Trip Coach: January 30, 2007

Budget Travel editors: Welcome to this week's Trip Coach. Let's get to your questions!

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Westerville, OH: Our ten year wedding anniversary is coming up in August and I want to take my wife to France. We want to see Paris and maybe Provence and the French Riviera, however my wife is a vegan and I am not. Can you suggest a neighborhood to stay in and tell us where there are both good vegan and down to earth French restaurants that cook the traditional French meals, or a neighborhood that makes it easy to visit these restaurants?

Budget Travel editors: There is no one area for vegetarian restaurants in Paris; vegie-friendly establishments are scattered in throughout the city's different arrondissements (districts). The good news is that Paris is an intimate, easily walkable city, so nearly every spot is accessible to a centrally located hotel. Check out Budget Travel's Paris Snap Guide for a list of recommended hotels -- and a neighborhood by neighborhood guide to the city.

You'll find a lot of helpful information on travel websites and blogs that have forums for traveling vegans and vegetarians. One that is particularly helpful: http://iwanttogotoparis.blogspot.com/2007/01/being-vegetarian-in-paris.html. Another site with an updated list of vegetarian restaurants in Paris is:

http://www.happycow.net/europe/france/paris/index.html. If you're worried about any communication barriers, you can pick up the Vegan Passport, a compilation phrases, translated into dozens of languages, to explain the concept of "vegan" to unfamiliar restaurant staff (vegansociety.com, about $6).

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Oak Park, MI: We are trying to plan a trip to Hawaii sometime in July for about 8-9 days. We would like to stay on or close to the beach at a nice hotel for two couples. I don't want to spend a fortune but the other couple wants a 4-star hotel. Can we do find a nice hotel for 100 night? Or should we get a tour company to plan the hotel and tours or is it just as easy to plan ourself. We want to go to a couple other islands, maybe staying three nights at each. Is that too much or a hassle to do?

Budget Travel editors: You could happily visit two islands in eight or nine days, but try for more than that and you're likely to wind up exhausted and frustrated. Each island has its own appeal and plenty to keep you busy. Our preference would be for pairing either Maui and Kauai or Maui and Oahu. On Maui, for example, the lovely, low-key area of Napili is a convenient jumping-off point for exploring the island and its low-rise condos are perfect for larger groups. Try the Napili Sunset or the Outrigger Napili Shores. Outrigger owns a series of condos throughout Hawaii. If you want to get the taste of another island, Molokai is a short ferry ride away from Maui and makes a fun day trip--especially for snorkelers. If you decide to go with a tour company, start by looking at Pleasant Holidays, which has practically cornered the market on bargain Hawaii air/hotel and air/car/hotel packages.

For more advice, read Trip Coach: A First-Time Trip to Maui and Kauai as well as Maui: Friendly, Quirky, Full of Soul, and our Honolulu Snap Guide.

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Scottsdale, AZ: My son and niece turn 21 in late July. Any ideas where to go with the extended family to celebrate?