The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Michael Gebicki
I’m organising a holiday for two extended families and three generations, ages three to 70s, and I’m tearing my hair out trying to accommodate different preferences, needs, budgets and diets.
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I → organise → preferences
A. Leeson, South Yarra, Vic
Make it easy on yourself and take a cruise.
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it → make → cruise
You only have to unpack once, you don’t have to worry about getting them onto buses or flights, there are plenty of activities that will work for your different age groups, you get a family-friendly choice of cuisines from burgers with fries to Asian and European fine dining and big ships have cabins at various price points.
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ships → have → points
What might suit your group is a Pacific Islands cruise, starting from Sydney and hopping through the islands.
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suit → suit → islands
Longer itineraries add Fiji, but remember it’s the vessel as much as the islands that make the holiday, choose carefully.
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that → add → holiday
That’s a risk to take into consideration, but I wouldn’t let it affect your plans.
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it → ’ → plans
Next May I’m spending a few days in Thailand before travelling to Europe to board a cruise to Greenland.
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I → spend → Greenland
I don’t like the cold and I’m concerned about the need to pack clothing for wildly different climates.
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I → like → climates
How can I stay under the checked baggage limit?
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I → stay → limit
In Greenland in May, you can expect temperatures between minus 6 degrees and 6 degrees, and you’ll be on the water in a Zodiac some of the time.
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you → expect → time
Dressing for extreme cold requires layers.
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Dressing → dress → layers
Throw in a beanie, a scarf and warm gloves and you’re in business.
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you → throw → business
I like wool, and Icebreaker makes fantastic base-layer products but they’re pricey, wait for the sales.
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they → like → sales
You can also go with thermal leggings but sturdy trousers (preferably not cotton) should be fine.
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trousers → go → leggings
For the fleece, a zip-up jacket works well, also in synthetic or wool.
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jacket → zip → synthetic
The acme of outer-layer fabrics is Gore-Tex, which does a fantastic job but it’s expensive.
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it → do → job
There are plenty of synthetic jackets that perform almost as well for a much lower price.
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that → be → price
Chilled feet are no fun, so wear thick socks and shoes with rubber compound soles, such as Vibram, which doesn’t transmit the cold.
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which → wear → cold
I’ve gone through ice storms in Greenland dressed like this and never felt cold.
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I → go → this
This clothing will add about 5kg to your checked luggage.
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clothing → add → luggage
We’re vising relatives in Vancouver next June and we’d like to cruise the Inside Passage.
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we → vise → Passage
We’ve received varying advice regarding size of the vessel, when to go and for how long.
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We → receive → long
M. Zhang, Box Hill, Vic
Cruising on the Inside Passage is dominated by big vessels that take upward of 2000 passengers and they offer good value, heaps of on-board facilities, several different categories of staterooms and multiple dining choices.
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they → cruise → staterooms
However, big ships can feel busy and out-of-kilter with the pristine region they’re visiting.
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they → feel → region
If you want to get to grips with the raw majesty of this chilly and spectacular wilderness, get mud on your boots and perhaps paddle a sea kayak around melting sea ice, a small vessel is the only way to go.
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vessel → want → ice
Typically, these vessels carry fewer than a hundred passengers, and only a couple of dozen in some cases.
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vessels → carry → cases
Smaller vessels will also take you into bays and even some ports that cannot accommodate larger vessels.
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that → take → vessels
The Small Boat Company and Un-Cruise Adventures are two small-ship cruise operators that get good reviews.
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that → get → reviews
My husband and I are visiting Japan in May, flying into Tokyo and spending two to three weeks travelling, finishing in Kobe for a masters basketball tournament.
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husband → visit → tournament
We’re hoping for a mix of cultural activities, mountains and coastal villages, big and small cities and great food.
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We → hop → activities
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E. Vagg, Warrnambool, Vic
May is an excellent time to visit Japan, but you’d probably want to avoid Golden Week, which finishes on May 5.
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which → visit → May
Massive numbers of Japanese are on the move in Golden Week, crowds are huge in the cities and accommodation becomes scarce and expensive.
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accommodation → become → cities
In Tokyo, look for accommodation around Asakusa/Ueno, it’s an atmospheric quarter of the city, easy to navigate and transport options are first-rate.
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options → look → city
For the day trip I’d choose Kamakura, a scenic coastal city about an hour’s train ride from the capital.
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I → choose → capital
Make your next stop in the Kiso Valley, the quiet and mountain scenery are a complete contrast to Tokyo.
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scenery → make → Tokyo
This typically requires backtracking toward Nagoya or via Toyama/Tsuruga on the Hokuriku Shinkansen.
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This → require → Shinkansen
You might elevate the experience by choosing a beautiful ryokan with a private or semi-private bath, excellent food and preferably a garden.
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You → elevate → bath
Next stop is Kyoto for a four-night stay, exploring the gardens and temples, and you might take a private half-day craft tour.
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you → explore → tour
The city is known as a stronghold for artisans who maintain traditional crafts such as lacquerware and ceramics.
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who → know → lacquerware
If time allows, make a day trip to Nara, Japan’s first capital, with its World Heritage temples, deer park and pilgrimage trails.
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time → allow → temples
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
