What is there to see and do without a car in Cincinnati?

Simon Calder on Cincinnati without a car, beach holidays near LA and getting to Avignon

British Airways flies five times a week between London and the Ohio city (Getty)

Q We are thinking of trying the new British Airways route to Cincinnati and wondered what there is to see and do around the area and possibly across the borders of the neighbouring states? Any travel would have to be by public transport (train preferably) as we do not want to hire a car. We are a couple in our sixties who enjoy live music, dining out and just hanging out and exploring in a new city. We would be looking to go in late September/early October.

Sue O

A This month British Airways started flying five times a week between London and Cincinnati – reviving the route last flown by Delta in 2009. I am a fan of “secondary cities” in the US, which I find more authentic that the premier league destinations.

Cincinnati has some attractive 19th-century architecture, best appreciated at Findlay Market: “Ohio’s oldest continuously operated public market”, as it styles itself, dates from 1855 (note that it is closed on Mondays). For a city of its size, the Cincinnati Art Museum is well endowed with European art – including Rubens, Gainsborough, Matisse, Monet and Picasso. And a boat trip on the Ohio River provides a good perspective on the city. So, Cincinnati is well worth a couple of days, with a decent civic bus service to help you explore. Beyond that, though, life without a car is going to prove tricky.

By train, Indianapolis is three-and-a-half hours away by the Cardinal rail service. That’s the good news; unfortunately, the train from Cincinnati to the Indiana state capital runs only three times a week, and both arrival and departure are in the early hours of the morning.

Louisville, Kentucky – upstream beside the Ohio River – is a better option, with fairly regular buses taking around two hours from Cincinnati. It’s a fascinating city with elaborate architecture both downtown and in Old Louisville, strewn with Victorian mansions. The 21c Museum Hotel has a 30ft sculpture of David planted on the sidewalk outside and welcomes visitors to its excellent (and free) modern art collection. And the Ali Centre celebrates the life and philosophy of “the greatest” boxer, Muhammad Ali. It is also the home of America’s oldest horse race, the Kentucky Derby, with an impressive tourist experience at the course.

San Jose del Cabo in Mexico is a lovely, relaxed town (Getty/iStock)

Q We are flying to Los Angeles for all of February. We want somewhere we can go, near the equator, for a couple of weeks for a relaxing beach holiday within that time – not budget places, but not five-star either. Yet they all seem so expensive for areas that are meant to be cheap. Can you advise?

Mike M

A I infer that you are looking south of the Mexican border with the US. While costs are certainly cheaper in Mexico than in California, two negatives are at work: the slump in sterling since the Brexit referendum (currently 15 per cent down on its 2016 peak against the US dollar and most other currencies in the Americas) and the spikes in travel prices due to strong demand since the Covid pandemic.

Having said that, I have three options for you to consider. First, San Jose del Cabo near the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. It is a lovely, relaxed town with good beaches nearby, and easy access to the full-on fun spots of Cabo. You can fly nonstop from LA for around £250 return, but if you travel just south of the border to Tijuana airport you should find a budget flight on Viva or Aerobes for under £100.

If, though, you prefer to be right on the beach, then the arc of sand at San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua could be the place for you. The problem is access: I cannot find nonstop flights from Los Angeles to Managua airport, and the journey from the Nicaraguan capital to the top resort is several hours by road. Other Pacific beaches, particularly those in Costa Rica, are likely to be pricy.

So my third option is inland – but gorgeous. Panajachel, on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, offers a superb escape. The setting is blissful and the costs are as low as you will find in Central America for decent places to stay. Avianca Costa Rica, oddly, is offering the best nonstop deal from Los Angeles to Guatemala City at around £250 return. The journey from the capital is about two hours – and you should make a detour on the way in or out to the handsome colonial town of Antigua Guatemala.

Sur le pont: ruins of St-Benezet bridge in Avignon (Avignon tourisme)

Q I am worried that our coming holiday has “disaster” written all over it. My husband and I have booked a flight with easyJet from Edinburgh to Lyon in France, and a connecting train from Lyon to Avignon. The security staff at Edinburgh airport are meant to be going on strike. We have also heard that easyJet are cancelling flights from Edinburgh. If our flight gets cancelled, our holiday would be ruined because there are only two flights a week to Lyon. Where do we stand?

Anne McK

A Your holiday sounds well planned and I’m sure it will be a great success. In your position my main concern would be the sun: southern France can get extremely warm in July. But to tackle your worries: first, the dispute between the Unite union and Edinburgh airport has been resolved. (There is always a background risk that French air-traffic controllers will take industrial action but the odds are strongly in your favour.)

As you say, easyJet has been cancelling flights from Edinburgh: seven on Sunday alone. But almost all of these were to London airports, particularly Gatwick – where easyJet has a real problem with mass cancellations. I think it most unlikely that easyJet would cancel a twice-a-week operation such as Edinburgh-Lyon – the revenue from the flight is likely to be very high during the Scottish school holidays, and sorting out passengers’ transportation would be much trickier than simply sending customers to LNER trains as they can when cancelling flights from Edinburgh to London

However, stuff happens, and so let me outline your rights were the 9.50am flight from Edinburgh to Lyon to be grounded. The airline is obliged to get you to Lyon by any means possible. The obvious alternative – assuming you learn of the cancellation the night before – is a 6am flight from Edinburgh to Paris on Air France, with a connection through to Lyon. This gets in at 1.40pm, 35 minutes after your easyJet flight is due, but you will already have cleared frontier formalities in Paris so hopefully you can still make your train. If, though, you miss the express to Avignon, talk to French Railways staff, show them proof of the disruption and I am fairly sure they will agree to move you to a later departure free of charge.

Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder