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Your Questions Answered

I don’t like flying, so how can I get to the United States?

Q Do you know of any way that I could travel to the US by sea? I would dearly love to visit my grandchildren but am afraid of flying. I have looked on the web but found only cruise ships, which are very costly.

TW, Westmeath

There are only a few ways to cross the Atlantic by ship, and, as you have discovered, they cost a lot.

Return voyages on Cunard (cunard.co.uk), the main cruise line sailing from England to New York between April and November, cost from £3,670 (about €4,100). You may be able to get a better price through Cruise Holidays (01-8173558, cruiseholidays.ie).

The Cruise People, an agency in London (00-44-20- 77232450, cruisepeople.co.uk), specialises in voyages on cargo ships, which lack the luxury services of cruise liners but are still comfortable. A berth costs about €100 per day. The agency has some transatlantic crossings from Liverpool, which you can reach from Dublin with Norfolkline.com.

You could also consider confronting your fear of flying by taking a course with Fly Fearless. It runs courses most months, and has helped many people in your position. 1890-200047, flyfearless.ie.

Q We are two friends who are about to take a four-day break in Edinburgh. Do you know any reasonably priced hotels in the city centre where we can book two single rooms, with or without breakfast? We intend to go shopping and sightseeing, and maybe also visit the outlet village between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

NB, Kilkenny

You’ll find a good selection of tourist-board-approved accommodation from £25 (about €28) per room per night in guest houses or £40 (about €45) in hotels on the Visitscotland.com website.

The Apex hotel group has four well-located properties in Edinburgh, with prices from €64 to €85 per night through Hotels.com or on 1800-553338.

The Jurys Inn (jurysinns.com) is well located for sightseeing but still manages to be a quiet property. Rooms in January cost from £60.50 (about €67).

Southside (00-44-131- 6684422, southsideguest house.co.uk) is a four-star guest house by the university, close to the old town and just a few minutes from Holyrood Park. Rooms in January start at £65 (about €72) per night.

Q We are a family of five travelling to Italy next June. We would like to spend a few nights in the northern city of Bologna. Can you recommend a convent or university residence where we might stay?

MD, Dublin

I can suggest a few places that you could consider for your stay in Bologna, but remember when booking that some religious orders may take only men or women and usually have a curfew. Some do not take children, either.

Ostellodibologna.com has family rooms from €17.50 per night. The city of Bologna website (iat.comune.bologna.it), under Where to stay, has a list of religious houses/hostels.

You could also try the booking agent for the Royal Spanish College in Bologna (residenzacollegio.com), which has a selection of rooms and self-catering accommodation in the city centre.

Q I intend to go to Cambodia this year and would like to know how I can get there cheaply. There is no time restriction, and I don’t need accommodation.

MG, Waterford

Being flexible is always the best way to find good prices for flights. Phnom Penh has few direct international flights from the West, and you will most likely have to make your way there in three stages, via London and Bangkok, for example.

The best prices I have come up with are by using travel agents. Gohop.ie, Skytours.ie and Ebookers.ie all have return fares from Dublin for about €950. You might find fares through British travel agents from about £500 (€560); try cheapflights.co.uk. Be careful of the timings, as some fares are based on overnight stops along the way but do not include accommodation.

Go contact

E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com.