Get set for a summer holiday!

BEST FOR FAMILIES Water parks, pizza-making, sports aplenty – and that’s before you’ve even booked the kids’ club. Child (and parent) pleasing holidays are go...

MALLORCA: FOR FULL-ON

SUN AND FUN

A great bet for full-on family fun, the resort of Cala Millor on the island’s north-east coast has several child-friendly hotels including Tui’s 5T Holiday Village Mallorca. With several pools, a family splash park, AstroTurf football pitch, climbing wall, archery classes, swimming lessons, stage school and aerial adventure course, there’s plenty on offer for active families, plus an on-site spa for adults.

All-inclusive prices start at £932 based on two adults and two children sharing a family suite, including one free child place, departing Gatwick on August 28 (0203 451 2688; tui.co.uk).

RELAX ON A CRETAN BEACH For couples and families wanting a peaceful break, GK Beach Hotel, near Chania on Crete’s west coast, is an excellent choice. It’s backed by the Lefka Ori White Mountains on a long stretch of sand fringed with tropical gardens. Exclusive to Simpson Travel, the hotel offers a wide range of holistic treatments and its 23 suites and two-bedroom penthouse all have sea views and simple self-catering facilities. There’s also an on-site taverna or a choice of restaurants in Kalyves, five minutes by car.

August departures from £920 B&B based on a family of four sharing a suite. Excludes flights (020 3733 4892; simpsontravel.com).

ESCAPE TO THE TUSCAN HILLS

Ideal for a multigenerational family holiday, Cà di Cicala is a stone-built villa in a seven-acre estate of woods and vineyards near Cortona in eastern Tuscany, near the Umbrian border. Two adjacent buildings offer four bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a sheltered swimming pool tucked to the side of the house. There are walking trails from the doorstep and the small village of San Leo Bastia, with shop, bar and trattoria, is a 10-minute drive.

A week’s stay departing August 15, 22, and 29 costs from £1,162 rental only through Vintage Travel (01954 261 431; vintagetravel.co.uk).

HOP AND STOP IN THE GREEK ISLANDS

Secluded beaches, quiet seaside villages, vineyards and olive groves make the Dodecanese islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea an ideal destination for a leisurely islandhopping holiday.

Sunvil (020 8568 4499; sunvil.co.uk) has a flexible two-week itinerary from £1,686, departing on August 11. It combines eight nights’ self-catering on the islands of Kalymnos and Lipsi, with its small harbourside village offering tavernas and a sandy beach, with six nights B&B on the islands of Leros and Patmos – the most northerly of the island chain with a busy port for boat excursions.

FLOAT THROUGH

FINLAND

The region of lakes and waterways to the north of Helsinki is a huge and unspoilt area best explored by houseboat. You don’t need previous experience to hire one of these floating summer houses, but a full briefing is available before departure from Jyvaskyla harbour. Sleeping from two to eight people, boats have kitchenettes, shower rooms and saunas, and flexible itineraries can take in remote islands, sandy beaches and small lakeside villages.

Five nights in August cost from £1,313, based on a standard boat sleeping two and including two nights in Helsinki. Excludes flights. Book through Discover the World (01737 214250; discover-theworld.com).

CAMPING À LA FRANCAIS

For a holiday not too far from home, book an August week in a family-sized chalet at Sandaya Camping le Littoral, at Talmont St Hilaire in the Vendée, with a Portsmouth to St Malo crossing through Brittany Ferries. This nine-hectare site has an indoor and outdoor pool and free children’s activities, with a small pebble beach and coastal footpaths. A shuttle bus operates to a large sandy beach at Le Veillon and the resort of Les Sables d’Olonne for watersports and nightlife.

From £1,623 for a family of four travelling by car, with four-berth cabin (0330 159 7000; brittany-ferries.co.uk).

FIND A FAMILY PAD WITH A PRIVATE POOL

Grab an August break at Villa San Andres, a large, modern villa on the Costa Blanca, sleeping eight, through Jet2 Holidays. Backed by the Montgo mountains, it has a private swimming pool in lawned gardens, a shady terrace, open-plan living areas and is 10km from the beach and relaxed resort of Javea with its pavement bars and restaurants. There is also a golf course nearby.

From £704 per person, based on two families and including car hire ( jet2holidays.com).

SPLASHING TIME IN CYPRUS Four-star Constantinou Bros Athena Beach Hotel sits on Pachyammos beach on the outskirts of Paphos on the island’s west coast. It has interconnecting rooms and suites, with splash pad, two children’s pools, watersides, playground and kids’ club. Also on-site is a spa, tennis court, mini-golf course and games room. The Paphos Aphrodite Waterpark is a mile from the hotel with its attractions including the new Cone ride and the 50ft Free Fall slide. The hotel resort’s golf club is a five-mile drive.

From £699 B&B, travelling on selected dates in August from Heathrow with British Airways Holidays (0844 493 0787; britishairways.com/paphos).

Book by July 7.

Mind-goggling: children will love making a splash on the Costa del Sol Crete retreat: the GK Beach Hotel near Chania is hard to beat

Prices quoted are per person, including flights and transfers, unless otherwise stated.