FOR AS LITTLE AS...

pounds 70.60

bring back those halcyon days of perpetual summer by staying in a Youth Hostel for a couple of nights. The hostel at Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds has just received a top-to-toe revamp and now features a number of small en-suite family rooms. This price is for one of these rooms for two nights. You must be a member of the YHA to stay in the hostels. Membership costs pounds 22 for two parents (children under 18 enrolled free), or pounds 11 for one-parent families. Youth Hostels Association (tel: 01727 855215).

pounds 280

walk 80 miles across the North Yorkshire moors in a week and yet never really get anywhere. Each morning you will be taken to the start of your day's walk with your guide, equipped with your picnic (provided) and your bobble hat (bring your own), and then picked up in the evening and returned safe and well to your hotel in Whitby. This offer starts on 5 June and the price includes full-board guest-house accommodation, transport from the start and finish of your walk each day, and the services of an experienced guide. Countrywide Holidays (tel: 01942 241432).

pounds 385

enjoy the Greek Islands and the Mediterranean in cruising style. Throughout June, you can board the liner Azur at Genoa and cruise for seven days on a round trip that takes in Itea, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos and Naples. If you must take the kids, those under 17 go for pounds 197. The price for adults, based on two sharing a cabin, includes return flights to Genoa from Stansted. Port tax is another pounds 70 for adults and pounds 40 for children. Seafarer (tel: 01202 685500).

pounds 579

spend 13 nights in Sri Lanka at the Kosgoda Beach Hotel, south of the capital, Colombo. Departures are on 4 and 11 June and the price, based on two adults sharing, includes half-board accommodation and is subject to availability. Distant Dreams (tel: 0870 241 2400).

pounds 1,720

take a 19-day trans-Mongolian journey by rail. The trip begins in Peking and finishes in St Petersburg. The tour departs on 13 June, 4 and 25 July, 15 August, and 5 and 25 September. Its highlights include a visit to the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator and a night camping out under the stars in the Terelj National Park. This price, which is based on two sharing, includes all accommodation, the services of a tour leader, sightseeing and entrance fees but not international flights. The tour includes some but not all meals. Guerba Expeditions (tel: 01373 826611).

pounds 4,800

you and seven friends can literally lord it up for three days. Take charge of a large and early 19th-century castle, just outside Edinburgh, with an adjoining golf course, no less, and a 15th-century wedding chapel. The price includes dinner with wine every evening, Scottish cooked breakfasts and free golf. Scotts Castle Holidays (tel: 0131-446 9717).