Great escapes for the half term holiday

Half-term holidays can be a time of pressure for parents — you want to take your brood away but are often either penalised for your trouble by inflated prices (and this includes tour operators, hotels and airlines) or by your children's school if you take them out during term-time. Remember, without the school's permission you could be fined up to £100.

There is talk of the benefit of staggering UK term and holiday dates to alleviate the problem of peak season demand but this has yet to be implemented.

Meanwhile, not all prices are hiked up: the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) has created a dedicated website with holiday deals available only during school holidays from a wide variety of around 50 tour operators (www.aito.com). Also, some tour operators generally do offer early booking discounts or a free child place, for example.

However, we've rounded up a selection of the best late-availability deals — some of them with up to 33 per cent off — which just goes to show that sometimes you can afford to leave it until the last minute.

EUROPE

A week in Spain at Casa Sophia Apartment, sleeping four, with swimming pool and gardens in La Sella, Denia, Alicante costs £150 (saving £125), from Saturday to Saturday. Flights not included.
www.holidaylettings.co.uk/62728

Black Tomato has seven nights in Provence at the Four Seasons Terre Blanche with children's club, spa and two golf courses for the price of six — £4,695 B&B (saving £500) for a family of four including BA flights to Nice and car hire.
www.blacktomato.co.uk

Exclusive Escapes has seven nights in Turkey on the Lycian Coast at the Dionysus resort. Join the olive harvest for £600pp (saving £350) B&B including flights, transfers, a gulet cruise and all harvest activities. Departs Gatwick/Heathrow,
24 October.
www.exclusiveescapes.co.uk

Real Holidays has seven nights in Italy at boutique hotel La Casa in Collina, Le Marche (based on two adults and two children) staying in a one bedroom suite for £2,628, (saving £438) from 25 October. Flights not included.
www.realholidays.co.uk

UK

PGL has reduced the cost of seven nights at Barton Hall adventure centre in Devon from
24 October for two adults and two children (six-to-18 years) to £958 (saving £320) full board in an en suite family room, with free activities including abseiling, zip wire rides, dry slope skiing and motorsports. Alternatively, seven- night residential holidays — for seven-to-13-year olds — at PGL's Boreatton Park (Shropshire), Little Canada (Isle of Wight) and Tregoyd (Brecon Beacons) adventure centres are available for £245 (saving £150) per child full-board with a wide choice of activities and evening entertainment. Available from 24 October.
www.pgl.co.uk

Forest Holidays Forest Cabins has a three-night break for £425 (saving £75) from 23 October in an Evergreen Cabin, sleeping eight, at Deerpark, Cornwall. Activities include forest tours with a ranger and bike hire.
www.forestholidays.co.uk