Last-minute family escapes to the sun: From the Italian Dolomites to Mexico

A new Safari School for Kids, the coast and canyons of Croatia, and a family self-drive adventure in Ontario

Go horse-riding in the Dolomites

The summer holidays have arrived, but it's not too late to book a spur-of-the-moment family adventure. These new trips still have availability for late July and August.

For a gentle adventure under canvas, try the new geodome tents at north Cornwall's Trevella Park (01637 830308; trevella.co.uk; from £874 per week). This summer, there are also free-ranger activities for children.

Castles, caves, riverbanks and beautiful countryside all feature in a new self-guided French family cycling adventure from Inntravel (01653 617000; inntravel.co.uk; from £960 per adult, £215 per child, excluding travel to France). Starting in Amboise, the six-night trip offers self-guided routes and includes B&B, two dinners, cycle hire, and luggage transfers.

Activities such as horse riding, hiking, mountain biking, and whitewater rafting are available on the newly launched Air & Space family adventure in the Italian Dolomites from Powder Byrne (020 8246 5300; powderbyrne.com, from £1,599 per person per week, excluding flights).

The coast and canyons of Croatia feature in a new eight-day tour from The Family Adventure Company (0808 159 2350; familyadventurecompany.co.uk; from £1,247 adult, £1,122 child, with London flights).

Also ideal for water lovers, Peter Sommer (01600 888 220; petersommer.com) has a new family gulet cruise running this summer in Turkey. You'll spend eight days meandering along the coast between Dalaman and Bodrum. The trip costs £2,295 per adult and £2,175 per child, without flights.

Looking long-haul, there's a new family self-drive adventure in Ontario from Canadian Sky (01342 888220; canadiansky.co.uk; from £1,279 per person) including return flights from Gatwick, car rental, and 10 nights' accommodation.

You will need an extra three hours' flying time to reach Cancun in Mexico, for the chance to snorkel with whale sharks, go quad biking through the jungle, and explore Mayan ruins. This is all packed into the seven-night Mexico family adventure from Abercrombie & Kent (01242 855753; abercrombiekent.co.uk; from £3,860 per adult and £3,240 per child).

The new Safari School for Kids at Laikipia Wilderness – a small, tented camp in Kenya – teaches children lots, including archery, spear throwing, beading, fishing, river rafting, and poo identification. It's available from Aardvark Safaris (01980 849160; aardvarksafaris.co.uk; £385 per adult per night and £195 per child) as part of a tailormade safari to Kenya.

William Gray is the editor of 101familyholidays.co.uk