Will I make it to Denmark via Schiphol on Monday?

Q I am booked to fly on KLM early on Monday morning to Amsterdam Schiphol and connect on another KLM flight to Billund in Denmark. What are the chances of this actually happening?

James C

A As I write, the estimated number of passengers who have had their flights to or from Amsterdam cancelled since Friday 2 January is climbing above 400,000. Schiphol airport, whose main purpose is to allow national airline KLM to provide smooth connections between international flights, has been traumatised over the past five days.

Even “point-to-point” airlines such as easyJet have had their problems. Britain’s biggest budget airline has grounded dozens of flights between the UK and Amsterdam.

The airport is woefully exposed to the elements: close to the North Sea shore in the western Netherlands, and susceptible to vile weather from the east. With the added excitement of KLM possibly running out of de-icing fluid and Storm Goretti sweeping in from the Atlantic from Thursday, who would give favourable odds on both your flights operating more or less on schedule?

I would, actually. The weather gods have more to hurl at Amsterdam in the next couple of days. But looking at the temperature charts, normality should resume by Sunday. There will still be hundreds of thousands of people out of position, I fear. But when services start up again, passengers such as you with confirmed reservations take priority – with the stranded folk scrabbling for the few available seats.

If I am wrong, air passengers’ rights rules spring to your assistance. Travellers whose flights are cancelled by an EU (or UK) carrier are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline. I do not know your starting place in the UK, but the chances are there will be an airport with nonstop flights either to Billund itself or to Copenhagen – roughly two hours away (KLM should pay the onward rail fare). If your flight is cancelled but KLM does not offer these options – and instead suggests a wait of a day or two – buy tickets yourself and then claim the cost back.

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Q I am looking to take my wife away for her 60th birthday in May. Her birthday is on 2 May, which is usually an expensive time to travel. So we are looking at going for a week in June or September. We are flexible on dates. She has expressed a desire in the past to go to Sicily. Any recommendations?

Neil W

A Your wife has a perfectly timed birthday, in my opinion. I have found early May a really good time to go away, because it is the start of the main package holiday season – lots of choice, low prices. In your position I would book a Tui holiday to Archangelos on the east coast of Rhodes, departing Gatwick on 29 April for a week. The price is a princely £651 for the two of you, including flights (with baggage), transfers and a room at the Hotel Varelis, with breakfast. Rhodes is lovely in late spring/early summer, and you will be able to explore as much or as little as you like. You could rent a car and circumnavigate the whole island; or just take a bus into fascinating Rhodes Town, and on another day visit gorgeous Lindos, about 10 miles south.

If you have already been to Rhodes, Crete is an excellent alternative – either pretty and relaxed Elounda in the east, or Chania to the west.

Sicily is also ideal at the start of May, but it will not be an economy option. For a touring holiday it is ideal: start with a flight to Catania, and immediately head south to Syracuse, one of the loveliest cities in the Mediterranean. Meander north and then west by rail; along the way there are plenty of beach resorts to choose from, of which Capo d’Orlando is probably the best. And allow at least a full day in Palermo to explore this profoundly historic and beautiful city. Ideally add another half-day for Monreale, a spectacular hill town with magnificent cathedral. Fly home from Palermo to avoid doubling back.

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Q I am travelling with a friend to the northeastern US this summer. The basic plan is to visit Massachusetts and Maine – but we would also like to see the best of upstate New York. We will be travelling using public transport rather than driving, which I imagine limits things somewhat. Where do you suggest we travel?

Carmel M

A The northeast is the one part of the US where you can feasibly travel to all manner of interesting places using trains and buses, plus the occasional tactical Uber. For the coastal locations, a railway runs all the way from New York City to Brunswick, Maine (though with a change from Boston South to Boston North if you are travelling through).

Crossing from Portland, Maine directly west to New York State is impossible using public transport. You will need to retrace your steps to Boston. From here, I recommend a Greyhound bus through lovely countryside to Burlington, Vermont: a scenic town on a beautiful lake, well worth a day or two. Vermont’s buses are either free or nearly so. Take the lovely ride south from Burlington to Middlebury, a college town in another fine setting, together with an excellent art museum on campus out of all proportion to the population.

Middlebury is on the Amtrak line to New York City. There is only one train a day, but you can stay a day in each location and then travel on to the next place. Saratoga Springs is a spa town with a rich horse-racing history. Albany, the New York state capital, has a vast and ornate Capitol building that you can explore on your own. The city also boasts some ambitious Brutalist architecture at the Empire State Plaza – a feast of concrete.

The train then follows the Hudson River to the pretty and historic riverside town of Poughkeepsie, just an hour south and a world away. The standout tourist attraction is the Walkway Over the Hudson (walkway.org), a mile-long former railway span revived as the world’s longest elevated footbridge. The former home of Franklin D Roosevelt is nearby, and is now a National Historic Site.

From here, you are only 100 minutes away from Manhattan.

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Q After the self-assessment deadline on 31 January, my wife and I would would love to do an extended holiday for two months-plus. Our holiday history is skiing, mountain biking with two trips each year to Neilson or Mark Warner activity holidays; I’m not for sitting on a sunbed, a swimming pool or cathedrals. Any suggestions?

Alun A

A As a treat after self-assessment just take yourselves off to the Canary Islands. Access is cheap and easy, with loads of flights from the UK taking typically four hours and plenty of competition keeping fares and holiday prices keen. These Spanish Atlantic islands, only about 350 miles north of the tropics, will be warm and sunny even in February. Expect an average of six hours of sunshine, with average highs of 21C – ideal for some outstanding hiking. Tenerife, and neighbouring La Gomera, have some of the finest one-day hikes in Spain, and you can easily fill a couple of weeks.

As Continental Europe warms up, and just as the half-term family crowds arrive, hop across to the mainland – specifically Cadiz (take a direct flight to Jerez) or Valencia. Both are outstanding and under-appreciated coastal cities. From Valencia, two hours and £30 is enough to get you to Palermo in Sicily. Explore the city (and, force yourself, its outstanding cathedral) and then meander across the north of the island, with a few days to explore the captivating Aeolian islands – volcanic outcrops with individual charm.

Then a ferry to the southern tip of mainland Italy, a circuit around Reggio Calabria and a second ferry from Otranto across to Corfu.

A third will take you across the strait to southern Albania. (This will also help you with the 90/180-day rule, in case you are in danger of transgressing the maximum stay in the Schengen area.) Make your way through North Macedonia and Serbia to Croatia, and finally end up in Slovenia in April, which will be a peak adventure location by then: canyoning, kayaking, cycling. I’m tempted to join you.

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