Andrea Crisp is planning to take a year off to cycle round the world on the cheap. She wanted to know how much she should budget for on a daily basis.

• Your budget will depend on which countries you are visiting, with developing countries being obviously cheaper than developed countries.

Two years ago I cycled around the world and found that £20 per day in countries such as Australia and New Zealand was perfectly adequate and that about £7 per day in Asia was more than enough.

There were periods on the road when I spent very little, such as in the outback of Australia, which meant that I could save money to use when I felt like spoiling myself.

It is worth bearing in mind that there will be times when you feel like taking a break from the cycling and doing something else, such as an organised tour to a place that is not easy to reach, or an activity such as trekking or diving. So, it is worth having a contingency fund to enable you to do this.

Also, in developing countries there are times when you feel like spoiling yourself, perhaps by staying at an upmarket hotel or resort. It is worth having a bit of cash in reserve for the odd spot of self-indulgence.

Tim Cox

• In 1980, I was away for 12 months cycling overland to India. Although prices have gone up since then, it should still be incredibly cheap if you spend time in Asia rather than Europe.

Once past Istanbul I rarely paid for accommodation at all because people were so hospitable. If you stay away from big cities except where absolutely necessary, then you'll have a great and relatively inexpensive time - and you'll meet some wonderful people along the way. Language barriers will melt away if you spend long enough crossing each country to learn the basic vocabulary to get by on a daily basis.
Pete Bailey

Helen Jacobs wanted to know where she could buy an electronic mosquito deterrent.

• I must disagree with Hans Heap (Octobet 21). He bought an electronic mosquito deterrent in 1979. It didn't work. That was a long time ago. I bought one about four years ago and it works brilliantly. I bought it from a catalogue that came through the letterbox - Home Free. Unfortunately a couple of years ago when I tried to buy more of these devices as Christmas presents, the catalogue company said that they no longer supplied them. I never found out why. A friend in Tanzania speculated that the anti-malaria drugs companies might have bought the supplier simply in order to close it down and so remove the competition.
Mary M Scott

• Like your correspondent Hans Heap, I had an electronic mosquito deterrent device similar to the one he describes. However, the principle was supposed to be that it imitated the male insects. (Since it was the pregnant females who did the biting, they wished to avoid the further attentions of the males.)

It worked wonderfully well. In situations where I would previously have expected to have been badly bitten I would escape completely or very lightly.
Gerry Bates

This week's question

Heather Simmonds wants to fly to an airport in the south of France next year and then hire a VW camper/ motor home for the duration of her holiday. Can anyone suggest companies to approach?