My husband is unable to fly and we would like to experience Uluru. Are there any bus tours that cover Uluru and Coober Pedy that depart from Adelaide or Darwin and can cater for a mobility scooter? We are only interested in an organised tour.
S. Harrold, Albert Park, Vic

AAT Kings has a four-day Outback Explore tour from Uluru to Adelaide that takes in Coober Pedy. The company advises “Collapsible, pushable wheelchairs can be accommodated in coach lockers. Please note that motorised wheelchairs/scooters cannot be accepted”. You need to check with AAT Kings to make sure this trip is going to meet your needs. You would also need to arrange your travels to Uluru with another bus operator, and this is possible from either Adelaide or Darwin to Alice Springs and then on to Uluru. Greyhound Australia can get you to Alice Springs and AAT Kings offers transfers from Alice Springs to Uluru.

My son and I are planning a two-week trip to Egypt, staying in Cairo and wanting to do a five-day Nile cruise. Is it safe to go by train instead of flying to get to/return from the cruise. Also, any suggestions for what to do in Cairo?
S. Pinto, Lalor, Vic

It’s perfectly safe to travel by train. Most cruises begin in Luxor, south of Cairo, and as the home of the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Luxor temples and the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the city makes an ideal starting point. Plan to stay at least three nights in Luxor. Nile River cruises between Luxor and Aswan aboard the larger vessels generally take three days, which allows for several stops at significant sites along the way. Another option is a dahabiya cruise. These are two-masted sailing vessels with modern facilities and they travel more slowly, generally four to five days for the Luxor-Aswan trip. They vary in size but eight to 12 cabins is typical. Dahabiyas can anchor anywhere along the banks of the Nile and this allows you to explore villages and farmlands as well as the significant temples along the river. If you want to relax and watch the scenery glide by at a slow pace, a dahabiya is ideal. In Cairo, beside the pyramids and the sphynx, don’t miss the new Grand Egyptian Museum, the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar, Coptic Cairo, the Salah El Din Citadel and the Gayer-Anderson Museum.

I am interested in art nouveau architecture and have heard Riga, Latvia is an ideal destination. What other cities in the vicinity are good for architecture tours from the first quarter of the 20th century?
A. Morris, Dingley Village, Vic

Prague is another city with outstanding examples of art nouveau architecture. In Old Town Square, the facade of the Prague City Insurance Company is one example, while Parizska is a grand boulevard with many buildings richly embellished with the architectural flourishes of art nouveau. One of the most exultant expressions of the style is the Grand Hotel Europa on Wenceslas Square. At the time the hotel was built in the early 1900s, new techniques in fashioning metal and glass had allowed the twining motifs of art nouveau to find expression in balconies, galleries and windows and the Hotel Europa takes them to her heart with a facade and an interior lavishly embellished with scrolls, wreaths, canopies and calligraphy. The style reaches its apex in Municipal House, close to Wenceslas Square, which has been renovated to reveal the full glory of its exquisitely detailed art nouveau exterior. The ground floor of the building houses a cafe and a restaurant, where the lamps are especially fine representations of the style. From the foyer, opposing staircases descend to more cafes, bars and galleries where tiled panels, lift shafts and even woodwork are executed faithfully in the same style.

My partner (70s) and I (60s) are thinking about a trip to Puglia, flying with Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, spending two or three days there and then on to Bari. We don’t wish to drive, would Bari be a good base for day trips?
D. Swift, Erskineville, NSW

Turkish Airlines is a great idea, and a few days spent exploring Istanbul – perfect. Bari is a likeable city, compact, easy to manage and well-connected with flights as well as train services. However, it’s at the northern end of Puglia and not ideal as a base. Ostuni, slightly inland and further to the south, would be a better place to stay. As well as a lively city with plenty of hotel and dining options, it offers easy access to the white cities of the Valle d’Itria, including Alberobello, Locorotondo and Martina Franca. You could split your time and spend a few nights in Lecce, Puglia’s baroque beauty. It gets busy with day trippers but early mornings and in the evenings it’s just you and the locals. From here you can easily visit Galatina and Otranto and even take a bus ride along the coast road between Otranto and Castro Marina, it’s beyond gorgeous. As for timing, between mid-September and mid-October is ideal, Puglia is well and truly on the “must-see” lists and summers bring the crowds.

Travel advice is general; readers should consider their personal circumstances