Idyllic summer season holidays for underneath £500: Insider hacks to navigate the very best offers for July and August – and the cut-price hidden gems away from the vacationer hordes

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It’s the time of year to take advantage of great deals on family holidays, with tour operators offering widespread discounts to encourage bookings.

Travel companies want to get on with selling packages – and reductions of 10 per cent to 20 per cent on usual prices are commonplace, with low deposits required.

Here, we have rounded up some of the most tempting offers for a family of four with two children under the age of 12. All come to less than £2,000 for a week.

TEMPTING PORTUGAL FROM £436pp

Lagos in Portugal’s Algarve region is a charming city with a rich maritime past (it was home to Henry the Navigator in the 15th century) as well as many good-quality seafood restaurants and lively bars.

It’s close to some of the loveliest beaches in the country – including Meia Praia, Praia da Batata and Praia da Luz – with dramatic cliffs rising between bays.

Stay at one of the Canavial I & II apartments, close to the centre of Lagos, with the cost for a family of four being from £1,741 for a week, departing in July with Luton flights (tui.co.uk). Just 600 metres from Porto Mos Beach, the smart apartments have little kitchens and guests have access to a freshwater outdoor pool, as well as bicycle hire.

MOREISH IN MENORCA FROM £425

On the west coastline of Menorca, you will find delightful little coves and beaches that offer peace away from the tourist hordes on the neighbouring Balearic Islands of Majorca and Ibiza.

The well-designed Globales Binimar apartment complex is about three miles outside Ciutadella, the former capital of Menorca with a splendid cathedral, marina, fish market and boutique shops.

It’s great for families with an attached water-park with free unlimited entry for guests, children’s play area, a main pool and a splash pool.

A week in July costs from £1,929 self-catering for a family of four with Manchester flights (jet2holidays.com). Two of the best nearby beaches include the ones at Cales Piques and at Cala en Blanes.

TURKISH DELIGHTS FROM £377pp

Until the 1980s, Marmaris on the ‘Turkish Riviera’ by the Mediterranean Sea – not far across the water from the Greek island of Rhodes – was a sleepy fishing village. Then tourists began arriving. Now it’s a bustling port with restaurants, lively nightlife and the popular Topkapi Bazaar. You can also visit the marina and the fine 16th-century Marmaris Castle. So there is plenty to do when staying at the Smart Voxx Resort Marmaris, a good-value hotel with decent-sized rooms and a huge pool with waterslides plus a spa.

A week’s stay in August with Gatwick flights is from £1,505 for a family of four (onthebeach.co.uk). It’s a mile from the fine sweep of sand at Icmeler beach.

ANDALUCIA FOR LESS FROM £313pp

Around 11 miles southwest of Malaga, Benalmadena enjoys a popular stretch of sand, Arroyo de la Miel Beach and a bustling centre from which you can catch a cable car to the top of Mount Calamorro, offering fine views of the Costa del Sol – and, on clear days, Africa.

In town, attractions include the unusual Colomares Castle (a tribute to explorer Christopher Columbus, completed in 1994) while the Selwo Aventura safari park – home to lions, rhinos, elephants and zebras (selwo.es) – is a 45-minute drive to the south-west.

Stay close to the beach at pleasant apartment-hotel Pierre & Vacances Benalmadena Principe, with spacious rooms plus kitchens and an outdoor pool, from £1,254 self-catering for a family of four in July, with Gatwick flights (easyjet.com).

CORFU CORKER FROM £389pp

Roda is a former fishing village on the northern coastline of Corfu in the Ionian Sea. Expect rows of colourful shops, pleasant seafood restaurants and the occasional taverna in little lanes.

For a day-trip (around ten hours) take a ferry across the Straits of Corfu to Albania to see its beaches and visit Greco-Roman ruins (£40 tours, tripadvisor.co.uk).

The 600-room Angela Beach resort is a ten-minute free shuttle bus from the centre of Roda, with multiple pools, water-slides, children’s play areas and comfortable rooms. Seven nights is from £1,556 all-inclusive in July for a family of four flying from East Midlands airport (loveholidays.com). Each room has either a balcony or terrace.

CHEAP IN CYPRUS FROM £424pp

In the 12th century, Paphos was a centre of the cult of Aphrodite, and many remains are to be found at the fascinating Unesco-listed Paphos Archaeological Park, including some of the world’s most beautiful mosaics. A sea stack off the coast named Aphrodite’s Rock is the mythical birthplace of the ancient Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, fertility and passion – and the city is on the southwest coast of Cyprus with excellent beaches, including sandy Coral Bay and Petra tou Romiou. 

Stay at the Basilica Holiday Resort, close to the archaeological park and beaches, for a week in July from £1,696 for a family of four with flights from Gatwick (easyjet.com). The modern self-catering apartments have kitchens and lounges – and the hotel is set around a mosaic-tiled pool with a restaurant on one side.

CUT-PRICE TURKEY FROM £329pp

Complete with a wonderful hilltop medieval castle built using the remnants of Roman-era fortifications, Alanya is a bustling beach resort about 80 miles southeast of Antalya. Enjoy the golden beaches and explore the old town with its many excellent little restaurants, including barbecue joints and steakhouses. Ark Suite Hotel is perfect for families with pools, water-slides and a children’s club.

A week’s stay is from £1,316 for a family of four with Bournemouth flights in July (loveholidays.com). You are a ten-minute walk from the resort’s centre and about 15 minutes from Cleopatra Beach,

BENIDORM BARGAIN FROM £468pp

Some may baulk at the idea of a summer holiday in Benidorm, believing one of Spain’s first purpose-built resorts with its many skyscrapers to be overcrowded and tacky.

Others can’t get enough of its long, sandy beaches and almost English seaside-style bustle.

It has long been a love-hate destination. But it does offer some good-value places to stay, including a week at the Hotel Sol Pelicanos Ocas for a family of four with flights from Gatwick in July from £1,872 B&B (jet2holidays.com).

There are five pools, one with a long, curving swim-up bar with a thatched roof, plus children’s play areas. Rooms are minimalist and comfortable. It’s centrally located 300 yards from Levante Beach.

RHODES REDUCTIONS FROM £449pp

Pekfos, which means ‘pine tree’ in Greek, is a peaceful village/resort on the east coast of Rhodes, the largest of Greece’s Dodecanese islands.

Locals enjoy its tranquil setting as much as overseas visitors, due to its first-rate sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters, all framed by the pine-clad Marmari hillside.

A week’s stay at the Ilyssion Hotel, just yards from the beach, is from £1,796 all-inclusive for a family of four with flights from Manchester in July (onthebeach.co.uk). With four freshwater pools and one large seawater pool, surrounded by well-tended lawns, plus a tennis court and children’s play area, it suits families well.

DEAL IN ALBUFEIRA FROM £288pp

Expect golden beaches and a whitewashed old town that is famous for its buzzy Strip. Yet the resort of Albufeira in Portugal’s Algarve suits families as much as those out for a party, with its waterparks, aquariums, go-karting and boat trips.

There are also good-quality restaurants serving grilled sardines and fresh catches of the day.

Seven nights at Cerro Mar Colina hotel, on a hilltop away from the noisy parts near the Strip, is from £1,152 self-catering for a family of four flying from Bournemouth in July (firstchoice.co.uk). Three pools are set amid petty gardens and it’s a short walk down to the main beach. There is a tennis court and a small spa featuring a sauna, Turkish bath and a hot tub.

Prices correct at time of publication