British Isles

Capital cities are the places for good deals in the coming weeks. An “Edinburgh for less” campaign with Superbreak from November 20 includes a free outing when booking two-night stays at a choice of ten hotels. Book B&B, for example, at the four-star Macdonald Roxburghe Hotel from £102 and visit either the Royal Yacht Britannia, Holyroodhouse Palace, the Edinburgh Dungeon or take a city bus tour. 0871 2223055

A “winter wonderland” with an ice rink, Christmas craft market and fairground attractions opens next week in Cardiff, where the Mercure Holland House Hotel and Spa offers rooms for two with breakfast from £79 a night this month. One child under 12 sharing the room with parents stays free; the hotel is a short walk from the city centre and overlooks Cardiff Bay. 0871 7029471

A three-night break in Dublin including an Irish Sea crossing from Holyhead with car is on offer for £158 with Irish Ferries Holidays for the next six weeks. The deal includes B&B at the Mespil Hotel in the Georgian part of the city and close to the Grafton Street shopping area and Temple Bar. 0870 5171717

Shopping in Bournemouth and walking in the New Forest or along the coast are within easy reach of the Lord Bute Hotel near Christchurch, where three-night stays are currently on offer for the price of two - from £98 with breakfast. 01425 278884

Surfing, shopping and walking are among activities on offer in Newquay, Cornwall, where Classic Cottages has a newly converted flat for six in a villa overlooking the harbour available for a four-night stay from November 14. Price: £306. 01326 555555

For a serious walking holiday or just a cosy winter break, stay in Yattus, a 17th-century cottage in Eskdale Green below Scafell Pike in the Lake District. It has three bedrooms and costs £360 with Cumbrian Cottages for a week from November 15 or 29. 01228 599960

Short haul

A choice of winter sun breaks in the Canary Islands is available with Teletext Holidays. Fly on November 11 or 13 from Stansted or Birmingham for a week at La Piramide hotel, Fuerteventura, and pay from £231, or depart on November 17 for a week at a four-star hotel on Grand Canary for £292 with a flight from Manchester. Half-board included in both deals. 0800 0910808/ 0845 2647957

Excellent early December prices to the temperate island of Madeira are on offer with holidayjewels.com. Fly from Stansted on December 5 and choose from the Pestana Atalaia Hotel near the botanical gardens and golf courses, where a week's B&B is £269, or four and five-star hotels in Funchal, the capital, where prices are £255 and £275. 0870 0672352

Cracow, the medieval Polish city spared the worst ravages of the Second World War, is moving up the list of top city break destinations. Voyages Jules Verne offers a chance to visit at a good price: a four-night break with B&B at the centrally located Hotel Kazimierz and a flight from Gatwick for £295 this month and next. 0845 1667035

Always near the top of the list is Venice, where Expedia.co.uk has an attractive offer. Four nights B&B in an annexe room of the four-star 17th-century Colombina Hotel, 150m from St Mark's Square, costs £266, with a flight from Heathrow on November 20. 0871 2260808

The Adventure Company offers exotic trips to Morocco in the coming weeks. The first starts on November 16 and joins a desert caravan across the northern fringe of the Sahara, ending in Marrakesh. The second starts on November 21 and includes a trek to the summit of Jebel Toubkal, North Africa's highest peak. The trips last for a week and cost from £339 and £399, excluding flights, and from £669 with flights from the UK. 0845 6090889

Long haul

A longer trek across Africa, a 16-day journey from Nairobi through national parks in Kenya and Tanzania to the beaches of Zanzibar, has been reduced to £431 plus a kitty for meals and entrance fees with Dragoman. It starts on November 25 and includes travel in a customised truck, nights in hotels and tents. Flights extra. 01728 861133

A week in St Lucia in the Caribbean for £499 is on offer with Hayes & Jarvis. The deal includes a flight with Virgin Atlantic on November 30 from Gatwick and a room at the St Lucian Rex Resort with a pool, tennis and watersports. 0871 6640246

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

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