School's nearly out, but there's still time to book a bargain before it's too late

Still haven't decided where to take the family for a summer holiday? Simone Kane rounds up the best deals

(British Tourist Authority)

UNDER £500

Island Cottage, a former light-house-keeper's home on a private island near Campbeltown, Scotland, is reached by causeway at low tide. Teletext Holidays (0870 197 2585; teletextholidays.co.uk) is offering the two-bedroom property for £376, from 30 August.

Haven Holidays (0871 230 1900; haven.com) offers good-value breaks in the UK, including Haggerston Castle, Northumberland, from 26 July, at £499 for a two-bedroom mobile home.

In Devon, Woolacombe Bay Holiday Parcs (01271 870343; woolacombe.com/bp) offers a two-bedroom holiday home for £475 between 19 July and 23 August.

Over in France, Canvas Holidays (0870 192 1159; canvasholidays.co.uk) offers breaks at Camping Le Châtelet St Cast, below, Brittany, from £450 for arrivals on 15 August, in a fully equipped, three-bedroom maxi-tent. In the Languedoc, Les Berges du Canal, book through lastminute .com for a house sleeping six, with shared pool, from £276 from 30 August. Or head for the hills with Peak Retreats (0844 576 0171; peakretreats.co.uk) to the French Alpine resort of Samoëns, which offers a one-bedroom apartment at Les Fermes de Samoëns for £488 in late July, including car ferry – book a second week for £336.

Take advantage of the strong pound and head to Florida. Regal Palms Resort & Spa (0800 047 0927; regalpalms.com), has three-bedroom townhouses for £370 for seven-night breaks between 20 July and 21 December.

UNDER £700

Back in the UK, the three-bedroom Mill Lane Cottage, in Chideock, West Dorset, right, is available for two weeks from 16 August, at £600 per week, through Dorset Coastal Cottages (0800 980 4070; dorsetcoastal cottages.com). Or on the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales, a two-bedroom apartment at Smoke House Quay (01437 763732; smokehouse quay.co.uk) is reduced from £700 to £675, available 25 July to 22 August.

Explore the Suffolk coast on two wheels with Go Camping UK (01379 678711; gocamping uk.co.uk), whose self-guided cycling and camping tours cost £677; stay in pre-erected tents, with bikes, kiddy trailers and transportation of gear between sites included.

More camping is on offer at beachside Camping Le Vieux Port, near Biarritz, below left, for £662 for a family of six in a fully equipped tent, between 2 and 8 August, including car ferry, via Vacansoleil (08700 778 779; vacansoleil.co.uk). Tuscany is achievable for two adults and up to three children with Thomson Al Fresco (0871 231 3292, call charges apply; thomsonalfresco.co.uk), staying at Le Piannace in a Puccini mobile home for £619, down from £758, arriving 18 to 23 August.

Hit Hotelopia (hotelopia.co.uk) to bag a beach break with hotel accommodation. A one-bedroom apartment at the three-star Parque Mourabel, Oásis Village, in the Algarve, Portugal, costs £584 from 24 July.

Macdonald Hotels & Resorts (0844 879 9200; macdonald hotels.co.uk/summerbreaks) has up to 50 per cent off until 2 September, across 40 UK properties. Children under 12 stay, and eat breakfast, free when sharing with parents. A week's B&B at the Macdonald Portal Hotel & Spa in rural Cheshire costs from £658.

UNDER £1,000

The Savoy on the Isle of Wight (01983 760355; savoyholidays .co.uk) has two-bedroom holiday cottages with shared pool, sports, kids' activities and club from £903 per week, for arrivals between 18 July and 25 August, with 10 per cent off 14 nights. Price includes car ferry.

A Kids Go Half Price offer at PGL's Barton Hall adventure centre, Torbay, means two adults and two children sharing adjacent rooms pay from £981 – a saving of £243 – for arrivals on 19 July and 23 August. Full board, including activities and instruction (08700 507 507; pgl.co.uk).

Tempted by temperate climes? Channel Islands Direct (08444 937 486; channelislands direct.co.uk) is offering free half-board, saving £70 per adult, at the Ambassadeur Hotel, St Helier. Share a family room from £838 in July, including passenger ferry, or £968 with air fares from Gatwick. Meanwhile, Manx Mews are three-bedroom holiday houses at Port Erin, on the Isle of Man, costing £850, including car ferry, with Goldstar Travel Services (01624 833558). Over the water in Ireland, the four-star, three-bedroom Mountain View Holiday Homes, below, on the Beara Peninsula, County Cork, share a pool and cost £889 for a family of five plus car with Irish Ferries (08705 171717; irishferries.com).

VFB Holidays (01452 716830; vfbholidays .co.uk) has villas throughout France, such as a Breton house in Audierne (ref ORL.29) sleeping up to eight; £761 including ferry crossings, departing 30 August.

In Tuscany, the two-bedroom Villa Limoni, in Hamlet Montefiorile, has a shared pool; it's available 16-23 August for £745, through To Tuscany (020 7193 7782; to-tuscany.com).

Grab a Greek island break with youtravel.com, which offers a one-bedroom apartment at the five-star Blue Bay Deluxe Complex and Waterpark Hotel on Rhodes, arriving 30 August, for £870, all-inclusive with free waterpark entry, saving £100. Or a sea-view family room, B&B, at the four-star Aloe Hotel in Paphos, Cyprus, costs £882 through Libra Holidays (0871 226 7825; libra holidays.co.uk).

UNDER £1,500

Go sightseeing in London, with a new Family Package at the capital's Park Plaza County Hall (020 7034 4820; parkplaza.com) from £152.75 per night, or £1,069.25 for a week, based on two adults and two children under 12 sharing a studio with living area and kitchenette, and including breakfast. Kids get goody bags, slippers, bath ducks, movies, free tea parties and more.... From 25 July into September.

Or make for Malta and the four-star Paradise Bay for £1,219, flying from Gatwick on 25 July, based on two adults and two children sharing a sea-view superior room on a B&B basis (0845 604 0035; maltadirect .com). Parents get pampering and little 'uns get learning with a special package at Hotel Botanico, Tenerife, below, where two interconnecting deluxe rooms cost £1,450 for seven nights, saving £230, with all sorts of educational extras. Book through booka hotelonline.co.uk (0161 905 2900).

UNDER £2,000

Save up to £200 when you book online and pay £1,727 for a seven-night break in a one-bedroom property at the Nettuno Apartments, Lake Garda, Italy, through Crystal Families (0871 230 8146; crystalfamilies.co.uk), flying from Gatwick on 20 August.

Get 10 per cent off the Happy Families package at the Solis Cambrian Hotel & Spa (00 41 33 673 83 83; info@ solisadelboden.com) in Adelboden, Switzerland. For £1,930, it offers half-board in a family room, a visit to a cheesemaker, pizza-making and mocktail sessions for kids, and spa treats for all.

Fly from Manchester on 15 August to get a 14-night self-catering holiday in the Adler Apartments in Icemeler, Turkey, for £1,970, with Kosmar Holidays (0871 7000 747; kosmar.co.uk), saving £20 per person. Finally, sink your teeth into a Transylvanian trip, staying at the Machine House, above, a rustic guesthouse in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania. Experience a day in the life of a local shepherd or visit the only natural sulphur cave in Europe. Book via Black Tomato (020 7610 9008; blacktomato.co.uk) to pay from £1,996 for two double rooms, on a B&B basis, including flights from Heathrow, from 23 July to 3 September.

Prices are for seven nights, based on two adults and two children, unless otherwise stated, and are available at the time of going to press