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When you leave your cruise in Hong Kong, you’ll be entering Hong Kong SAR and then crossing into mainland China via one of the border checkpoints such as Lo Wu or Huanggang. All travellers need to have at least six months validity on their passports beyond the date when they plan to exit China, and blank pages. Keep travel documentation at the ready including cruise disembarkation papers, hotel bookings, Shenzhen visit itinerary and a return ticket to Hong Kong. Upon returning from Shenzhen to Hong Kong, you exit mainland China and then re-enter Hong Kong as a separate trip. That should be fine, but make sure you hold valid Hong Kong entry documents. We’re planning a trip from Barcelona to Lisbon over 12-13 days next May. We hope to see most of Valencia, Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Ronda and Seville using trains. We only want to spend two days in Barcelona. We’re meeting family in Lisbon with perhaps a flight from Seville to Lisbon. Is this doable? J. Lafferty, Pyrmont, NSW That’s an ambitious itinerary involving about 2000 kilometres of travel, with at least five train segments and one short flight. On paper, it’s possible, but it leaves little breathing space and risks turning into a train-hotel shuffle. In your shoes I’d leave out Valencia and probably Ronda in favour of overnight stays at Barcelona, Madrid, Granada and Seville before your flight to Lisbon. Apart from Barcelona, that gives you at least three nights in each of these cities, and possibly four nights in Madrid and Seville. Cordoba is charming but rather than an overnight stay there, you might base yourselves in Granada and make a day trip to Cordoba – the fastest trains take about 90 minutes. Definitely fly from Seville to Lisbon, TAP Air Portugal has daily non-stop flights. We are a couple travelling to Canada with our adult daughter and have five nights onVancouver Island. We would rather not stay in Victoria. Can you give me some suggestions for our itinerary? We will be driving and haven’t visited this area before. J. Flowers, Manly, NSW
