Something to declare: Sleep across Biscay; Seychelles deluxe; Coastal Kenya; Alps by rail

Bargain of the week: Sleep across Biscay

As The Independent Traveller has revealed, the new "Motorways of the Seas" ferry link between Nantes in western France and Gijon in northern Spain is subsidised to the tune of £750 per hour by the European Union. To profit from such largesse, sign up for the current deal covering a car, two people and a standard cabin for £99 each way from LD Lines (0844 576 8836; ldlines.com).

To get yourself across the Channel there are plenty of cheap deals at present – including LD Lines' offer of £57.50 each way for a car and two people between Portsmouth and Le Havre. P&O Ferries (08716 642121; poferries.com) has a £39 deal between Dover and Calais, including services on the new Spirit of Britain superferry – due to arrive in Dover tomorrow and to enter service on 21 January.

Destination of the week: Seychelles deluxe

Raffles Praslin, the latest addition to the Singapore-based hotel group, is running behind schedule but is now on course to open for business on 1 February.

The appeal of this Indian Ocean resort includes 24-hour butler service and one-third of a mile of beach.

The nightly rate for a double if you book direct with the resort (00 248 296 780; seychellesraffles.com) is an ambitious €980, including breakfast. But book the property as part of a package, and the price falls substantially.

Destinology (0800 634 2866; destinology.co.uk) has seven-night stays in March for £2,497 per person if you book in the next 10 days. The price (which works out at a nightly rate of £713 for two) includes flights with Qatar Airways from Heathrow or Gatwick via Doha to the main airport of Mahe, transfers by air and car, and breakfast.

Warning of the week: Coastal Kenya

The American government keeps a close eye on where its overseas staff may travel, particularly in Kenya – the location for the murderous attack on the US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998 in which more than 200 people died.

Embassy security officials have just expanded the "restricted area" in Kenya to include parts of Lamu district in the east of the country, a popular backpacker destination.

The new exclusion zone is a 60km-wide band starting north-east of Pate Island and running to the Somalia border. The US State Department says the change was made due to reports of "Somali-based armed groups known to have crossed into Kenya to stage attacks".

The UK Foreign Office currently advises against "all but essential travel" to within 30km of the border with Somalia.

Tip of the week: Alps by rail

It is a rare map of Europe that uses heavier type for Les Arcs, St Anton and Zermatt than for Lyon, Salzburg and Zurich – but the new SkiRail Map of the Alps is devoted to showing how to reach more than 120 rail-linked ski resorts in Europe by train. The map, (£8.95) is researched by Neil Guthrie and published by Roger Lascelles (01255 870595; rogerlascellesmaps.co.uk).