Your questions: Where should we go to avoid the crowds of Honolulu?

My husband and I are flying to Hawaii, to stay on Oahu for four nights. We’d prefer not to be in the main tourist areas of Honolulu and see a bit more of the island. We then fly to San Francisco, plan on getting a motorhome and travelling up to Seattle, can you recommend any reputable operator?
L. Dodgson, Bondi, NSW

The North Shore could be what you’re looking for. A one-hour drive from Waikiki, this is the chilled side of Oahu, popular with surfers and visitors looking for a less frantic version of Hawaii. The main town is Haleiwa, home to funky galleries, surf shops and Matsumoto Shave Ice, a local institution. Just north of Haleiwa, the Waimea Valley is a lush botanical garden with a five-kilometre hiking trail that wanders through tropical greenery and archaeological and cultural sites.

To avoid the crowds on Honolulu, head to the North Shore.Credit: iStock

One of the highlights of the trail is Waimea Falls, where, in the right conditions, you can swim in the waterhole at the base of the falls. Waimea Bay Beach Park has gentle surf conditions, where you can snorkel as well as swim. A little further north, the Banzai Pipeline is a legendary surf break where the waves form long tunnels as they break across a sharp reef. North again, Sunset Beach is slightly less wild, but take great care if you head in for a dip. The yellow Sunrise Shack is Instagram-famous for its fruity combos, smoothies and bullet coffee. Ke Iki Beach Bungalows would be my choice for accommodation.

For your drive to Seattle, Monterra Campervans gets excellent reviews, but if you need something larger, try Roadsurfer.

We are visiting Santiago for six days, followed by another four days the next month. Could you suggest ideas for things to do and day trips?
J. Butt, Bulli, NSW

Santiago and the Andes mountains.Credit: iStock

Begin at the Plaza de Armas, the heart of the city, surrounded by the Metropolitan Cathedral and other historic buildings. Along one side of the square, La Moneda Palace, the presidential palace, has inner courtyards that are generally open to the public but better still, book in for the heritage tour at the official website. Just one block away, the Chilean Museum of pre-Colombian art is one of the finest in South America, showcasing indigenous art and history.

Other attractions include the city markets, La Vega Central and Mercado Central, Santa Lucia Hill, a beautiful hilltop park in the centre of the city and Barrio Lastarria, the city’s cool zone, home to some of its grandest public art galleries, with a sprinkling of boutique hotels. The Museum of Memory & Human Rights tells the story of Chile’s history under Augusto Pinochet, a seminal period in the nation’s history, and the Artisanal Centre in the Pueblito Los Dominicos is a great place to shop for handicrafts from the artisans’ workshops.

Don’t miss the funicular ride up San Cristobal Hill in the north of the city – on a clear day, the views of the Andes are amazing. Located on the hillside, Jardin Mapulemu is a botanical garden of flora from different regions of Chile. You might also take a wine-tasting tour in the nearby Maipo Valley, perhaps with a vineyard lunch against the backdrop of the Andes. Sprawled across a half-Colosseum of leaping hills, frisked by a sea breeze, Valparaiso is Chile’s cultural cauldron, a hubble-bubble of creative energy and itchy spirits out to bend the rules. It feels like a Latino Berlin, with sunshine. A highlight is the spiralling streets of Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepcion, furnished with a mad tangle of Frenchified manor houses, Swiss-style cottages, turreted mansions and creaking iron shanties with Romeo-and-Juliet balconies.

In November this year, I will spend a month in Berlin after an intensive language course. I then have two days to get from Cologne to Freiburg, and then three from Freiburg to Nuremberg. What would be some drives and quaint villages, potentially with interesting Christmas markets, I should consider?
E Tuckey, Trentham, Vic

One possibility is the route along the Rhine from Cologne to Koblenz followed by Bingen, Heidelberg and finally Freiburg. Take the roads along the river wherever possible; the journey is famous for its scenic beauty as well as its castles, vineyards and villages of half-timbered houses.

Another option is from Cologne to the spa town of Baden-Baden and along the Black Forest High Road, the B500, which twists and turns through an area of outstanding natural beauty with views of the Black Forest valleys, the Rhine Valley and Alsace and the Voges Mountains. The B500 ends at Freudenstadt, from where Freiburg is just a short drive.

For the journey to Nuremberg, head for Tubingen, followed by Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbuhl and finally Nuremberg. Set on the Neckar River, Tubingen is a beautiful university town famous for its multicoloured riverside houses, Rothenburg is the picture-perfect village out of a German fairytale, while Dinkelsbuhl is a medieval village with yet more half-timbered pastel facades.

My husband and I are spending six days each in Prague and Ljubljana. We would appreciate your thoughts on what to do and see, and any day trips from either city worth doing, travelling by bus or train.
F. Job, Sydney, NSW

Highlights of Prague include the Charles Bridge, the Gothic treasures of Old Town Square, Prague Castle, Strahov Monastery and Josefov, the former Jewish area. The Church of St Nicholas is one of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture anywhere, the gardens of the Wallenstein Palace are marvellous, the Sternberg Palace has an outstanding collection of European art, while the Loreto Convent is one of the city’s less-visited treasures.

A national icon in Slovenia: Lake Bled.Credit: iStock

Prague also has a treasury of art nouveau architecture. One of the finest examples of the style is the W Prague Hotel, formerly the Grand Hotel Europa, on Wenceslas Square. The interior is lavishly embellished with scrolls, wreaths, canopies and calligraphy, all with the flowing elegance characteristic of art nouveau. Other notable expressions of the style can be seen in the Mucha Museum, Municipal House, along Parziska and at St Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle.

For excursions outside the city, you might take a day trip to Kutna Hora, a medieval town with a fascinating chapel decorated with human bones, and St Barbara’s, a wonderful Gothic Cathedral. Another day trip is Cesky Krumlov, one of Bohemia’s loveliest towns, rising from the banks of the Vltava River in a jumble of red roofs, onion domes and medieval and Renaissance facades.

With a population of under 300,000, Ljubljana is quite compact, but the Old Town, Ljubljana Castle, Preseren Square and the Triple Bridge are all worth exploring. Combined with the National Gallery of Slovenia, the Central Market and Metelkova Mesto, a colourful autonomous social and cultural centre at the heart of the city, you should have plenty to do for a couple of days.

National icon is Lake Bled, a glorious alpine lake that mirrors the surrounding snow-capped peaks, with St Mary’s church rising from the tiny island at its navel. A quieter option is the larger Lake Bohinj. In the country’s northwest, Triglav National Park encompasses the chocolate-box scenery of the Julian Alps. All these areas can be visited on day trips from Ljubljana.

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