I would like to go to Senegal for two weeks this winter but I have been unable to find a company that can help me. I would like to fly direct, not via The Gambia. - Claire MacGregor-Fairlie, via e-mail

Most Senegal holidays offered by UK tour operators combine it with The Gambia. I found something else through www.responsibletravel.com. H.E.L.P Travel (www.helptravel.org), based in southern Senegal, runs one or two-week trips that include taking part in a choice of community development projects as well as excursions through the landscapes of the tropical Casamance region, two days at the beach resorts of Cap Skirring, Abené and Kafountine and a trip to the historical sights of Ziguinchor. Local guides are used, all food is bought in local markets and a percentage of the tour price is invested in projects to help villagers throughout Senegal. It costs £1,015 for 14 days, excluding international flights. Air France (0870 142 4343, www.airfrance.co.uk) flies to Dakar from London via Paris.

We are flying to Montreal in September and plan to visit friends in New Hampshire and Vermont by car. We have recent passports and are both British citizens. What other documentation do we need to enter the US at one of the Vermont border crossings? - Andrew Porteous, via e-mail

Machine-readable passports are the main requirement and as yours are recent passports, you should be OK. At the border you'll have to complete and sign the non-immigrant visa waiver arrival/departure form, usually issued in the secondary inspection station. Take your return tickets to be on the safe side. You can then stay for up to 90 days. Queues at the border have got longer since new rules required Canadians to present passports (or documents from a specified list) to gain entry to the US. Check border waiting times here

We are visiting South Africa later this year. I wish to book car hire to pick up at Cape Town airport when we fly in, to the day we leave. I am confused by all the insurance options and ideally I want to pay a rate so that I am covered for everything, without paying unknown local charges when we pick up the car. Is this possible? - Janet Marshall, via e-mail

It seems not. The best Hertz (0870 8448844, www.hertz.com) could do is a rental price that would include collision damage waiver, theft protection, unlimited mileage, super damage waiver, service and VAT. There is an extra charge for additional drivers/or child car seats from about £6.50 per rental and a contract fee of £1.68 - both are payable at the location only. There is also an excess that varies per size of car (from £100) and this is unable to be waivered. You could at least deal with the excess payment in advance by buying an annual worldwide policy from Insurance4carhire.com (0870 0435857) for £59, which would cover excess on damage to the car, including the undercarriage, excess on theft, and damage to windows and tyres.

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