Q I am travelling to Iceland with my girlfriend for 10 days in late August and early September, on a fly-drive trip. Our itinerary and accommodation are booked and paid for. It’s the high cost of food, drink and activities that concern us. Any tips about mid-range restaurants, good deals, etc?

A The good news is that you have paid upfront for the most expensive elements of your trip, hopefully before the collapse of sterling.

Against the Icelandic krona, as with other currencies, your pound is worth a lot less than it was before the EU referendum. When I was last in the country in the autumn, I was getting almost ISK200 for £1; today, you would be lucky to get ISK150. So a dinner that was a good deal at ISK3,000 per person has risen from £15 to £20. Iceland is once again a high-cost country (after the economic meltdown, and with sterling strong, it went through a few years of moderate prices).

If you drink, the easiest way to economise is on alcohol – depending on your thirst, you might want to maximise on the duty-free allowance, which is two bottles of wine (or a litre of spirits) plus six litres of beer each.

Switching lunch each day from a restaurant to a picnic will also generate good savings. Assuming you are starting in Reykjavik, you can take advantage of the biggest supermarkets in the nation to stock up on essentials.

Next, organise your sightseeing efficiently. In the capital, you can visit the three impressive galleries that make up Reykjavik Art Museum for a single ISK1,500 ticket (about £10).

Outside the capital, many locations – from waterfalls to geysers – are natural attractions for which there is no admission charge. And you can even economise on the €50 minimum fee for the Blue Lagoon – by not going in. That sounds banal, but in fact the area around this steamy bathing complex is rather more beautiful and rewarding than inside. Later, go for a soak in one of the many outdoor municipal baths, heated from the restless earth, for a fraction of the price.

On the trail of Roald Dahl in Great Missenden

You might not have heard of Great Missenden. It’s a quaint little village tucked away in Buckinghamshire’s Chiltern Hills, which has managed to retain a quiet and unassuming feel, despite for decades having been home to one of the country’s best-loved writers.

This year, on 13 September, marks what would have been Roald Dahl’s 100th birthday, and ahead of the centenary, Steven Spielberg’s big-screen adaptation of one of the author’s most popular books, The BFG, is released in cinemas this weekend.

Dahl lived in Great Missenden for 36 years, until his death in 1990. He once wrote: “I have never lived in a town or city and I would hate to do so.” His home, Gipsy House, an 18th century farmhouse on the edge of the village, is not open to the public, but you can still get a taste of the Dahlian magic from the outside. It was here he pretended to be the BFG, climbing a ladder to blow happy dreams into the windows of his children, and later his grandchildren, just as the giant would. And the gypsy-style caravan he had in the garden for the children to play in inspired the one in which Danny and his father lived in Danny, The Champion of the World.

Walking down the village’s main street, made up of neat terraces with tiny, brightly painted front doors, you’ll find the inspiration that permeates Dahl’s best works. At the top of the High Street is the rather plain 1970s Great Missenden library, but it’s where Matilda (in the book of the same name) spent her time when her mother went off to Aylesbury to play bingo.

The Red Pump Garage petrol station, which was the inspiration for the garage in Danny, The Champion of the World, has been captured in time; it still has 1950- style pumps, with the white Shell Oil sign at the top. And slightly further down, Crown House, a timber-framed building occupying number 70 on the High Street, is the basis of Sophie’s “norphanage” in The BFG.

Yet the epicentre of the village’s connection to the author is the Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre. Dahl’s writing hut, which he diligently worked in for 30 years, writing only in pencil and on yellow paper, has been moved from his garden to the museum. The quirky outbuilding looks exactly how he left it, complete with one of his removed hip ball sockets on the table, among other bizarre keepsakes.

Dahl was not always a writer, as the Solo gallery in the museum tells. Starting a career in oil, he was first posted to Tanzania, where his sense of adventure really came to life. “I was off to a land of palm-trees and coconuts and coral reefs and lions and elephants and deadly snakes ... I couldn’t wait,” he wrote in his autobiographical book Boy.

Dahl often walked from his home to the nearby woods, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in search of inspiration, and the same trails are still visible to walk along today.

Angling Spring wood was the inspiration behind one of the writer’s most charismatic characters, Fantastic Mr Fox. The gnarled Witches Tree is said to be where the four-legged family lived.

“On a hill above a valley there was a wood. In the wood there was a huge tree. Under the tree there was a hole. In the hole live Mr Fox and Mrs Fox and their four small foxes,” he wrote. Unfortunately the tree blew down in 2003, but it continues to lie where it fell. And almost directly opposite, Atkins Wood, with its towering trees and dark forest floors, is what inspired the pheasant hunting in Danny, The Champion of the World.

Back in Great Missenden proper, you will find Dahl’s final resting place. On Church Lane is the small church of St Peter and St Paul, set on a mound. The writer’s grave is often decorated with onions, owing to his love of the vegetable, and there are also some very large footprints nearby, in case you need a friendly guiding foot to find it.

Travel firms reassure holidaymakers heading to Turkey

Travel firms are attempting to reassure customers due to fly out to Turkey that flights and holidays are operating as normal following this weekend’s failed coup. However, a company that helps people deal with holiday complaints said those due to head to the country in the next few days should be offered the chance to obtain a refund or amend their trip.

According to the Association of British Travel Agents, around 50,000 British holidaymakers are currently believed to be in Turkey.

Thomas Cook was offering free cancellations and amendments to customers due to fly out on Sunday 17 July, though the company has made clear that “normal terms and conditions” now apply.

In a statement posted on its website on Monday 18 July it said: “There has been no change to Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice regarding travel to Turkey following the events on Friday night. Our flight and holiday programme is operating as normal, and our staff on the ground in resort tell us is that everything is calm and customers are enjoying their holidays.” It added that any customers who were concerned should contact the company on 01733 224536.

In a joint statement, Thomson and First Choice said “normal booking conditions apply for all travel dates to Turkey”. They added that all flights departing on Monday 18 July 2016 were operating as normal, though they were continuing to “closely monitor the situation”.

Turkish Airlines has announced that for flights to and from the country between 15 July and 20 July inclusive, “all rebooking/re-routing will be made without any charge”, and for unused tickets “refund[s] will be made without any charge”. It said the validity of tickets can be extended until 15 August without penalty.

The FCO said the situation in Turkey appeared to be calming, but it added: “The security environment, however, remains potentially volatile. Following earlier disruption, flights to and from airports in Turkey are returning to normal, although some disruption remains and you should check with your airline or tour operator before travelling.”

It said travellers “should take extra care in public places – particularly those visited by foreigners” and added that apart from Marmaris on the south-west coast, “the coastal resorts do not appear to be significantly affected at present … Continue to exercise vigilance in resort areas.”

The Association of British Insurers has said that those booked to travel to Turkey should contact their tour operator, travel agent or airline for advice. It added: “If alternative arrangements are made, you should be able to transfer your travel insurance to the new destination.”

Meanwhile, HolidayTravelWatch, a company that helps people complain and make a claim if something goes wrong, argued that a “significant change” had arisen with holidays to Turkey.

Spokesman Frank Brehany said: “There is no question that British holidaymakers scheduled to travel to Turkey in the next few days will be concerned as to their safety, particularly as the effect of this coup is likely to last for some weeks ahead.”

He said it was therefore time for travel firms to “recognise their obligations” under the package travel regulations, which set out what happens when there are “significant alterations to essential terms”, and offer customers penalty-free refunds or cost-free changes to holidays.

Travel question of the day: Simon Calder on safety in Cyprus

A Personally I wouldn’t travel to Cyprus in August. But that is not because of any sense of danger – just the heat on the island in the warmest month of the year, when the average temperature is above 30C. April and October are my preferred months; May and September are also lovely.

I infer, though, your question has nothing to do with excessive sunshine, but rather the proximity to the appalling war that has cost so many lives in Syria; the Syrian coast is only 50 miles from Cyprus. I see no risk that the unfolding tragedy in Syria will spill over to the island. So apart from the heat, I would happily go to Cyprus – and take my family there. But I wouldn’t rent a car, because the roads are about twice as dangerous than the UK. That is where the main risk resides, along with the water: “Be aware of strong seas and undertows,” says the Foreign Office.