Gran Dorado in Holland
If you don't want to take a gamble on late-autumn sunshine, Gran Dorado's 'all weather' family resorts are a safe bet. A covered 'sub-tropical' water park is the focal point for the four sites in Holland which also offer badminton, bowling, cycle hire, canoeing, squash, tennis and on-site bar and restaurant. A seven-night stay at Gran Dorado Port Zelande in southern Holland during the half-term week, booked with selfdrive specialist Eurotunnel Motoring Holidays (0870 333 2001), will cost a party of six a total of £572. The price includes return Eurotunnel crossing for car and passengers, self-catering accommodation and unlimited access to the water park. Houses sleeping four or eight are also available.
Hallowe'en at Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is turning October into a month-long Hallowe'en festival of face-painting, pumpkin-sculpting and mask-making, culminating each night with a Hallowe'en Parade. The ghoulish events will take place daily until November 5. Prices for two adults and two children sharing a family room at the Newport Bay Club for two nights start from £281 per adult and £114 per child, including return travel by Eurostar, theme park passes and continental breakfast. (0870 503 0303. www.disney.co.uk)
Activity breaks in Kos and Turkey
Most of Mark Warner's all-inclusive Mediterranean resorts are winding up for the winter but two will remain open until the end of October: Clubhotel Altinel on Turkey's Bodrum peninsula and Clubhotel Lakitira on Kos. Activities such as waterskiing, sailing, tennis, aerobics and volleyball are included in the price and both resorts operate clubs for children aged 4 months to 17 years. A seven-night all-inclusive package at Clubhotel Altinel will cost £530 for adults and from £318 for children based on a 23 October departure from Gatwick. Manchester flights are also available. (0870 848 0480. www.markwarner.co.uk)
Jersey Family Fun Week
Jersey is hosting a Family Fun Week starting on 23 October. Free activities will include a rock pool ramble, evening ghost walk around St Helier, free cycle tour, moonlight bowling and family fun days at attractions such as Jersey Zoo. Prices for one week's bed and breakfast at the Merton Hotel - a past winner of the Egon Ronay Family Hotel of the Year - start from £394 per adult and £75 per child including scheduled flights from Gatwick or Southampton and hotel transfers. There are also a limited number of 'single parent' rooms at the same rate with no supplement.(020 7630 8787. www.jersey.com)
Free child places to Jamaica
Free child places and the services of a nanny are offered to families who book a half-term break at the five-star Round Hill hotel near Montego Bay in Jamaica. Caribtours (020 7581 3517) is offering seven-night packages from £1,034 per adult on a room-only basis, or from £1,767 all-inclusive. Similar family deals are available at the nearby Half Moon Club which has a supervised children's centre with daily activities ranging from reggae dance lessons to nature walks. Single supplements are being suspended at the Franklyn D Resort on Jamaica's north coast until 31 October. It has a children's activity centre, personal nanny service and evening babysitting service.
Family health farm in Cornwall
Promoting itself as the UK's first 'family health farm', the Sands Resort in Porth, Cornwall (01637 872864. www.sandsresort.co.uk) promises a combination of relaxation, fitness and family activities. While adults practise their golf swing or enjoy a relaxing massage in the new health suite, children are catered for with four different activity clubs and an indoor and outdoor play area. A family of two adults and two children under seven wanting to stay on a half-board basis in October can expect to pay from £720 for one week in a two-bedroom suite.
Villas in Crete
Vangelis Villas on the north coast of Crete offers peaceful villa and apartment accommodation. Set on a hillside, the three villas and 10 apartments share a private swimming pool, open-air bar and private taverna. The Greek Islands Club (020 8232 9780) has availability from 24 October at £416 per person for one week in an apartment and £424 for a villa. This includes scheduled flights, transfers, car hire and maid service.
UK country cottages
There are still pockets of availability throughout the UK for half-term according to cottage specialist Blakes Holidays (0870 070 8090). Priest Grove Cottage in the Cotswolds has beautiful views and is near to a swimming pool and leisure centre, pubs and restaurants, and is 12 miles from Blenheim Palace. A week's rental starting on 21 October costs £297 based on four sharing.
October sunshine in Eilat
There is only a handful of places under five hours' flying time from the UK where you can pretty much guarantee sunshine in October. Israel is one of them. Longwood Holidays (020 8551 4494) is offering departures on 23 October to the Red Sea resort of Eilat. Go snorkelling with bottle nose dolphins at Dolphin Reef or take a trip into the Sinai Desert or to the Dead Sea. A week's accommodation with breakfast at the Vista Hotel is £499 per adult and £379 per child with return flights from Luton and transfers. Self-catering apartments are also available.
Orlando theme parks
Take advantage of cooler temperatures - and shorter queues at the parks - with an October break to Florida. £1,489 will buy two adults and two children under 11 a flight to Orlando, seven nights' room-only accommodation at the three-star Best Inn International and car hire with American Jour neys (0870 709 3050). A seven-day Hopper pass giving unlimited access to all of the Disney theme parks will cost an additional £189 for adults and £159 for children. Flights are available from Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.
Algarve apartments
Enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Algarve without the summer crowds. Impulse Holidays (0870 027 0470) has two-bedroom apartments available at the end of October at the Apartments Vale das Canas, 4km from the beaches of Vale do Lobo. The complex has a large swimming pool and tennis courts and is popular with families. A seven-night deal costs from £369 per person including flights from Gatwick and car hire.
See Star Wars in Tunisia
Cadogan Holidays (023 808 28313) has chartered extra flights from Gatwick to Tunisia over half-term to satisfy increased demand for visits to Star Wars filming locations. The special charter flights depart on 21 and 22 October. Prices start at £428 per person for seven nights' half-board accommodation at the three-star Hotel Monastir Centre in Monastir. Most of the filming for Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace took place in Tozeur and Matmata which are a short flight from Tunis.
Alton Towers short breaks
Sample Alton Towers' newest ride, The Hex, during a short break to the Staffordshire theme park. Goldenrail (0990 992 993) has put together a range of Hotel Breaks which feature 11 properties close to the theme park including the Posthouse at Stoke-on-Trent, which has a swimming pool and children's playroom. A one-night stay costs from £58.95 per adult including Alton Towers entrance tickets and breakfast. Children stay free and pay £15.95 for their entrance ticket. Under-fours get in free.
Self-catering in the Loire
Vacances en Campagne (0870 077 1771) is promoting self-catering properties within easy driving distance of the Futuroscope theme park in Poitiers. A seventeenth-century house in the southern Loire sleeping up to eight people costs £868 for one week and includes return Channel crossing for one car. The house is well situated for the theme park, watersports, golf and horse- riding. Advance tickets for Futuroscope can be purchased through Vacances en Campagne. Several properties are available for three-night breaks with prices from £258.
Hallowe'en in New England
Osprey Holidays (0870 5605605) has availability for the week commencing 23 October in Falmouth, Cape Cod. Children can join in the Hallowe'en celebrations at the Children's Museum on 29 October or take advantage of guided horse-riding trails and bike paths. The Shoreway Acres inn in Falmouth offers a seven-night package which costs from £643 per adult and £250 for children with flights from London or Glasgow.
