FOR AS LITTLE AS

pounds 36

each, you and six of your friends can celebrate New Year in a thatched cottage with a log fire in North Devon. Old Shippen Cottage is seven miles from Torrington, 16 miles from the beach, and sleeps six. This deal is for three nights' rental (pounds 219 in total), starting from 30 December. Farm and Cottage Holidays (tel: 01237 479698).

pounds 135

golfers can swing into 1999 with a two-day break at the four-star Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club, in Ticehurst, East Sussex. Celebrate the New Year with a champagne reception followed by a five-course gala dinner, and walk off the excess with unlimited golf on two courses on New Year's Day. Non-golfers can launch New Year's resolutions in the gym or the pool. The per-person price includes overnight accommodation, gala dinner, New Year's Day brunch and all golf. Dale Hill Hotel & Golf Club (tel: 01580 200122).

pounds 200

it's out with the old and in with the new, Scottish-style. Celebrate hogmanay in Fort William, near Glencoe, in a three-star hotel overlooking Loch Linnhe. The per-person price of this two-night break (30 December- 1 January) includes half-board accommodation on 30 December and full-board on 31 December with breakfast on 1 January. High Life Breaks (tel: 0800 700 400).

pounds 239

enjoy a romantic New Year in Paris. Festivities start on 31 December with a five-course dinner-dance, and continue the next day with brunch or lunch. This per-person price is for two nights' three-star accommodation near Porte de Clichy, with return travel on Eurostar (pounds 169 by ferry). Frantour (tel: 0171-902 7400).

pounds 499

give 1999 a warm welcome from the other side of the world. There is still availability on charter flights to various destinations in Australia and New Zealand throughout December. This price is for a return flight from Gatwick to Adelaide, departing on 13 December. Austravel (tel: 0171-734 7755).

pounds 502

celebrate New Year in Slovenian style with a five-night break in the Julian Alps - the setting for Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. The per-person price is based on two sharing and includes return flights (departing on 28 December), transfers, half-board hotel accommodation and a gala dinner and dance on New Year's Eve. Slovenija Pursuits (tel: 01763 852646).

pounds 745

bring in the New Year in the ancient Middle East. Departing on 28 December, spend seven days exploring Amman, Wadi Rum and Petra. The deal includes return flights, transfers, first-class accommodation with breakfast, a jeep tour of Wadi Rum's lunar landscape, and comprehensive sightseeing. Bales Worldwide (tel: 01306 876881).

pounds 1,175

you can spend Yuletide in Yemen. Departing on 20 December for 16 nights, this "Land of Sheba" tour takes in Shibam, The Empty Quarter, and the port of Al Mokha. The deal includes return flights, internal transport, 10 nights staying in hotels and six nights camping, plus breakfast and some meals. Imaginative Traveller (tel: 0181- 742 8612).