C. HANCOCK, SYDNEY

The cheapest time to buy plane tickets is right now. Airlines usually release their tickets 11 months in advance. The first to sell out are the "saver" fares and once they're gone you're left with tickets that become progressively more expensive as flight time approaches. On the plus side, October is not high season and you should still be able to score a good deal. If you're thinking of visiting Russia, investigate the price of a return ticket from Sydney to Moscow, with another return Moscow-London ticket.

Russia's meddling in Ukraine has not made it any less safe for visitors. Neither Moscow nor St Petersburg are particularly dangerous cities but you should put yourselves in the hands of a specialist travel operator, I recommend Eastern Europe Travel Bureau, (eetbtravel.com) in the heart of Sydney, which has decades of experience organising tours in Russia.

What has happened in Russia as a result of world events is a catastrophic fall in the value of their currency. Your Aussie dollars will now buy many more roubles than they would have a year ago, and you should find some real bargains in the price of hotels, tours and meals.

MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE BOOKED FLIGHTS TO THE UK FROM MAY TO JUNE. WE HAVE VISITED LONDON ONCE BEFORE AND THIS TIME WE WANT TO TOUR SCOTLAND FOR THREE WEEKS. FOR THE 10 DAYS PRIOR, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST? SPEND THE WHOLE TIME IN LONDON, OR MAYBE JUST FOUR DAYS AND THE REST SOMEWHERE ELSE? IF SO, WHERE TO GET A DIFFERENT GLIMPSE OF THE UK?

P. VERRY, SAFETY BEACH

Getting reacquainted with London sounds like a fine idea. You could stretch your visit out to the entire 10 days particularly if you're passionate about theatre or the city's museums and galleries but for me, four days would be enough.

For the remainder you could do something completely out of left field, such as hiring a narrowboat and exploring the Llangollen Canal or walking in the Lake District.

The other alternative is to travel to a theme. If you've fallen under the spell of Downton Abbey it might be stately homes, or Shakespeare's England, country pubs, antique markets or even something as specific as scenic rail trips.  My personal theme would be gardens. Some of the great British gardens such as Sissinghurst, Studley Royal Water Garden and Harewood  House should be at the peak of their spring glory in May.

Whether you go for a one-off activity or take the thematic path, start planning using the resources of Visit Britain (visitbritain.com) to plot a journey that would take you from London to the borders of Scotland.

WE ARE A 65+ YEAR-OLD COUPLE BOOKED FOR BULGARIA, ROMANIA AND SERBIA IN MAY-JUNE. WE'RE HAVING TROUBLE FINDING BUS TIMETABLES FOR TRAVEL BETWEEN SERBIA-VARNA-BUCHAREST, BUCHAREST-BELGRADE, BELGRADE-SARAJEVO, SARAJEVO-MOSTAR. WE PREFER AIRCONDITIONED BUSES. CAN YOU ADVISE ANY WEBSITES?

M. AND B. HARRISON, COMO WEST

Assuming you're travelling in an anti-clockwise direction and starting from Belgrade, Florentia Bus (florentiabus.bg) operates a daily service from the Serbian capital to Sofia. Florentia is an Italian operator and their service is reliable according to all accounts. On the downside, their daily bus departs Belgrade at 4.30am for the seven-hour journey.

From Sofia, Biomet (biomet.bg) operates multiple departures daily for Varna. Booking Biomet services online is problematic since the booking engine is in Cyrillic but according to Claire Coulter, an Australian who together with her husband, Chris  Fenton, operates Wild Thyme Organic Farm & Eco-Retreat in Bulgaria, there is no need to book bus travel there in advance. The Sofia - Varna buses stop at Popovo, just eight kilometres from Wild Thyme (wildthymefarm.org) and this is a fantastic opportunity to experience something of this fascinating and little-known corner of Europe with a few days at their eco-retreat with Claire and Chris.

From Varna, Orlan (orlan.autogari.ro) operates services to Bucharest. You can book either through their site, and the Romanian language is not too difficult, or use the Infobus (infobus.eu) website.

I can't find a bus service that will get you direct from Bucharest to Belgrade however Autogari (autogari.ro) operates buses from Bucharest to Timisoara, from where you could take the GEA Tours' (geatours.rs) daily minibus service to Belgrade.

For Belgrade to Sarajevo, head for the Balkan Viator website (balkanviator.com) and use the same website for the final sector of your journey to Mostar.

CONVERSATION OVER TO YOU …

The question was "According to TripAdvisor.com, 62 per cent of US travellers often or always consider the environment when choosing hotels, transportation and meals. Sorry to say I'm one of the other 38 per cent, but is an eco-friendly hotel more likely to get your booking?"

K. Hunt writes "I would never seek out an eco-friendly hotel because I just don't believe the hype.  At the simplest end of the scale, I must have stayed in well over 100 hotels which say they are saving dolphins by not washing the towels if you hang them up.  I do this religiously, but on only a handful of occasions have I come back to find my old towels in place.  I now vote with my feet by putting the "do not disturb" sign on the door for my whole stay and using my "soiled" towels and sheets several times, just like I do at home."

According to K. Belanger, "I like the idea that my hotel is harvesting rainwater and recycling its waste water to use on the garden or whatever, but does it influence my choice? Probably not."

From R. Silber, "Sorry to say but we're firmly with you in the other 38 per cent! Our hotels are based on location, price and TripAdvisor reviews. However, we did stay at a small boutique hotel in Chamonix recently  -  the eco-friendly lighting was so dim that we carried torches with us!"

According to S. Harrison, "Most hotels and resorts that spruik their eco-credentials are just paying lip-service to the notion. If you want an eco-friendly holiday, hike into the wilderness, take a tent and don't leave any rubbish behind."

Next question: Ever told a fib on your customs declaration form? Requests for anonymity will be respected.

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