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Your support makes all the difference.Families are already in the holiday spirit, with October half-term well underway. However, if you're enencumbered by children and are feeling a bit left out, then there are plenty of late deals for the last few weeks of the year.
BA ( ba.com/ski) began new winter flights to Innsbruck on Monday. If you package things up (and manage to time your trip to avoid any potential strikes from cabin crew), the prices are attractive. Four nights at the four-star Austria Classic Binders hotel in Innsbruck is available from £274 per person in December, including return flights from Gatwick, and bed and breakfast (based on two sharing). Bear in mind that BA now charges ski gear as excess baggage (£32 per additional bag, provided you book online).
One company that is still offering to carry your snowboard or skis for free is Jet2 ( Jet2.com), which flies from Belfast, Blackpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Manchester and Leeds Bradford Airport to Chambery (for the French Alps) and Geneva. Flights begin departing on 19 December and run until 17 April 2010.
Travel a little further with Jet2's holiday arm ( Jet2holidays.com) and you can also stay warmer: three nights in Las Terrazas Apartments in Puerto Del Carmen, Lanzarote are available for £199 per person based on two people sharing a self-catering studio apartment, including transfers. Flights depart from Leeds Bradford on 8 November.
An apartment holiday is also available with i-escape ( i-escape.com). From 6 Nov 2009 to 31 March 2010 (excluding 15 December to 5 January) it's offering an impressive low-season offer of seven nights at Casa Howard Florence for €187.50 per person, based on two sharing (flights not included). Casa Howard contains 13 private apartments and is, occording i-escape, not a hotel but a "very high standard house aiming to host special people” with parquet floors, marble fireplaces, and flat-screen TVs. The casa looks over the basilica of Santa Maria Novella.
Finally, if that's not quite warm and exotic enough for you, Hayes & Jarvis ( hayesandjarvis.com) is offering seven nights in Cuba at the three-star Iberostar Tainos on Varadero Beach for £599 per person (based on two sharing). Price includes Virgin Atlantic flights from Gatwick, departing in 2 December. That should put any chilly half-term excursions for "family fun" into sharp perspective.
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