Your questions: I’m Australian, but can I enter here on my UK passport?

I have Australian and UK passports but only the UK passport is up-to-date. I’m overseas and returning later this year. Do I need to renew the Australian passport now, or can I return home on the UK one?
M. Pengilly, Ireland

If you want to enter Australia on a UK passport, you’ll need a visa.

You can’t check in for a flight using your out-of-date Australian passport. If you were to attempt to return to Australia using your valid UK passport, you would not be allowed to board the aircraft without a visa. While evisitor visas are free for UK citizens, as an Australian citizen you are not allowed to apply for an Australian visa, and the system will flag anyone applying for a visa who holds an Australian passport. If you hold dual citizenship, when you enter or leave Australia you are required to use your Australian passport. While you might be allowed in with an expired Australian passport, you may face delays at the border. This combined with the risk of not being allowed to board your flight in the UK means you really have no choice but to renew your Australian passport.

My sister and I will be travelling by train from Windsor to Cornwall in early April. We will be basing ourselves at different points to do coastal walks etc. Could you recommend places to stay relying on train travel?
C. Coutts, Swansea, NSW

The Cornish coastal town of Looe.Credit: Getty Images

From Windsor you would need to catch the train to Reading to connect with the main line running south-west to Penzance. At Newton Abbey, just past Exeter, a spur line takes you to Torquay, on the English Riviera, a lovely seaside destination known for its mild climate, beautiful beaches and Victorian architecture. My choice of accommodation here would be Villa Marina, a family-run guesthouse known for its warm hospitality and comfortable rooms, located just beyond the busy harbour area.

Your next stop might be Looe, a highly photogenic Cornish harbor surrounded by colourful cottages with narrow, winding streets. The Portbyhan Hotel and The Old Bridge House are two good choices. From here you might continue to Penzance, famous for the tidal island of St Michael’s Mount, with its medieval castle and stunning views, and don’t miss Chapel Street, lined with Georgian and Victorian buildings and quirky shops. Bay Lodge and Blue Seas Hotel offer atmospheric accommodation at a reasonable price.

From Penzance you can easily visit St Ives and Falmouth. The Ride Cornwall Ranger pass gives you one day’s unlimited travel on all rail and most bus services within Cornwall and as far as Plymouth for £18 ($35). The entire English coastline is ringed by the English Coast Path, which you can do in short sections. Contact local tourist offices for more information.

We are considering EV hire in Europe. We are not bothered about range limitations but we are unsure about payments at public chargers. What apps or RFID cards would be useful or would credit cards sometimes work?
T. Maher, Aspendale , Vic

In 2023 the Council of the European Union passed a law requiring that all public charging systems must support payments by card or a contactless device, a smartphone wallet in other words. This law is to take effect by the end of 2025. This is happening progressively and indications are that cards and contactless payments are now widely accepted at EV charge stations throughout Western Europe.

In Germany, all public EV charging points have been obliged to accept debit and credit cards since July 2023. In France, most ultra-rapid EV chargers accept contactless or card payments. The same law also requires that fast-charging stations be installed every 60 kilometres along highways by the end of 2025, and that the stations be interoperable – can be used by all electric vehicles regardless of the manufacturer.

We are on a tour in India in May, finishing in Delhi where we have five days before we return home. What are your thoughts on a restful area with fewer tourists for these few days?
S. Griffin, West Coburg, Vic

May is going to be hot in Delhi, with average daily temperatures in the range 26-39 degrees. I’d be heading north, and there are several flights a day from Delhi to Kangra. From there, a 30-minute drive will take you to Dharamshala, the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh and also home to a large community of Tibetan refugees, including the Tibetan Government-in-exile. At an altitude of almost 1500 metres, Dharamshala is set spectacularly in the shadow of the Dhauladhar Range of the Himalayas.

From here you can visit Buddhist temples and monasteries including the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet. You can also hike to waterfalls, enjoy Tibetan cuisine, visit tea gardens, the Masroor Rock-Cut Temples and surrounding villages such as McLeod Ganj which has a Tibetan handicrafts market. Temperatures in May will be about 10 degrees lower than in Delhi.

Travel advice is general; readers should consider their personal circumstances.