Departures: Expo tips

SANDIE LENTON of White Villages (010 34 95 2151317), a small independent English-run company in the village of Gaucin ('an easy drive of just over two hours from Seville and 30 minutes from the coast'), says that she can arrange suitable accommodation for prospective Expo visitors.

'We offer a complete selection of village houses to rent from pounds 95 a week (sleeping two) to pounds 350 (places sleeping up to six, some houses have their own little swimming pool). We also have more glamorous villas, with pools, in the countryside which sleep eight to 10 people and cost from pounds 800 to pounds 2,000 a week.

'It is easy, though tiring, to visit Expo in one day. We recommend staying overnight on a 55ft wooden yacht built in 1929 and sleeping four guests in one double and two single cabins (a further two can be accommodated in the saloon). The schooner is moored in the river only 20 minutes from the centre of Seville: bed and breakfast from pounds 22.50 per person per night.'

Mr G E Young visited Expo, staying in an hostal that he discovered by phoning around the places listed in the Let's Go: Spain guide.

'I found one that not only spoke English but also had a room when we intended to go. We then confirmed this by letter and sent a Eurocheque deposit. The room was small but pleasant with an en suite bathroom and cost about pounds 55 a night. It was only a short walk from the city centre and about a pounds 3 cab ride from the Expo grounds.'

Mr Young says that the tourist office in Seville has a list of hostales which gives phone numbers and prices for 80 places.