✉ My wife and I are flying to Madrid at the end of April to visit a few paradores. When we booked our hire car, a message on screen said we would need an international driving permit (IDP), but gave no details. The government website says an IDP is not needed for driving in Spain. I’ve done some online research and have seen references to hire companies turning UK drivers away. Can you clarify?
Mark O’Neill
You should ask your car-hire company to remove this misleading message, because the only reason you would need an IDP in Spain is if you have a paper driving licence, a licence issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man, or are planning to stay more than six months. “Spain will no longer recognise UK driver licences once a person has been resident for more than six months. There was an original deadline on this of December 31, 2021, but this has recently been extended to the end of April 2022. The UK is still negotiating with Spain over the driving licence exchange for UK nationals resident in Spain,” said Ernesto Suarez, the CEO of iCarhireinsurance.com.
✉ On February 11 we booked an apartment in Costa Teguise in Lanzarote, on the Holiday Lettings website. We quickly received a confirmation but less than an hour later got an email from the owner saying another customer had already rented the property. We expected a full refund but this didn’t take place. When we emailed the owner asking him for this, he replied that he would only receive payment after we’d arrived so we should talk to Tripadvisor (which owns Holiday Lettings). The company told us the only way we could get any money back was for me to cancel the booking but this would mean forfeiting the Tripadvisor booking fee of £364.39. I had no option but to accept this or lose the entire amount. Can you help?
David Clarke
This saga has been difficult to unpick. Tripadvisor maintains that you and your wife separately used the website on the same day to contact the owner about booking his property. He didn’t know that you were connected and told your wife that the property was no longer available for the dates she wanted and you then mistakenly understood that he was cancelling the accepted booking. You eventually cancelled the booking which meant you weren’t refunded the booking fee. It’s difficult to square this account with the fact that you and your wife share the same last name, email address and bank account but the good news is that the booking fee has been refunded “as a gesture of goodwill”.
✉ I’d be grateful for a suggestion for a three-night stay in Europe at the start of October to celebrate a Covid-postponed 40th birthday with my two sisters. We love great scenery, beaches or mountains, along with a bit of yoga, biking or hiking and some nice local places to eat. Ideally there would be some late summer sunshine. We aren’t so bothered about lively nightlife or touristy city breaks. Our budget is up to £2,000.
Jeannette Stevenson
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The supremely scenic island of Ischia, off Italy’s Amalfi coast, will still be balmy in October (with an average temperature of 23C and comfortable sea swimming) and far less crowded than in the summer months. There are plenty of hiking trails, and after a trek up to Mount Epomeo for views over the bay of Naples, you can reward yourselves with lunch in La Grotta da Fiore, which is carved into the rock; giant bruschetta, rabbit, and wild fennel liqueur are the house specialities. The island’s thermal baths will still be open for you to take the waters, and don’t miss La Mortella, one of the great gardens of the world. You could also hop over to tiny Procida on the ferry. The backdrop for the films Il Postino and The Talented Mr Ripley, it’s Italy’s capital of culture for 2022, the first time an island has won the accolade. Stay at the Continental Mare, where three nights’ half-board would cost £622pp, including flights to Naples, plus car and hydrofoil transfers (citalia.com).
✉ Last year, my husband and I booked ridiculously overpriced one-way tickets to New Orleans via eDreams. When we logged in to the airline apps it became apparent that eDreams had also booked us return flights for 28 days later: we had not had any confirmation from the agent to let us know and we assumed that this was why the cost was so high. When challenged (via Twitter and email), they told us these flights were “not for use” and return flights had been purchased to give us the cheapest tickets. I’m confused as to how this could possibly reduce the ticket price.
Sam Glanfield
It may look odd but the ticket you bought would have been much more expensive if it had actually been booked as a one-way journey. It’s standard practice for “legacy” airlines, such as British Airways, Emirates and Lufthansa, to charge hefty prices for one-way transatlantic fares because they’re often bought by business travellers who are less sensitive to price. Theoretically the airline has the right to penalise passengers who throw away the return half of their ticket but given that people don’t show up for flights for various reasons, it’s pretty difficult to enforce. (They do, however, punish travellers who throw away the outbound portion of their ticket — by cancelling the return journey.) A spokesperson for eDreams said it uses its “powerful technology” to source the best possible deals for customers.
✉ We’d like to take our three teens to Denmark and Copenhagen for five to seven days over the Easter holidays. They are keen to include a visit to Legoland. Can you suggest some great places to stay and see?
Julie-Anne Clark
The original Legoland is in Billund, in central Denmark, which is also home to Lego House, full of interactive exhibits, and Lalandia, a Center Parcs-style holiday centre with Scandinavia’s largest waterpark. You can easily fill three days here (trying to tear the teens away from Turbo Racer, a lightning-fast water slide, could be tricky). Book a cottage at Lalandia and you’ll have access to the Aquadome throughout your stay. Three nights in a Design Plus 6, sleeping up to six, starts at £807 on April 9 (lalandia.dk). There are ten trains a day from Billund to Copenhagen, and the family-friendly Absalon Hotel is a short walk from the station, with colourful decor by Designers Guild and bikes to rent. It’s close to the trendy Meatpacking district and a small double, plus a family room, would cost £642 for two nights’ B&B (absalon-hotel.dk). Tivoli, the amusement park, is a must do, as is getting out on the water and exploring the city by all-electric yellow harbour bus.
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If you have a gripe, suggestion or question relating to your holidays, please email traveldoctor@thetimes.co.uk
