, Dublin

There are packages available from Ireland to visit the Hampton Court flower show in July or you can also go independently. Keith Prowse Travel has a two-night trip with flights into Heathrow and accommodation in central London, in the four-star Lancaster or K West hotels with tickets to the show, from €351-€376pps plus taxes. keithprowse.ie (01) 878-3500.

You can also go by ferry and coach with Pab Tours. The trip will include two nights in a three-star hotel near enough to Hampton Court and tickets to the show from €369pps. pabtours.com (01) 871-9819.

Heathrow is the nearest airport to Hampton Court Palace and if you book early, tickets will cost about €150 return. You can book tickets for the show online at rhs.org.uk, at £31.50 a day. Consider staying in lovely Richmond-on- Thames, a short distance from both Heathrow and Hampton Court. There is a lovely variety of hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs. From there you can take the river boat to Hampton Court, with Turks Cruises, turks.co.uk or bus number R68. visitrichmond.co.uk.

We are a family group of 10 adults who are planning a driving trip through the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. Can you tell us if it is possible to hire a minibus large enough to carry 10 people, including driver?
– DY, Waterford

The maximum size of vehicles available to rent from the main car rental firms in Europe is nine – a driver and eight passengers. This complies with the standard Irish and European driving licences. If one of the group has a driving licence valid to carry more than eight passengers, than you could rent a minibus.

However, you are unlikely to find a one-way minibus rental – you are mostly likely to have to return it to the country where you first rented it. You will also have to let them know to which countries you will be travelling for insurance purposes.

My husband and I would like to visit my niece who lives on the Greek island of Rhodes. She lives in a small village and we plan to stay in a hotel in Rhodes old town to do a bit of sightseeing. My husband can't stand heat and I can't stand cold so we think the end of April might be a good time to go. But how do we get there from Dublin? There are no direct flights as far as I can see.
– AK, Dublin

April would be a good time to go to Rhodes with average temperatures of 17 degrees and fewer visitors, which will make it a comfortable destination.

The best value flights to Rhodes would be via Stansted with Ryanair. There are flights on, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and it would be possible to go for under €160 from Ireland with separate tickets. However the flight out of Stansted is at 6.35am which would mean staying overnight or a long wait in the airport. The last flight from Dublin gets in about 11pm.

Otherwise it would mean travelling via London or Frankfurt with up to three flights and the price would be much higher. Seasonal flights return to Rhodes at the end of May and would cost from €259 return with Falcon Holidays. falconholidays.ie.

Please send your queries to jscales@irishtimes.com