Eight summer holiday deals across Spain, France and Turkey – with waterpark hotels and bargain campsites
SUMMER is on sale, so start dreaming of relaxing on a beach, swimming in clear blue waters and watching the sun go down with a cocktail.
There are thousands of offers for school holiday breaks with many companies giving discounts and free child places.
Here Trisha Harbord chooses a selection of deals showing you what is on the market.
EGYPT
EASYJET Holidays has thousands of free child places on three to 14-night getaways.
Book before August 31 and families of two adults and two children sharing a room will also get £200 off.
And a touch of luxury doesn’t have to cost a fortune, depending on your destination choice.
The five-star Jaz Mirabel Park and Club, in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh, has a private beach beside the clear waters of the Red Sea.
There are four pools, one with slides, right, restaurants, bars, kids’ clubs and playgrounds.
Dive or snorkel off the hotel’s half-mile jetty or discover the reef of nearby Ras Al Mohammed National Park, which has more than 1,000 species of fish.
GO: Seven nights’ all-inclusive, with flights from Bristol on August 31, costs from £1,797 for a family of four. See easyjet.com.
ORLANDO
TAKING the kids to Orlando in Florida is never going to be cheap but good deals on flights, accommodation and theme park tickets are out there.
Save money by getting multi-tickets to attractions such as Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure and the four Disney parks.
CoCo Key Hotel & Water Park Resort on International Drive is a fantastic base and offers a shuttle service to the parks.
It has a superb canopy-covered waterpark with 14 slides and rides including Parrot’s Perch, right, a lagoon for little ones, a gaming arcade, restaurants plus a coffee bar.
GO: Virgin Holidays is offering seven nights’ room-only for the price of six, with flights from Heathrow on August 28. Price for two adults and two children sharing a room is from £2,870.
See virginholidays.co.uk. Attractiontickets. com has ten per cent off all park tickets until midnight tomorrow.
TURKEY
THERE’S a great choice of budget deals to Turkey this summer.
Thomas Cook has free child places and accepts low deposits, with holiday balances due a month before travelling.
The Mustis Royal Plaza might be a small, three-star hotel with just 70 rooms but it is big on hospitality.
Plus it gets rave reviews for its rooms and food.
In the heart of Marmaris, it has a pool with slides, Turkish steambath and playground. Plus its evening entertainment includes live music, dance shows, parties and DJ sets.
The beach on the “turquoise coast” is a ten-minute shuttle ride away and Aquadream waterpark, 16th-century Marmaris Castle, an amphitheatre and marina are all nearby.
GO: Seven nights’ B&B, including flights from Luton on August 19, based on two adults and one child, costs from £1,030. See thomascook.com.
GRAN CANARIA
TUI has £250 off selected holidays and free child places on flights, accommodation, meals and transfers this summer.
Go online, enter the dates when you want to travel and the child place finder brings up hundreds of hotspot deals.
The beachside 4T Tui Blue Orquidea in Bahia Feliz on beautiful Gran Canaria has a splash park and three pools.
Plus there are kids’ clubs, activities galore as well as live shows and tranquil rooms to get a good night’s rest.
Watersports lovers can go windsurfing, kayaking or surfing in the bay and you can take a helicopter for a bird’s eye view of the island’s mountains, valleys and beaches.
For duty-free shopping, take the direct 15-minute bus ride to the malls in Playa del Ingles.
GO: Seven nights’ all-inclusive with flights from East Midlands on August 5, costs £852pp, based on two children and two adults sharing a room. See tui.co.uk.
MED CRUISE
DON’T want to fly? Check out one of the summer cruise deals with sailings from the UK to the Mediterranean and Fjords.
If you’ve got younger children and can get away before the schools break up, you are quids in.
P&O has a 14-night cruise from Southampton on Arvia – a 5,000-passenger ship with activities galore, entertainment including kids’ clubs, cinemas, sports and 30 places to eat and drink.
There’s enough fun on board to never want to leave the ship but stops include ports in Spain and Italy, with the chance to tour Florence and Pisa.
GO: Fourteen nights’ full-board in an inside cabin, departing Southampton on July 7, costs from £999 per adult, £299 per child aged two to six and from £99 per toddler aged six months to two. See pocruises.com.
FRANCE
HERE’S a Eurocamp bargain – more than a third off a week-long break in its summer sale.
And you’ll be staying alongside a 16th-century French chateau.
Kids will love the Chateau de Fonrives’ clubs, aquatic centre with slides horse-riding and crazy golf.
Adults are catered for too with a spa and wellness centre.
The five-star resort in the Dordogne also has a bar and restaurant, sports, evening shows, karaoke and watersports.
The nearby town of Villereal has half-timbered houses, a medieval hall still used for markets, cafes and shops.
GO: Seven nights for a family of four staying in a two-bedroom holiday home from August 10 costs from £651, saving 34 per cent. See eurocamp.co.uk. Return LeShuttle for a car and passengers from Folkestone to Calais costs £241. See leshuttle.com.
GREECE
RELAX on a beautiful Greek island in an all-inclusive beach hotel.
First Choice have deals to super sunspots such as Kos, Corfu and Zante for all budgets – and there are free child places.
Active families will love the range of sports at the 3T Suneo Atlantica Thalassa, including beach volleyball, football, tennis and minigolf.
There are pools, a buffet restaurant and three bars too.
The hotel in Lambi is a ten-minute bus ride to bustling Kos town, which has a great indoor market, shops, cafes and restaurants.
Wander through the streets and visit the 14th-century Castle of the Knights of Saint John.
GO: Seven nights’ all-inclusive, with flights from Gatwick on August 29, costs from £673 per person, based on two adults and two children sharing a family room. See firstchoice.co.uk.
MALTA
THERE’S no harm in waiting to book a summer holiday if you don’t mind where you go.
Travelzoo prides itself on having last-minute package and cruise deals that are well worth the wait.
It is offering 24 per cent off a five-night, all-inclusive holiday to Malta next month, which works out at less than £500pp.
The 4H luxurious Qawra Palace Hotel has pools and terraces with fabulous views over the Mediterranean.
There’s a spa, gym, watersports and range of restaurants.
Kids will love rockpooling on the adjoining beach, which has flat limestone platforms for sunbathing.
The holiday also includes a free day’s cruise to the island of Comino where you can swim in the crystal clear waters of the Blue Lagoon.
GO: Five nights’ all-inclusive, including flights from any London airport in July and a boat trip, costs from £459pp. See travelzoo.com.