What’s the best way to book hotels for an Italian break?

Simon Calder answers your questions on refunds, the French quarantine chaos and the benefits of having an Irish passport

Northern heights: one of today’s readers is considering a trip to Lake Como (Getty)

Q We’re thinking of heading to Italy on Saturday. Flights to Naples are fully booked, so we are thinking of Rome. A return flight is around £150 if we fly early morning. There we would hire a car and possibly head south to Amalfi or north to Lake Como.

British Airways says we can refund flights if it falls through. But with hotels, is it best to do something like booking.com where you lock in the price and pay on arrival, rather than risk paying upfront and losing the money?

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