Motoring: MOTORING BREAKS

If you can't bear to be without wheels when you go on holiday here are some other motoring breaks you could try:

THIRD WORLD FLY-DRIVE

Sunvil Discovery, which specialises in "adventurous" independent package holidays, is currently offering a unique fly-drive package to Thailand. I tried the Eastern Seaboard package earlier this year which took me away from the tourists to the spectacularly idyllic island of Koh Chang near the border with Cambodia, and I found driving in Thailand a doddle. Two nights in Bangkok, 3 nights in Rim Pai and 2 nights in Koh Chang (all accommodation is bed and breakfast) costs pounds 1,188, based on two sharing. The price includes car hire and transfers, flying from Heathrow. For more information, call Sunvil on 0181 568 4499.

CHAUFFEUR-DRIVEN SPLENDOUR

If you don't like driving yourself and prefer the the stress-free view from the back seat, the Lygon Arms Hotel (01386 852255) in the Cotswolds (part of the Savoy group) has linked up with the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon to offer guests classic and Edwardian cars for chauffeur-driven "Drive of your Life" tours of the area. You can enjoy a tailor-made tour in anything you like, from a 1924 Rolls-Royce to a Sixties Morris Minor. Prices start at pounds 780 for two nights, with half a day's sightseeing.

MOTORAIL

On the other hand, if you like your car so much you want to take it on holiday, but still don't want the hassle of actually sitting behind the wheel for hours on end, Rail Europe offers a wide range of fares to destinations across France for both of you. You check in at the Motorail terminal in Calais and are whisked off in fairly compact, though comfortable, sleeper compartments happily waving two fingers to all those caught up in jams on the Routes Nationales or the French lorry-drivers' disputes. (Motorail Call Centre: 0990 848 848; packages are also available.)