1. Adrenaline thrills
Turn yourself into a secret agent at the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel in Wales with a range of heart-stopping activities. Take a helicopter ride to a whitewater rafting experience or creep out in the dark and try paintballing at midnight. Other activities include quad-biking from the front door into the Berwyn Mountains, abseiling, rock climbing and - potential Jack Bauers please note - learning to shoot.
A mid-week overnight with breakfast costs from £60 per person. Activities are extra. Lake Vyrnwy Hotel, tel: 01691 870692, lakevyrnwy.com.
2. Midnight in Moscow
The cold war may be over but Moscow is forever synonymous with espionage and intrigue. Perfect your shifty look and hop on a Saturday plane arriving at 20.20 hours for a surreptitious overnight in a three-star hotel. Tour the Kremlin and the KGB museum at Lubyanka before Sunday's departure at 17.10.
Costs £499 per person based on two share, including return BA flight, transfers and accommodation with breakfast. Fregata Travel, tel: 0207 375 3187, fregatatravel.co.uk.
3. Ice station Santa
It's debatable whether president Palmer gets Christmas off, but you can still prepare ahead with a day trip to Lapland to tell Santa your greatest wish. It's not Airforce One but you depart around 07.30 and return around 22.00, from November 29 every day up to and including Christmas day. Thrills include a skidoo ride as well as tobogganing and snowmobiling.
£399 per adult, £379 for four to 11 year olds and £359 for toddlers of two or three. Tel: 01923 822388, santa-holidays.com.
4. Shaken not stirred
After saving the world, Jack and the gang at CTU might be looking for a change of image and a way to unwind. Staying at the ultimate in comfort myhotel, in London, you can book in for a shot of botox to ease away those worry lines. Afterwards club the night away, sipping gently on Martinis, or cocktails of your own creation. Later, gain access to London's exclusive roof-top nightclub, The Roof Gardens, owned by adventurer Richard Branson - it's full of lush places to tell your darkest secrets.
Hotel package includes afternoon tea followed by a manicure or pedicure, complementary DVDs, bottle of pink champagne per four guests, a tailor-made cocktail in the bar and entrance to The Roof Gardens. (Hair, make-up and botox are extra.) Must be booked at least 48 hours prior to arrival, for a minimum of four people, maximum10.
From £205 for a superior room based on single occupancy and £250 per room for double occupancy, excluding VAT. Myhotel Chelsea, 35 Ixworth Place, London SW3, tel: 020 7225 7500.
5. Secret garden
The leafy nooks and crannies of a secret garden may prove to be more than just a useful hideaway. The exquisite 17th-century Alexander House is a place where you can actually take what you see. After spending the morning wandering through the 175-acre grounds spotting perennials and garden shrubs, the hotel's head gardener will arrange for your choice of plants to be beautifully packaged as evidence of your greenfingered stay.
At nearby gardens you can tour the Royal Horticultural Society's award-winning orchids and the world-renowned bonsai tree nurseries. Then at night, retire into the bed of one of France's greatest action heroes - Napoleon.
Prices from £125 excluding breakfast. Alexander House Hotel, Turners Hill, West Sussex, RH10 4QD. Reservations tel: 00 800 525 48000, slh.com.
6. Royal guard
The sumptuous and quietly concealed Dukes Hotel in London's St. James's is the perfect base for a 24-hour royal tour. Just yards from its 15th-century courtyard you encounter the priceless splendours of Clarence House (open to the public for the first time this August) and Buckingham Palace. On Sundays you can take a private tour of the delightfully opulent Spencer House, part of Princess Diana's impressive ancestry.
Start the day with an energy saving breakfast in bed, or the special "breakfast on the hoof" if you need to get moving immediately. For the ultimate in royal style the penthouse has rooftop views right across London. After all that indulgence get back to reality in the hotel gym which is open 24-7.
From £195. Dukes Hotel, 35 St James's Place, London, SW1A INY. Reservations tel: 00 800 525 48000, slh.com.
Clarence House: tickets and information office, London, SW1A 1AA, tel: 0207 766 7303. Open from August 6-October 17, adults £5, under 17s £3, under fives free. All tickets must be pre-booked.
Buckingham Palace: tickets and information office, The Official Residences of The Queen, London, SW1A 1AA, tel: 0207 766 7300. The State Rooms will be open August 1-September 28. Adults £12, under 17s £6, under 5s free.
Spencer House, 27 St James's Place, SW1, tel: 0207 499 8620, spencerhouse.co.uk. Admission from £5.
7. High anxiety
After all those near misses in the air, Jack Bauer could well develop a fear of flying. A little extra training, even for top agents, works wonders. A day's fear-of-flying course which finishes with a 45-minute flight will calm even the most nervous passenger. British Airways pilots answer your technical questions and a leading clinical psychologist gets to grips with the irrational dilemmas. Courses are held in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Prices from £189, aviatours.co.uk.
8. In deep water
Hold on to your credentials in a fast RIB boat and speed along the Pembrokeshire coast, south-west Wales, in search of basking sharks and porpoises. Get all your creature comforts at the four-star B&B The Waterings, 01437 720876 from £35 pp based on two sharing, email: waterings@supanet.com.
Then, weather permitting, Voyages of Discovery (tel: 0800 854367, ramseyisland.co.uk) will take you shark spotting for £45 per adult and £25 for children aged four years and above (not recommended for toddlers).
9. Franco-file
For total anonymity you can't beat a day trip to Paris on the Eurostar. Board in the early morning and by lunch time you'll be keeping your energy levels up with a gourmet meal. Lunch costs £70 at the discreet Le Petit Bofinger Bastille and £75 per person at Terence Conran's Alcazar, Brasserie Flo, Brasserie Julien, Brasserie Bofinger and Terminus Nord.
Price includes return Eurostar travel, two-course lunch with wine and coffee. Bookings must be placed by September 15 for travel between July 22 and September 30. Eurostar Holidays Direct, tel: 0870 167 6767.
10. Time's running out
Spending 24 hours on the Isle of Man is so easy Kim Bauer should think of relocating here. With barely a chance of getting lost, take a day's journey through 10,000 years of history around 12 heritage sites, using the latest counter-terrorism-unit-like gadgets to transport you through time. The House of Manannan features a full-size Viking longship on an indoor beach, a forest and a ship's bridge simulator. Stay in colonial splendour in The Sefton and enjoy a Raffles-style afternoon tea after information overload.
From £250 for two nights at the Sefton, flying from Gatwick with Everymann Holidays, tel: 0870 889 0838, everymann.co.uk.
· Series two of 24 ends on Sunday August 10 on BBC2 at 10pm
