British Isles

Family-friendly or frenetic - that's the choice of holiday deals on Jersey this month. The Mayfair Hotel, St Helier, part of the Modern Hotels group, has an indoor leisure complex with a pool and gym and offers three nights' B&B from £199 and special deals for children. The price includes a Fastcat crossing from Weymouth or Poole. 01534 735511

Established and alternative rock and dance groups will shake the island during the fifth Jersey Live festival on August 30 and 31. Bontour Agencies offer two-night breaks, ferry crossings and entry to the festival from £178, while Premier Holidays has flights from a choice of airports in England, three-night breaks and festival tickets from £349. 01534 875399/ 0844 4937777

Legoland, Thorpe Park and Windsor Castle are within easy reach of two Macdonald hotels, where family rooms for two adults and two children cost £99 a night this month with breakfast. The offers are at the Berystede Hotel, near Ascot, and Frimley Hall, near Camberley, and include use of their large spas. 0844 8799104/0844 8799110

For families with plenty of energy, PGL has two-night Bank Holiday breaks starting on August 23 at its adventure centres in Shropshire and Lincolnshire. Full board for two adults and two children, aged six to 18, sharing a family room, plus activities ranging from abseiling to raft building cost a total of £454. 0870 0507507

The walled city of York with its historic minster and maze of shops is an appealing destination for a Bank Holiday break. Stay at the three-star Queen's Hotel for £60.50 a night, including breakfast and dinner. The deal is with Superbreak. 0871 2223055

End the school holidays in a house with a difference: a smart Canadian log home with balconies in Cornwall. Driftwood sits in a wooded valley with a stream at the bottom of the garden in the hamlet of Little Petherick, two miles (3km) from the port and restaurants of Padstow. It sleeps six and costs £594, a £148 saving, for a week from August 30 with Cornish Horizons. 01841 533331

An opportunity to make the most of the popular Hadrian: Empire and Conflict exhibition at the British Museum is available with the five-star Threadneedles hotel in the City of London. B&B on September 5 will be followed by a talk by the curator, before visiting the show. Price: £140, including tickets. 020-7657 8080

Short haul

A wide choice of Bank Holiday breaks is still available in Europe, including two self-catering deals for Larnaca, Cyprus, with Libra Holidays. A week at the Senator apartments from August 23 costs from £416, with a flight from Humberside, and a week from August 24 in the Anthea Apartments is from £406, flying from Newcastle. 0871 2267825

Save up to £135 per couple on three-night breaks in Paris or Rome. Stay at the five-star Trianon Palace hotel in Paris for £379 room only, travelling on Eurostar from London on September 8, or opt for the four-star Hotel Aniene in Rome for £271 B&B, flying with British Airways from Gatwick on September 4. Expedia.co.uk, 0871 2260808

Stay in a family-run hotel on the edge of the old town of Taormina, Sicily, close to the cablecar to the beach. A week from September 3 with Belleair Holidays costs £461 with a flight from Gatwick, transfers and B&B. 020-8785 3266

Walking tours of Austria over the Bank Holiday are on offer with Ramblers Worldwide Holidays. They start on August 16 and 23, extend for a fortnight and cost £937. The price includes flights through Heathrow, transfers, half-board at the four-star Hotel Goies in Ladis and walks with a guide in the spectacular Upper Inn Valley. 01707 331133

A choice of holidays at the Seketur Hotel on the beach in the resort of Calis, near Fethiye on the Turquoise coast of Turkey, are on offer with Jewel in the Crown. A fortnight's B&B from August 25 costs £395 and a week from August 29 is from £354, both dates with flights from Gatwick. 0870 0672352

A tour of the medieval towns and cities of Tuscany and Umbria, from a base in a spa resort, is on offer with Archers Direct. Fly from Gatwick on September 7, head for Chianciano for half-board for seven nights and visit Arezzo, Assisi, Montepulciano, Orvieto, Todi and Urbino. Prices from £535. 0871 4238638

Long haul

The island of Cayo Coco, off the northern coast of Cuba, has 14 miles of white-sand beaches and shallow water perfect for swimming and snorkelling, while the reefs can be explored from numerous dive sites. Enjoy all this on an all-inclusive break at the four-star Sol Cayo Coco Hotel, which costs £685 for a week from August 27 with Directline Holidays, including a flight from Gatwick. 020-8239 3399

The three-star Veranda Paul et Virginie, named after mythical lovers, is a suitably peaceful resort beside the beach and the fishing village of Grand Gaube in the north of Mauritius. It has two pools, a tennis court, windsurfing and a dive centre - and a week there from August 31 costs from £799 with Hayes & Jarvis, including B&B and a Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow. 0871 6640246

All prices are per person and based on two travelling together and sharing a room unless stated otherwise.