The summer holidays are looming, but don’t fret ‒ there are still last-minute deals to capitalise on. Whether you’re looking for activities and new experiences for your brood, cruise convenience or self-catering space, there’s still a holiday in July or August to suit. Some are in the very hottest parts of the Med, others take you to classic parts of Britain or the fresh-aired Alps.
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UK
1. Narrowboating in Wales
How about trying something different this summer? With just four locks to navigate, the Llangollen Canal section from Llangollen itself to Whitchurch is ideal for narrowboating beginner families with teenagers seeking a low-effort break. The Dee Valley provides a spectacular backdrop and there are some memorable highlights: Pontcysyllte, the world’s tallest canal aqueduct at 38m, and ‒ spooky! ‒ the pitch-black, 480m-long Chirk Tunnel. Your luxury boat, complete with a kitchen and saloon, can be moored at virtually any point. Reduced by £299, seven nights’ self-catering for four costs from £1,784 beginning on August 10 (black-prince.com).
2. See sunflower blooms in the Cotswolds
Along with castles, calorific tea rooms and Bourton-on-the-Water’s Dragonfly Maze, summer stays in the northern Cotswolds could also incorporate visits to Glebe Farm. Open to visitors in August, this pick-your-own grows photogenic sunflowers and has hay bales ready for picnics — ideal for families with tweens. StayCotswold has various nearby rentals with space next month plus discounts of up to 25 per cent. One, in the typically twee village of Ebrington, is four-person Clare’s Cottage, where there’s a lawned garden where the kids can tear around. From August 23, seven nights’ self-catering for four now costs £853 (staycotswold.com).
• The corners of the Cotswolds you can’t miss
• 25 of the best hotels in the Cotswolds
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3. Stay in a Cornish family resort
Opening in February near Bude on Cornwall’s north coast, the rural Landal Whalesborough is a 450-acre resort perfect for families of all ages. Its distractions range from pools, play areas and tennis courts to a farm where children can feed goats or alpacas. Surf lessons await on sandy Summerleaze Beach, ten minutes’ drive away, as do ice creams and fish and chip shops. Enjoying discounts of £560, stay in a pet-friendly, timber-framed modern barn conversion with its own hot tub. Starting on August 23, seven nights’ self-catering for four is now from £2,199 (landal.co.uk).
Europe
4. Try an action-packed Portugal tour
It’s not too late for families to snag a space on Explore!’s energetic Active Portugal small-group tour, open to anyone seven or over. After scoffing fresh pastel de nata tarts in likeable Porto, you’ll hit the coast for a surfing lesson, get to wild swim in a gorgeous, shady river valley or try rafting, via ferrata and a mile-long zip wire. The August 4 departure has been discounted by £150pp so seven nights’ B&B costs from £1,395pp, or £1,240 per child aged 7-11, including transport and activities (explore.co.uk). Fly to Porto.
5. Relax in a luxury beachside Menorca
On the Balearic island of Menorca, the Villa Le Blanc hotel works well for couples with a baby or young families yearning for easy beachside calm. Featuring a pool terrace and gardens, the 159-room hotel is in Santo Tomas, a low-key village in the south of the island lined by lots of pale sand. An informal onsite restaurant serves classic Menorcan dishes, and every spacious, soft-palette bedroom has outside space. Fifteen per cent savings mean that seven nights’ B&B in a four-person, sea-view suite beginning on August 10 cost from £1,408pp, including flights (kenwoodtravel.co.uk).
• 19 of the best hotels in Menorca
6. Explore southwestern France
A pretty seaside town just inside the large Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park on France’s lesser-visited Atlantic coast, Le Teich makes a fine base for days spent tackling treetop obstacle courses, easy cycling jaunts or renting electric boats. Book a whitewashed duplex apartment with a terrace on the Résidence Les Rives Marines estate, close to its heated outdoor pool, and seven nights’ self-catering for six will be up to £452 cheaper. Beginning on August 24, prices start at £764 (summerfrance.co.uk). Fly to Bordeaux or take the train to Le Teich.
7. Soak up Italian sea views
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Boredom? Impossible. On the Sorrento peninsula’s northern flank, the Grand Hotel Moon Valley puts energetic families close to Pompeii’s evocative ruins, Naples’ world-leading pizzas, the Amalfi coast’s glamorous towns and Sorrento itself, from where ferries serve the beaches of Capri. There’s a Mediterranean restaurant and pool on site, complemented by splendid sea views, and a train station within ten minutes’ walk. All 107 air-conditioned rooms afford a balcony or terrace. Setting off on August 27 and saving £200, seven nights’ half-board costs from £765pp in a family room including flights and transfers (jet2holidays.com).
8. Hike and bike through outdoorsy Austria
Fresh air and fantastic scenery abound in South Tyrol. Inghams £1,600 discounts at Hotel Hanneshof, a traditional, cosy property with a heated pool and spa amid the authentic alpine village of Filzmoos. Ringed by lakes and pine forests, this is a place of weekend brass band concerts and horse-drawn carriages. Teenagers should like hiking and biking trails leading to moors, meadows or mountain-hut cafés serving homemade doughnuts; youngsters will love cable cars or tractor shuttles. Starting on August 10, seven nights’ half-board for four is now from £649pp (inghams.co.uk).
9. Visit under-the-radar Cyprus
After some sun, sea and sand, and nothing more complicated? Try Pissouri Bay, an under-the-radar hamlet in southwestern Cyprus. Thirty minutes’ drive from Paphos’s extensive Roman remains, it’s home to a kilometre-long blue flag-rated shore whose watersports centre supplies paddleboards. Fringing it, the all-suite Columbia Beach Resort contains a family pool and a spa to soothe frazzled parents; style-wise, expect beamed ceilings above white walls with pops of colour. Thanks to 15 per cent reductions, seven nights’ B&B for three between July 20-31 costs from £1,220pp, including flights and transfers (inspiringtravel.co.uk).
10. Book onto an Adriatic cruise
Chiefly focusing on Croatia, the Adriatic Explorer voyage from Marella Cruises calls at Split, where there’s a Roman citadel; Zadar for its white-powder bay; and walled, fairytale Dubrovnik. Kotor, an equally spellbinding fortified town flanked by mountains in nearby Montenegro, comes next before the return to Corfu. In between will come ample time to enjoy the mid-sized Marella Explorer’s sports deck, family-friendly cinema and mini-golf. As the departure on August 23 is now £2,111 cheaper, seven nights’ all-inclusive for a family of four costs from £1,531pp, including flights and transfers (tui.co.uk).
• 15 of the best cruises in Croatia
11. Go camping in the Netherlands
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The Dutch province of Friesland is a sleepy realm of lakes, waterways, forests and meadows, plus the sandy shores of the Frisian Islands. At its Landgoed Eysinga State campsite, young families can sleep in static, timber-decked holiday homes after days spent cycling along canals to windmills. A kids’ club, swimming lake and ping-pong tables are on site. Courtesy of Eurocamp’s summer sale, which provides savings of up to £500, seven nights’ self-catering for six in August costs from £264 (eurocamp.co.uk). Take the train to Heerenveen or fly to Amsterdam.
12. Spend the week in a Greek island villa
CV Villas is knocking £100 off charter flights for stays in numerous Corfu properties on selected summer dates. Still offering some August availability and working well for families with teenagers is Sophia Upper — a vanilla-coloured home in the Greek island’s northeast whose garden gate opens directly onto Kerasia’s pebble shore. That puts the Taverna Kerasia’s fresh fish in strolling distance, too. A typically Mediterranean vibe extends across both big bedrooms to the lounge and floral pergola, beyond which is a shared 10m pool. Seven nights’ self-catering for four costs from £4,236, including flights (cvvillas.com).
• 9 of the best affordable villas in Greece
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