Best last-minute Easter breaks to book now

There’s still time to book that Easter holiday. But whether you fancy some late-season spring skiing, a break in a cosy country cottage or a beach holiday in the sun, you’d better move quickly before these Easter deals are snapped up...

France

The Easter holidays are usually the last hurrah of the ski season, and the recent snowfall in the Alps has come at just the right time. Head to the high-altitude slopes of Tignes, where Inghams (inghams.co.uk) has taken £160pp off the price of a week’s holiday in Residence Le Taos. You’ll be right in the centre of Tignes Le Lac, with easy access to the lifts as well as the network of pistes leading you to neighbouring Val d’Isère. A week’s self-catering costs from £649pp, including flights and transfers, departing 16 April.

Tignes, France

(Rex Features)

Cornwall

Lose yourself in the tranquil Cornish countryside by staying in Little Trebarvah, a two-bedroom stone cottage on a working farm three miles from Helston. Stylish and cosy, it comes with a wood-burning stove, separate laundry room, outdoor dining on a sun-trap terrace and sweeping views of farmland. The owners, who farm the surrounding fields, offer their own home-reared beef and organic produce for sale. If you want to check out Daphne du Maurier country around Frenchman’s Creek, Helford River is just a short drive away. Booked through Classic Cottages (classic.co.uk), it’s available from 15 April for seven nights for £470, down from £587.

Crete

A street in Chania, Crete

(Getty/iStock)

Save more than £400pp when you book an Easter break on the northern coast of Crete with First Choice (firstchoice.co.uk). Tui Blue Sensatori Atlantica Caldera Palace is just a few metres away from Lyttos Beach, and features five pools including a children’s splash pool and one just for adults. As it’s an all-inclusive holiday, you can sample food from each of the resort’s seven restaurants. Departing 14 April, the holiday costs from £825pp, down from £1,236pp, and includes Manchester flights, transfers and full-board accommodation.

Oxfordshire

Spend Easter messing around in boats – or, specifically one of the river cruisers you can rent from Le Boat (leboat.co.uk) for a week-long self-driving tour of the Thames. Start in Le Boat’s Benson base and see how far you can go – and return – in a week. In the thick of Three Men in a Boat and Wind in the Willows territory, you’ll pass lovely waterside towns including Pangbourne, Henley and Marlow, all at your own pace. Or go west and slowly explore Abingdon and Oxford. You’ll be given tuition, and you’ll soon discover how quickly you can pick it up. A week’s rental of a four-person Consul boat costs from £919, a saving of £230, departing 11 April.

Portugal

Praia Da Falesia, near Albufeira, Algarve

(Getty/iStock)

Lap up Algarve’s spring sunshine when you stay in the fishing town of Olhos de Auga. Flanked by the busier resorts of Albufeira and Vilamoura, the town has a laid-back air and the strange sight of freshwater springs popping up in the sandy beach. Tui (tui.co.uk) has a week’s self-catering in a one-bedroom apartment in the Oceanus Aparthotel, where there’s an indoor pool to go with two outdoor pools and a children’s splash pool. Departing 14 April, the holiday costs from £453pp, down from £582pp, and includes flights and transfers.

Barbados

If you’re in need of some serious downtime on soft Caribbean sands, then head to Barbados and flop on its south-western coast. Radisson Aquatica Resort has fabulous views of Carlisle Bay to go with its beachfront terrace and outdoor pool. It’s also a short walk from the Barbados Museum and Historical Society if you want to dive into the history of this corner of the Caribbean. Loveholidays.com has a week’s room-only holiday at the Radisson from £1,352pp, down from £1,721, including flights, departing 13 April from Manchester.

Egypt

The pyramids at Giza

(Reuters)

Save nearly £100pp off the cost of a tour of Egypt’s highlights with Intrepid Travel (intrepidtravel.com). Its eight-day Egypt Adventure starts in Cairo with visits to the pyramids and sphinx at Giza and the Egyptian Museum before you take the overnight sleeper train to Aswan for a taste of Nubian culture. Then you hop aboard a felucca for a slow journey along the Nile down to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. Departing 18 April, the holiday costs from £873pp, and includes B&B accommodation, internal travel, two lunches, four dinners and entrance fees. Flights are extra.

Kent

The section of the Kent coast near Dungeness and Greatstone Beach is one of the most fascinating, coupled with Romney Marshes, nature reserves and the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. Stay in one of the chalets or caravans at Parkdean Resorts’ Romney Sands (parkdeanresorts.co.uk), where seven nights cost from £479, down from £539, from 11 April. There’s plenty to do within the resort itself, with facilities including indoor swimming pools, tennis courts and a fishing lake. But it’s impossible to resist a walk through the atmospheric landscape of Dungeness and its pebbly beach.