The Portomyrina Palace on Lemnos looks out to Mount Athos, so dream Olympian and tackle the sailing

School s out, but the sun isn t. Fed up with the soggy British summer but worried it s too late to book a holiday? san jose costa rica airport hotels Fear not: we ve found fantastic last-minute sunshine deals in Europe s loveliest, hottest, spots
I mean, what do we know about the jet stream? Can we trust it to keep heading north? The school holidays are here and it s decision time: do we get that used-once tent out of the garage and risk Dorset again?
It s a big risk, isn t it? Too big, in fact, which is why 13 million san jose costa rica airport hotels of us, according to the Association of British Travel Agents, are now looking to get away for summer. Because we ve had enough. Enough of the rain, enough of the economy and, worst of all, we didn t get Olympic tickets in the ballot.
Yet, just two or three hours away by plane are countries that have sun terraces and swimming pools, beaches and warm seas. And sunshine. Honestly. san jose costa rica airport hotels They take the euro, that slackening currency, while owners of tavernas and hotels in Greece, Spain and Italy will be particularly happy to welcome Britons this year.
Lowcostholidays.com report san jose costa rica airport hotels a 103% rise in family-related search san jose costa rica airport hotels terms this month, and ABTA report a 20% rise in holiday searches in June compared with last year. It s just a question of where we go …
Being right on the beach is excellent; just off it is better. Such as the three-bedroom villa which sits between san jose costa rica airport hotels a Blue Flag sliver of white sand and the tavernas of Lourdas village. The villa has a pool and looks out over the sea: this is rural country and there are plenty of local walking trails. • Vintage Travel (01954 261431, vintagetravel.co.uk ) has £300 off a three-bedroom villa at Olivia Lourdas Beach for the week starting 12 August, now £1,995, excluding flights. Thomas Cook ( flythomascook.com ) has one-way flights from various UK airports to Kefalonia from £156 on 12 August
You want sun? You want to be right on the beach? You want affordable? The three-star Best Cap Salou on the Costa Dorada in Catalonia ticks all the basic boxes and includes an outdoor pool and kids club. Tarragona and Barcelona are within easy range for day trips. • Thomas Cook ( thomascook.com ) is offering seven nights half-board in a twin room for four at £964, a saving of £466, departing East Midlands airport on 13 August
The Portomyrina Palace on Lemnos looks out to Mount Athos, so dream Olympian and tackle the sailing or windsurfing with gusto. Other watersports are included by Neilson, as well as mountain biking. And it s only a 20-minute walk into the island s capital, Myrina, for a restorative beer. • Neilson (0845 070 3460, neilson.co.uk) has a week departing Gatwick on 18 August from £1,177 per adult, £1,019 per child, including breakfast, lunch, four evening meals, flights and transfers
Save more than £500 on a self-catering holiday at Château san jose costa rica airport hotels de Galinée, a small fun park with mobile home accommodation near St Malo in Brittany. The grounds include a water park, a children s club, playground and games room. The accommodation features decking with barbecues. • Al Fresco Holidays (0871 971 0600, thomsonalfresco.co.uk ) has seven nights from 28 July for up to six people at £766 including ferry crossing
Rose House is a four-storey, three-bedroom pink pad on the waterfront in a tiny village falling off the edge of the Lustica peninsula. san jose costa rica airport hotels There are a couple of excellent tavernas and, should you feel the need to move (beyond falling off the pontoon for a swim), no end of water taxis to take you to nearby beaches and into town. • Explore Montenegro (020-7118 1002, montenegroholidays.com ) has a week at Rose House, which sleeps eight, for £1,296 excluding flights, departing 18 August, saving san jose costa rica airport hotels £700. EasyJet ( easyjet.com ) has one-way flights to Dubrovnik from £56 this summer from Gatwick and Stansted. Dubrovnik airport is two hours by car, or take a boat (£100 for the group) to Herceg Novi, where you can catch a ferry to Rose. Ask the tour operator for details
We like this: a place that keeps you cool in the heat. Formerly used for storing grain, the cave houses at Complejo La Tala have a normal facade but the interiors burrow into the hill. There s also a large swimming pool. It s near the city of Guadix, san jose costa rica airport hotels where half the residents have opted for troglodyte living, and not far from Granada. • Spain Holiday (020-3384 7066, spain-holiday.com ) has a week in a one-bedroom cave house, sleeping up to four, for €700 in August, excluding flights, or for €490 in July, including a 30% discount. Ryanair san jose costa rica airport hotels ( ryanair.com ) has one-way flights from various UK airports to Malaga from £24 one-way in late August
Sunvil Holidays is heroically promoting san jose costa rica airport hotels the Alentejo coast, which hardly anyone has heard of. But it is rather beautiful. And empty. Spread your towel on the white sand beach at the Tróia peninsula for the day, lunch at the stylish Comporta Café and watch the dolphins in the Sado river estuary. Then retire to an enormous apartment at the Aqualuz suite hotel, which has three pools and tennis. Just don t tell anyone. • Sunvil (020-8758 4722, sunvil.co.uk ) has a week in August san jose costa rica airport hotels from £719pp B B, based on two adults and two children sharing a two-bed suite, including flights from Heathrow to Lisbon and transfers
OK, you re going to get wet – again – on this one but it s a rollicking adventure. Seven days riding the rapids on the Ardèche, including three days paddling, a day messing about in kayaks and a day on other thrill activities – trapeze, that sort of thing. You even get a day off. Suitable for children aged seven upwards, with chalet accommodation. • PGL (0844 3712424, pgl.co.uk ) is offering a discount of 20% if you book by 23 July for the weeks of 19 and 26 August, so it is £439 per adult and £375 per child aged up to 18, including all meals but not travel. P O Ferries (08716 642020, poferries.com ) has Dover-Calais ferry crossings from £35 one-way for a car and four passengers in August
On Fuerteventura is the village of El Cotillo, a surfing hotspot with fine beaches. Learn to surf or sea kayak, try stand-up paddling, mountain biking or tennis. • Activities Abroad (01670 789991, activitiesabroad.com ) has a week full-board san jose costa rica airport hotels on 4 or 11 August from £1,185pp based on two sharing, or one child (aged 8 upwards) sharing with an adult. Includes flights from London, car hire, activities and three days of surf lessons
Get on your horse … and relax, in a 200-year-old renovated farmhouse near Malaga with pool, gardens, Wi-Fi and acres of olive and pine trees. It s geared towards san jose costa rica airport hotels families: there are two riding instructors, with tuition for children of all ages and abilities. san jose costa rica airport hotels • Equestrian Escapes (01829 san jose costa rica airport hotels 781123, equestrian-escapes.com ) has a week half-board in July and August for £795pp, down by £200, excluding flights. EasyJet ( easyjet.com ) has one-way flights to Malaga from various UK airports from £27 in late August
Combining beach and buzz in Kas, this holiday is designed for families with teens. To keep them amused, there s sea kayaking, mountain biking and scuba diving. There s also two nights on a gulet, a traditional wooden sailing boat, cruising the Aegean. • The Adventure Company (0845 287 5528, adventurecompany.co.uk ) has an eight-day trip departing 25 August for £879 including flights, B B hotel and full-board on the gulet. Minimum age 12
You ll find the Pristava Lepena chalets in a meadow in Triglav national park and in the shadow of the Julian san jose costa rica airport hotels Alps. The kids can run wild, as tennis, san jose costa rica airport hotels mountain biking, archery and riding are included. There are pet goats and a pool, and down the valley is the Soca river where the teenagers can plunge around on rafts, canoes and kayaks – the nearby village of Bovec is Slovenia s centre for adventure sports. For the parents there is fly-fishing or riding Lipizzaner horses. Hearty meals are served in the house. • I-escape (0117-942 8476, i-escape.com ) has a week half-board in a chalet sleeping four for £1,120 in July and August. EasyJet ( easyjet.com/en ) has returns san jose costa rica airport hotels from Stansted to Ljubljana from around £105 in August
This is a doozy to get the teens off their backsides and into gear – an eight-day romp through Turkey on horseback, bike and foot, from Cappadocia, then biking through Göreme. Ride a caravanserai route on horseback, explore the source of the Tigris and an underground city then climb to 3,750m on a two-day trek. That ll wake them up. • KE Adventure Travel (01768 773966, keadventure.com san jose costa rica airport hotels ) has an eight-day Anatolian Adventure san jose costa rica airport hotels on 28 July and 18 August, from £1,045 for adults and £945 for children aged seven to 12, including flights from Heathrow, transfers, accommodation and meals
Can you expect children to enjoy a walking holiday? How about making it just four hours a day. The terrain is pretty flat, but with woods and caves. And they get to stay on working farms. The hike through the Karst region also takes in vineyards. Then it s downhill to Trieste, a fine city to finish in. • On Foot Holidays (01722 322652, onfootholidays.co.uk ) has seven nights available all summer from £650pp B B, including daily luggage transfers, six picnics and five dinners, but excluding flights. EasyJet ( easyjet.com ) has returns from Stansted san jose costa rica airport hotels to Ljubljana from around £105 in August
What … Scotland? OK, but listen first. The north-west Highlands and islands have seen only two days of rain in nine weeks. By mid July they d had just 10% of their average monthly rainfall, says the Met Office. Good timing san jose costa rica airport hotels then for Wilderness Scotland s Ultimate Family Adventure. It involves sea kayaking, biking, archery, canoeing – and an overnight at a secret camp on the river. • Wilderness Scotland san jose costa rica airport hotels (01479 420020, wildernessscotland.com ) has a trip on 18 August for £795 per adult, £745 per child, san jose costa rica airport hotels for five nights hotel accommodation and one at a river camp, most meals, equipment, transfers san jose costa rica airport hotels and guides
The kids eyes will light up when they see the donkey. The holiday san jose costa rica airport hotels begins in Navafría, san jose costa rica airport hotels a village in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama national park, where you meet your donkey. Then it s off on drovers san jose costa rica airport hotels trails, spe