Chill out on Turkey's Lycian coast
Exclusive Escapes (020-8605 3500, exclusiveescapes.co.uk) has £500 off the brochure price for a two-bedroomed villa with private pool at the Piynar Villa hotel on Turkey's Lycian coast throughout July and August. The hotel sits on the edge of a forest overlooking Turunc Bay. There's a free shuttle bus which takes you down to the shingle and sand beach of Turunc which is shallow and has a Blue Riband award for its cleanliness. Seven nights' B&B including return flights to Dalaman, transfers and a day's luxury gulet cruise costs £850pp based on four sharing a two-bedroom villa.
Croatian river adventure
River rafting, kayaking and island hopping are all on the itinerary of this eight-day activity trip. You will also spend a day cycling through the Croatian countryside. On your last day you can enjoy a well-earned rest or explore the cobbled, medieval streets of Split. It costs £889 for adults and £819 for children (saving £50pp) with the Adventure Company (0845 287 1198, adventurecompany.co.uk) and includes flights, transfers, activities, most meals and a group leader. Departures on 6, 13, 20 and 27 August.
Climbing in Haute-Savoie
This adventure break in the French Alps is aimed at single dads – a three-night package includes a family rock-climbing session and a high ropes course (plus a sports massage for dad afterwards). You'll stay in Ferme du Ciel (+33 4 50 58 44 57, fermeduciel.com), a luxurious 18th-century farmhouse near Samoëns, which has six bedrooms, study, games room and staff to drive you around and organise outings. Other white-knuckle sports you can add to the package range from hang gliding to canyoning, mountain biking to whitewater rafting. Three nights costs £1,320 for one adult and two children, including B&B, one evening meal, transfers and transport during your stay.
Ranching in Kansas
For families with kids over seven, Ranch Rider (01509 618811, ranchrider.com) has discounts of £200pp on visits to Moore Working Ranch in Kansas. It's ideal for single parents as there is no single supplement and meal times are convivial, with everyone eating together. Activities range from horse riding to target shooting, and you'll learn to rope steers using practice dummies, with working cowboys. There's a chance to see how the experts do it at the local rodeo. Seven nights costs £795pp including accommodation, all meals and ranch activities. Transfers (£105) and flights (from £689pp) are extra.
Up the jungle in Borneo
Visit Sepilok's orangutan sanctuary in Borneo, kayak down rivers and learn to shoot a blowpipe with a jungle tribe on this 10-night adventure with Audley Travel (01993 838000, audleytravel.com), which is discounted by £1,500 for a family of four. It should satisfy everyone as, after five nights of activity, you transfer to the Andaman island of Langkawi, where relaxation and luxury awaits at the five-star Datai hotel. The deal is valid from 7 July to 15 August and costs £2,950 for adults and £2,720 for children under 12. This includes five nights' B&B in various locations from a hotel to a tribal long house in Borneo, and five nights' B&B at the Datai in Langkawi, return flights, transfers, daily activities and excursions.
Beach fun in Portugal
Sunvil Discovery (020-8758 4722, sunvil.co.uk/alentejo, for travel until 24 July) has total savings of £233 on seven-night stays for a family of four to the spectacular Tróia peninsula in Portugal's Alentejo region. The Aqualuz Resort sits on Tróia's white-sand beaches with the Arrábida mountains as a backdrop. Aqualuz has been careful to preserve the natural environment, with dune boardwalks, wooden beach facilities and a living roof. Activities include a free kids club, cycle track and footpaths and trips to see the estuary's resident dolphins. Seven nights costs from £1,999 (for a family of four), including flights, B&B accommodation (family suite) and all transfers.
Zanzibar adventure
Unguja Lodge is on the south-west tip of Zanzibar, overlooking Menai bay. The pristine waters have been a designated conservation area since 1997 and attract sea turtles, whales, dolphin and dugong. The coral reefs, mangrove forests and sea grasses attract diverse tropical fish, making it ideal for diving and snorkelling. You can also see red colobus monkeys in nearby Jozani forest, Zanzibar's only national park. The trip costs from £6,280 for a family of four (saving £100pp), based on two adults and two children, and including six nights' half-board, international and internal flights, transfers and a PADI introduction to scuba diving (over 10s only), departing between 8 and 15 August with Travel In Depth (01298 73780, travel-indepth.co.uk).
Treehouse in the Loire Valley
Satisfy every child's inner Tarzan with a stay in one of four treehouses at Parc de Fierbois (+33 2 47 65 43 35, fierbois.com), a lakeside holiday park set in 30 hectares of protected forest in France's Loire Valley. The wooden houses are wrapped around ancient trees 5m above ground and sleep up to four in a double bed and two singles. It's pretty basic, with no electricity or running water, but there is a dry toilet for middle-of-the-night visits. Breakfast arrives by basket and there is a treetop assault course for authentic tree-swinging. Three nights in a treehouse costs £380 for up to three people (saving 10%), from 29 August to 4 September. Quote the Guardian when booking.
Villa in Chianti
Baby-friendly Boltholes (0845 489 0140, babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk) specialises in independent accommodation that's well-equipped with baby or toddler facilities without losing out in the style stakes. It has a number of discounted Italian properties for stays this summer including 30% off a week's stay in Cá di Castagna, a 700-year-old Tuscan farmhouse with six bedrooms and a swimming pool for a stay on 27 August, costing £1,540 (previously £2,200); or 10% off La Quercia villa in Chianti, which sleeps four plus a cot, and now costs £1,336.50 for the week of 16 July.
Music festival in Devon
If you're going to brave it in a tent this summer, you might as well do it in a field with plenty going on. Tribe of Doris (0845 458 0190, tribeofdoris.co.uk), a drumming, dance and song extravaganza in the Blackdown Hills in Devon on 9-14 August, will bring out your child's creativity and confidence. They can they take part in workshops and watch shows of everything from hip-hop to football to trampolining. A pioneering intercultural performing arts event featuring forms of dance and song from all over the world, including samba, reggae, flamenco and Tibetan song. Tickets, including camping fee, cost £220 for adults, £150 for 18-21s, £75 for 11-17s, £60 for 5-10s, and under 5s go free.
Watch the Tour de France
Head to Alpe d'Huez, the Tour de France's most famous mountain stage, for 22 July and watch the peloton chase the kings of the mountains from the comfort of your balcony at the Chalet Hotel Mariandre, which is at the end of the race's 19th stage. Esprit Holidays (01252 618300, espritfamilyadventures.com) has a week's full-board for a family of four for £175pp – a saving of £397 per family.
Simple pleasures in Corfu
On Corfu, stay just 25m from the beach at St Peter's, a quiet resort just down the road from lively Kavos. A family of two adults and two children under 12 can enjoy seven nights from £1,139 (a saving of £436) at the appropriately named Sea Side Studios, in a two-bedroom apartment – simple, two-star self-catering accommodation. The price is for flying from Gatwick on 15 August and includes transfers. Book with Olympic Holidays (0800 093 3322, olympicholidays.com).
