‘I booked a petrol hire car but was given an EV instead'
Bigger rental companies won't guarantee petrol/diesel cars even if you get a note put on your booking specifying that you don't want an EV. Hertz, for example, said it could not guarantee a 'specific make, model, transmission or fuel type'. The best way to get what you want is to book with a reputable smaller, local company, which will have a smaller fleet and more personal service. In Crete try the highly rated Anna Cars which can guarantee no EVs because it doesn't have any (annacars.gr).
✉ On May 31 I was on a Ryanair flight to Stansted, coming home from a hen weekend in Biarritz in the south of France. I couldn't check in online due to a visa check issue (I'm Canadian), so I planned to do it at the airport. But when I finally got to the desk, I was told the flight was overbooked and I'd need to wait and see if any seats were freed up. In fact, six passengers, including another girl in the hen party, were left stranded, with zero support (when we rang Ryanair we were just told to go to a check-in desk but there were none of its staff there to help). The other hen and I had to find our own way home via Bilbao and this involved a two-hour night bus ride, a £120 airport hotel and a £200 flight. Ryanair has since made it near impossible to claim the compensation I'm legally owed. Its forms don't allow overbooking claims and I've had irrelevant replies to my complaints. Can you help?Jessica Pearce
You and your fellow hen had a miserable experience but, as is so often the case, human error is to blame for your inability to claim compensation. A Ryanair spokesperson said your flight was not overbooked but a smaller plane had to be substituted for operational reasons: 'As a result, a small number of passengers were unable to travel on this fully booked flight. Regrettably, when informing Ryanair, the third-party ticket desk agent at Biarritz airport failed to include this passenger's details and as a result this passenger did not receive the email required to submit her EU261 compensation claim. A member of our customer service team has since been in contact to further assist this passenger with her claim.'
✉ My husband and I would like to take a trip to celebrate my son turning ten next year. We're flexible on when we go (Easter or summer) and my husband wants to take him to the theme parks in Florida, as his parents did with him when he was ten. I can't think of anything worse. Could you suggest a trip/route that would balance out the crowds and noise, experiencing more of Florida? I'd like to see the Keys and the Everglades. We have a budget of up to £15,000 for us all for up to a fortnight.Katie Pratley
Audley Travel could tailor-make this trip for you, starting with five nights in Orlando — three nights at Drury Plaza Orlando, in the Disney Springs area, and two nights at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando — with Disney and Universal tickets included. (You could make your theme park experiences slightly less painful by buying skip-the-queue passes which at Disney are called Lightning Lane and at Universal Express Pass, and should be invaluable during the school holidays). Then escape the madness by flying down to laid-back Key West for three nights at Oceans Edge Resort. You could add a kayak or snorkelling tour to explore the crystal-clear waters.
Next, pick up a hire car and drive about two hours to Marathon, between Key West and Key Largo. Don't miss a visit to the brilliant Turtle Hospital, which should be perfect for your ten-year-old (turtlehospital.org). You'd then have a two-night stay at the gorgeous Isla Bella Beach Resort before heading west to Naples for three nights at Naples Bay Resort and an airboat tour of the Everglades. A 14-night trip like this during next year's Easter holidays would start at about £15,000 for the three of you, including flights, car hire, theme park tickets and hotel stays sharing one room, room-only (audleytravel.com).
✉ I'm travelling to Peru with my daughter in January. She'll be on a work trip so I thought I could go on my own to Cusco and Machu Picchu but I can't find a travel company that will organise a three-day trip with a small group and guide. Any ideas?Marie Thompson
It's essential to book this Machu Picchu trip as soon as possible because permits to visit the site in January sell out quickly. The local operator Alpaca Expeditions has a two-night tour that also includes exploring Cusco City and the Sacred Valley and involves lots of walking but no trekking. It starts at £513pp, including two nights' B&B (based on sharing a room, single supplement £110), guiding, permit and entrance ticket and transport, and the company warns that because flights to Cusco are often cancelled, you should aim to arrive in the city at least two days before your trip, which will also allow you to acclimatise to the altitude (alpacaexpeditions.com).
✉ We're three friends in our late sixties who take a short break together every year. Our next choice is Vienna. Can you recommend the best area of the city for us to stay in? We're interested in historical sites, museums and city parks with the occasional shopping trip thrown in. Also, is the city easy to get around?Melanie Lloyd
Vienna is a brilliant choice for a short break. It packs a huge cultural punch, is very walkable and, mercifully, doesn't suffer from the overtourism of so many European capitals. Stay in the compact First District (or Innere Stadt) and you'll have the Hofburg Palace, St Stephen's Cathedral and the Vienna State Opera, as well as high-end shopping streets like Kärntner Strasse and Graben, on your doorstep. The large and lovely Stadtpark, home to the golden statue of Johann Strauss, is here too. For a taste of the city's imperial Habsburg past, stay in the small and central König von Ungarn, which dates back to the 17th century and has 44 elegant rooms, a glass-roofed courtyard and vaulted restaurant where you can sample a schnitzel. B&B doubles (or twins) start at £255 in September (kvu.at). The city's fast and efficient public transport is another of its high points and a 72-hour travel card costs £14.50 (wienmobil.at).
Have you got a holiday dilemma? Email traveldoctor@thetimes.co.uk
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