Sam Green, Monmouthshire

A Havana offers the perfect combination: a fascinating heritage and dreamy Caribbean beaches. There’s Fidel and Che and the delicately crumbling colonial architecture, all accompanied by a soundtrack of Buena Vista classics wafting from bars where the coolest of quartets strum away. Youngsters really do salsa in the street, grandads really do chew cigars and play dominos in ivy-clad squares, and the local restaurants, paladares, really are in the living rooms of family houses. All that and Playa del Este’s five miles of golden sand are only a 15-minute cab ride away. Virgin (0871 222 0304, www.virgin.com/holidays) has a week from £713pp, B&B; or go all-inclusive with Caribtours (020 7751 0660, www.caribtours.co.uk), from about £1,200pp.

Q I’d like to treat my wife to a spa break. Can you suggest somewhere about an hour and a half’s drive from home, which has good food and walking for me as well as the girlie stuff for her.

Keith Williams, Bristol

A Whatley Manor (01666 822888, www.whatleymanor.com; doubles from £275), just outside Malmesbury, has a glamorous spa that is one of only a handful in the UK offering exclusive La Prairie treatments. It also has a cool hydrotherapy pool and thermal cabins ranging from a camomile steam grotto to a fiery Finnish sauna. The hotel is near Westonbirt Arboretum, a beautiful place to burn off some calories before a Michelin-starred meal in the hotel’s excellent restaurant. Another possibility is Charlton House (01749 342008, www.charltonhouse.com; doubles from £165), near Shepton Mallet, owned by the founders of the Mulberry fashion house, Roger and Monty Saul. Its spa is a dinky but chic pampering zone with a lush Moroccan theme. The restaurant serves hearty organic food, much of it grown on the Sauls’ own farm, Sharpham Park, and there are plenty of glorious hikes in the surrounding Somerset hills.

Q My husband is fascinated by volcanoes. Can we visit an active one without spending a fortune?

Ellie Kempton, Brighton

A Europe’s most active volcano is on Stromboli, one of Italy’s Aeolian Islands. It is also close to the continent’s most famous smoulderer, Sicily’s Mount Etna. The Adventure Company (0870 794 1009, www.adventurecompany.co.uk) has a seven-night walking tour of the two, as well as stops at other islands such as Vulcano, where you can indulge in a hot mud bath, from £950pp including flights, transfers and B&B accommodation. Or consider a walking tour through Iceland, where the interplay between fire and ice is truly dramatic: eight days from £1,234pp, including flights, accommodation and most meals, through Explore (0870 333 4001, www.explore.co.uk).

Q Is there such a thing as an airline ombudsman?

RJ Campsie, Farnham Common

A Unfortunately not. If you have a complaint that you cannot resolve directly with the carrier, contact the government’s watchdog, the Air Transport Users Council (020 7240 6061, www.auc.org.uk). It has a pretty good track record for interceding on behalf of travellers who have been badly treated. Otherwise, your only option is the small- claims court, for claims of up to £5,000. Although its officers do their best to cut through the bureaucracy, it can still be a pretty tedious process.

Q My 16-year-old daughter wants to learn to ski.Can you recommend any holidays specifically for her age group?

Chris Jacob, by e-mail

A PGL Travel (0870 050 7507, www.pgl.co.uk) has courses designed for 13- to 17-year-olds in Zell am See, Austria. They include full-board accommodation, five hours’ qualified instruction for six days, equipment hire and lift pass, and cost from £699pp. There are departures in February, March and April, with coach travel from various points across the UK. Club Med (0845 367 5747, www.clubmed.co.uk) has just introduced teenage ski programmes at La Plagne 2100, Tignes Val Claret, Les Ménuires, Avoriaz and Alpe d’Huez, where students can try a range of snowsports. A week costs from £702 for those aged over 12 and £600 for ages 4-11, all-inclusive.

Have you got a problem? E-mail the Doctor at docholiday@sunday-times.co.uk, or write to Sunday Times Travel, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST

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