Best for tweens
Cape St Vincent on the tip of Portugal is the Land's End of Europe with its majestic cliffs and lighthouse. The fine sweep of beach at Sagres and Martinha has an ultra-stylish five-star hotel combining high-end design with family fun. Trampolines, gourmet restaurants and side-by-side child/adult massages. Seven nights (room only) in a grand de luxe garden house with kitchen costs from £1,524 for a family of four. Visit martinhal.com. BA flies to Faro.
Best for thrill-seekers
The theme-park capital of the world, Orlando, is a must-do for families. Disney's Art of Animation is the latest hotel to open with suites based around favourite characters, such as Nemo and the Little Mermaid.
BA offers seven nights (room only) at the Disney's Art of Animation from £3,129* for a family of four (two adults, and two children aged 2-11, sharing) including flights. Visit ba.com/orlando. BA flies to Orlando.
Best for beach babes
Antigua is the perfect Caribbean island for families looking to chill out on the beach or explore the local heritage. There are great all-inclusive resorts, including
St James's Club, which has storytelling workshops hosted by children's authors and illustrators.
British Airways offers seven nights all inclusive at the St James's Club from £4,269* for a family of four (based on two adults and two children aged 2-11 years sharing) with flights. Visit ba.com/antigua. BA flies to Antigua.
Best for those little bundles of energy
The Greek island of Rhodes has a fresh reason to visit — the new Mark Warner five-star Levante Beach Resort. It's cool and contemporary with a water sports centre for all ages offering dinghy sailing, waterskiing, windsurfing, wakeboarding, kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding. Seven nights half board from £4,896 for a family of four (two adults and two children 2-11 years) with flights and transfers. Visit markwarner.co.uk. BA flies to Rhodes.
Best for bored teens
Dubai is packed to the rim with amazing feats of engineering, including a ski slope with real snow, a golf course in the desert, endless souks and one of the tallest buildings in the world. Even truculent teenagers can't fail to
be impressed by it. Stay at The Atlantis with its vast marine
and waterpark where kids can interact with dolphins and shoot down a 61m-long waterslide through a shark tunnel.
British Airways offers four nights
at Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai from £3,689* for a family of four (based on two adults and two children aged 2-11 years sharing) with flights. Visit ba.com/dubai. BA flies to Dubai.
Best for nature-mad tots
For an affordable and active family holiday try camping in Brittany. The unusual campsite of Village L'Ocean Breton, just south of Quimper, is tucked into the gardens of a manor house and has its own adventure park with zip wires and obstacle courses, along with a heated pool, bike hire, restaurant, grocery store and bakery. Seven nights in a campsite cottage for a family
of four starts from £257. Open during April-September. Visit camping-bretagne-oceanbreton.fr.
BA flies to Quimper.
Best for animal lovers
Walk with your own donkey in the Spanish heartlands of the Sierra
de Guadarrama National Park, retracing ancient drovers' trails
and bedding down in delightful villages. When little ones get tired, they can hop on the donkey. Seven-night B&B accommodation with six dinners and three picnic lunches, luggage transportation between hotels, a week's car hire, and a donkey for four days, costs from £965 per adult and £585
for the first child and £265 for
additional children with Inntravel (inntravel.co.uk). BA flies to Madrid.
Best for bohemian babes
The vast Italian Villa Pia in Lippiano has been transformed into a hotel with Italian mamas cooking up a storm with kids' suppers and, when mini guests are tucked up in bed, nightly sociable suppers for grown-ups. Little ones can roam the estate, which appears to hide a swing, seesaw, trampoline or play den around every corner. Seven nights full board costs from £1,470 for a family of four (two adults and two children 2-12 years) sharing a large family room en-suite. Visit babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk. BA flies to Florence, Bologna and Pisa.
Best for mini divas
Kids of all ages will be blown away by the Maldives. Stay at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island and they can enjoy the Majaa Kids club with cooking and art classes, games, nature walks and pirate days on the lagoon. Kids have their own Ice Cream Spa with ice cream-flavoured spa treatments and fake tattooing. Seven nights half board from £2,726 for a family of four in a beach villa. Visit conradmaldives.com. BA flies to Malé.
Best for Bear Grylls wannabes Families can hone their bush skills at Footsteps, inside Botswana's Okavango Delta. As well as guided walking tours, there's a Young Explorer's option where kids make bows and arrows, and fish for their dinner from canoes. A seven-night trip costs from £4,436 per adult and £4,233 per child (7-11) with activities, meals, flights and transfers with Expert Africa. Visit expertafrica.com. BA flies to Johannesburg and on to Gabarone with Air Botswana.
Best for urban kids
London hotel The Athenaeum has child-friendly apartments on Piccadilly. They've joined forces with the children's entertainers Sharky & George, who provide a fun-filled itinerary for your little darlings. Apartments start from £399. Sharky & George sessions start at £25 per child per session. A bespoke itinerary for a family of four for two hours costs from £250. Visit athenaeumhotel.com.
