COME the new school term this month and a common question at the school gates is: “Have you booked next summer’s holiday yet?”
Parents aren’t prepared to risk waiting for late deals - they want the best choice of dates and a villa within reach of a taverna and a beach (so they don’t have to spend hours in a sweaty car, competing for parking, only to find they’ve forgotten the factor 30).
Book now and many companies will give you a 2007 holiday at a 2006 price. Also, if you secure your accommodation now, you can often get a low-cost airline flight in December, when seats come on sale, much more cheaply than at the last minute. Plus you get the desirable daytime flights.
“Across the Mediterranean the properties that are snapped up at the end of the summer for next year have three things in common - they are within walking distance of a beach, a shop and nice cafés,” says French Affair’s managing director, Philip Stallibrass.
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Many companies say that 30 per cent of their school summer holiday bookings are made the previous September. Some 2007 brochures went live on the internet as early as spring 2006 while other villa firms are still loading their new rates.
All prices are for August 2007. Asterisks indicate 2006 prices (but registrations for 2007 holidays open). Child prices are based on 2-11 years inclusive, unless otherwise stated.
UK
Island Cottage, a true toes-in- the-water beach house, is at the mouth of Plymouth Sound in Cornwall. This stylish property sleeps eight and costs £1,399 a week.
Helpful Holidays (01647 434063, www.helpfulholidays.com;
ref R30).
Seabreeze, Beadnell, Northumberland, is 200 yards from the beach via a path through the dunes. It is large enough for two families, but can also be booked with a neighbouring property to sleep up to 13. One week at Seabreeze is £926.
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Country Holidays (0870 1976895, www.country-holidays.co.uk; ref 17287).
FRANCE
The South-west France specialist Gascony Secret offers the seven-bedroom Château de la Biste with heated pool, sauna and outdoor whirlpool in 1.5 acres overlooking the medieval village of Marciac, which hosts a jazz festival in August. Kids’ facilities include snooker, table tennis, swings and trampoline. The house sleeps 16 and is *£2,925 a week.
Gascony Secret (01284 827253, www.gascony-secret.com).
Dinard in Brittany is home to a popular gîte (Ref BI1280), which sleeps eight and is *£1,257 a week, including return ferry from the UK.
Brittany Ferries (0870 5360360, www.brittanyferries.co.uk).
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Rent an apartment in a villa across the road from a sandy beach in the Basque town of St Jean de Luz, near the Spanish border. The flat sleeps four and costs £512 a week.
Interhome (020-8891 1294, www.interhome.co.uk; ref F3494/645a).
Les Balcons du Valinco, Cappiciolo, south Corsica, is a group of terraced bungalows in pretty grounds with shared pool and sea views. You can walk to town and the beach. Each unit has two bedrooms, sleeps up to six and costs £1,064 a week.
Direct Corsica (07771 953225, www.directcorsica.com).
SPAIN
Big houses sleeping more than one family are rare on the Costa Brava. One that books up early is Villa White Horses, overlooking the bay of Sa Riera. It sleeps 12 and has six en suite bathrooms, a 12mx7m pool and tennis court. One week’s rental is £2,945.
PCI Holidays (0845 1301440, www.pci-holidays.com; ref SC20).
Villa Casa Belmonte, which sleeps six and has a big pool in Cala d’Or, Majorca, is the most popular house from Villa Select and is a short stroll to sandy beaches and good restaurants. One week’s rental is *£2,595.
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Villa Select (01789 764909, www.villaselect.com).
TURKEY
Piynar Villa Hotel, overlooking Turunc Bay, has ten two- bedroom villas, each with private pool and fabulous sea views. A fortnight’s B&B costs £3,360 for a family of four sharing, including return flights from Heathrow or Manchester to Dalaman, transfers and a luxury gulet cruise.
Hidden Turkey (020-8605 3500, www.hiddenturkey.com).
GREECE
Meon Villas large numbers of repeat bookings to Corfu. Some people have already booked for 2008! Three- bedroom Villa Eftihia with pool, in the picturesque northeastern part of the island, overlooks Aghios Stefanos harbour and is 60m from the nearest beach. A two-week stay for a family of four costs £3,592 including return flights from Gatwick and car hire.
Meon Villas (0870 8508551, Apartments in Lefkas is the big lure here as well as the location, near a beach and tavernas. The crèche and club are pre-bookable for five full days (£160) or half days (£100) a week. One week for a family of two adults and two children aged 2-16 inclusive is
£2,294 staying in a two-bedroom apartment, flights and car hire.
Simply Travel (0870 4055005, www.simplytravel.co.uk).
Sea views, a short walk to the beach and restaurants in Karavados (a resort that sells out quickly), are the draws of three-bedroom Villa Almyra in Cephalonia with pool. Two weeks is £1,354pp (including flights from Gatwick) based on two adults and two children sharing.
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James Villa Holidays (0870 0850722, www.jamesvillas.co.uk).
CROATIA
The charming stone seaview Villa Dvori is 200m from the beach and village of Podobuce, two hours’ drive from Dubrovnik. The five-bedroom house, with pool, costs £727pp per week based on four sharing including flights and car hire.
Croatian Affair (020-7385 7111, www.croatianaffair.com; ref 1415).
PORTUGAL
The four-bedroom Casa Tilias, near Albufeira, has its own tennis court and pool and is within walking distance of Castelo beach. It costs £1,050-£1,449 a week.
Villas to Go (0845 4081704, www.villastogo.com; ref PAF103H).
ITALY
The two-bedroom Residenza Capriccioli gets booked up early because it is on the sought-after Costa Smeralda in Sardinia. A fortnight’s villa and car hire is *£4,204. Flights extra.
Voyages Ilena (020-7924 4440, www.voyagesilena.co.uk; ref 8531).
Tuscan View Apartments, Montaione - part of Inntravel’s Your Place in the Country programme - are restored farmhouses on a large working estate producing wine, olive oil and honey, an hour’s drive from Florence and Siena. Activities include horse riding, tennis, mountain biking and swimming in the pool. A week in a two-bedroom apartment costs *£1,976 for a family of four, including Gatwick-Pisa flights and car hire.
Inntravel (01653 617906, www.inntravel.co.uk).
CARIBBEAN
A hotel that already has many repeat bookings for summer 2007 is Coco Reef Resort and Spa in Tobago. The private beach is a big attraction. An all-inclusive two-week holiday is £1,899 per adult or £719 per child. This is based on two adults and two children sharing, return flights and transfers.
Golden Caribbean (0870 7776922, www.goldencaribbean.com).
US
There is a handful of family homes in Orlando, Florida, where you can make unlimited calls home free. The villas at Hampton Lakes are near the theme parks and have their own pools. There is also a community pool, floodlit tennis courts, volleyball court and two children’s play areas. Two weeks in a villa at Hampton Lakes costs from £4,114 for two adults and two children, including flights and car hire.
Jetsave (0870 1613403, www.jetsave.co.uk).
AFRICA
If you want to go to Kenya for the migration of the wildebeest - which coincides with the school holidays in July and August - you need to book early. A 14-day trip with one week of game viewing and one week on the beach in Mombasa - for two adults and two children aged 11 or under - costs from £8,800 including flights, full board in two rooms, game-viewing and transfers.
Tribes (01728 685971, www.tribes.co.uk).
PERU
Get in quickly if you want to go to Peru in July and August as this is the peak season. Cazenove+Loyd has a ten-day family trip taking in Lima, the Sacred Valley, Cuzco and Machu Picchu. Highlights include trekking and camping (with llamas to carry the tents and mules for tired children), kite-making, weaving and pottery lessons. The price is £3,054 per adult and £2,554 per child based on two rooms throughout, all flights, transfers, guiding and excursions and some meals.
Cazenove+Loyd (020-7384 2332, www.cazloyd.com).
Tip: Some companies quote villa prices separately from flights, so you can book flights with a budget airline. These tickets go on sale in early December and the earlier you book, the cheaper the flight. You can register for an e-mail alert when the flights are on sale with www.easyjet.com, www.ba.com, ryanair.com, www.airberlin.com and www.flybe.com.