Your questions: What’s the best way to travel around Sicily?

In September we’d like to base ourselves in Sicily. Is it better to have one base and make day trips or to spend two to three nights in some towns? We won’t have a car.
S. Barr, Benalla, Vic

Cefalu, a medieval village of Sicily, in the province of Palermo.Credit: istock

In 10 days you could fly into Palermo and spend four nights, touring the city and visiting Monreale, Cefalu and possibly Erice. You might look for accommodation in the Kalsa district, threaded with Baroque churches, piazzas and street markets including Vucciria and Ballaro. In the evenings the area comes alive with restaurants, wine bars and cafes. Look for stays near Piazza Marina or Via Alloro, which is quieter but central.

From Palermo, take a five- to six-hour train journey to Syracuse and look for accommodation on neighbouring Ortigia Island. From Ortigia you can make day trips to explore other parts of south-eastern Sicily. Noto, Ragusa and Modica are essential viewing, but leave time for relaxing in Ortigia and exploring its piazzas and meandering streets. It’s one of Sicily’s loveliest towns, and you could spend all your remaining time here, but another option would be to take the train to Taormina. The town is known for its stunning setting and dramatic views of Mount Etna, and its glamorous reputation has been enhanced by its starring role in the second series of The White Lotus. Stay two nights, with a possible excursion to Mount Etna.

Another great option is the Ferrovia Circumetnea train ride that makes a three-hour circuit of the villages around Mount Etna. The Etna Trasporti bus takes 75 minutes to travel from the bus station at Taormina to Catania Airport, from where there are frequent domestic and international services.

I am a solo female traveller going to China in mid-September for two weeks. Any tips for an itinerary? I plan to stay at least one night in Xi’An and I don’t want a hectic schedule. I’m more interested in art, temples and architecture than food. Flying in and out of Beijing and happy to travel by train.
S. Wright, Cherrybrook, NSW

Xi’An’s famous teracotta army.Credit: iStock

Spend the first four nights in Beijing, focusing on the city’s imperial grandeur and Buddhist art. Recommended highlights include Lama Temple (Yonghe Temple), the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and the 798 Art District, which offers an overview of China’s contemporary art scene, housed in repurposed factories. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is easily accessible from Beijing and is the best choice for a relaxed, scenic visit. Use the metro to get around – it’s safe, easy and perfect for solo female travellers. You might stay in a Hutong-style guesthouse in Dongcheng, at the historic heart of Beijing in walking distance of temples, teahouses and art districts.

Take a high-speed train to Luoyang, famous for the Buddhist cave art and carvings in the Longmen Grottoes. The White Horse Temple is considered the first Buddhist temple in China, while Luoyang Old Town offers a glimpse of the country’s history dating back almost 20 centuries. Another high-speed train will take you to Xi’An, one of China’s most historically rich cities, formerly the eastern end of the Silk Road and an essential stop for its architecture, Buddhist heritage and local food culture. Look for a boutique hotel or courtyard guesthouse near the South Gate or Bell Tower.

From Xi’An, a bullet train will take you to Chongqing in five hours. This hot spring resort sits at the foot of the Jinyun Mountain Natural Reserve, a thickly forested region of mountain peaks set with temples and pavilions that date from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

From here, an optional inclusion is Hangzhou, an 11-hour train ride. Hangzhou is one of China’s most beautiful cities, sprawling across the banks of the Qiangtang River. A highlight is West Lake, where willow-lined banks, temples, pavilions and arched bridges backed by misty hills have fuelled the imaginations of painters and poets for generations.

Hangzhou is also the gateway to the Longjing Tea Plantations, source of dragon well tea, celebrated across China for its fragrance, flavour and elegance. Hangzhou has been a centre for the silk trade for thousands of years, and the city maintains its historic connection with it via its lively silk market and the China National Silk Museum. The fastest trains from Hangzhou to Beijing take 4½ hours.

My husband and I finish a European river cruise in Budapest in the early European summer. We would like to see a little more of Hungary and then tour Romania. We are happy to join a small-group tour. Are there any companies you can recommend and must-see destinations?
J. Mulders, Menai, NSW

Apart from Budapest, the main sites to include in a tour of Hungary are Pecs for its early Christian Necropolis, its cathedral and its vibrant arts scene; the Tokaj Wine Region; Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe; Szentendre, which is famous for its Baroque architecture, churches, colourful houses and narrow, cobbled streets, and Eger, which has a handsome medieval castle, thermal baths, Baroque buildings and the most northerly Ottoman minaret.

Most tour operators tend to lump Hungary together with Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland or all three. One of the few operators that offers tours of Hungary is JayWay Travel, which has a 12-day independent tour, with accommodation, transport and guides provided. In Romania, the main drawcard is the Transylvania region, home to Saxon towns with fortified churches, Peles Palace, a neo-Renaissance castle built on the late 1800s by King Carol I and Sighisoara, the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, the inspiration for Count Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel. Here you can also see bears in the wild, and Romania has Europe’s largest population of brown bears.

A longer journey would take you north into the rolling hills of Maramures, a rich rural tapestry of villages dominated by timber church spires and high pastures where enormous dogs guard flocks of sheep from wolves. To the east are the painted monasteries of the Bukovina region. To organise a tour of Romania, contact Diana Condrea of Uncover Romania.

I have been on an African safari and would love to take my adult children, their partners and one grandchild to Kenya and Tanzania for about two weeks. That’s five adults plus one child. We are happy to stay in tented camps and a lodge or two. Is it possible to do it for about $40,000, excluding airfares?
J. Stewart, Turner, ACT

That sounds like a reasonable budget for your group. Sydney-based Bench Africa are the experts, they’ve been taking Australian travellers on African wildlife safaris for decades and can tailor a tour to fit your needs. Tent-based camping safaris are an excellent concept for family groups, offering immersion in the “real” Africa, as well as a high level of comfort at a reasonable cost.

Travel advice is general; readers should consider their personal circumstances