Chicago cop tour

Ever wondered what it’s like to be a cop in the Windy City? Take a two-hour tour, which is included in the price of a four-night break with Bon Voyage (0800 3160194, bon-voyage.co.uk). Then visit The Ledge — a glass box extending from the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). The trip leaves Heathrow on October 25 and costs £675 for an adult (a £125 saving) and £575 for a child, including flights, room-only accommodation in a four-star hotel and the tour.

Whale watching in the Azores

If whales aren’t your thing, you can swim with dolphins, visit the only tea plantations in Europe or go on a geology tour. Sunvil Discovery (020-8758 4722, www.sunvil.co. uk) has seven nights’ B&B on São Miguel for £466pp, a saving of £117pp, including flights and transfers or car hire. Whale and dolphin watching £39pp for a half day; swimming with dolphins £56pp for a half day; geology tour £60 for an adult, £44 for a child.

Plain sailing in Ireland

Watersports at the Star Sailing and Adventure Centre are free each morning for children aged 6 and above staying at Sheen Falls Lodge in Kenmare, Co Kerry. While they learn to sai, go kayaking and use pedal boats, you can fish, try clay pigeon shooting, ride horses or play golf. One night’s B&B costs £210.80 for two adults. Children sharing with adults go free. Details: 00353 6466 41600, sheenfallslodge.ie

Teen trip to Morocco

Confiscate the Wii and take the teenagers mountain biking in the Draa Valley and on a camel ride over the sand dunes to an overnight Beduin-style camp. Then hike a section of the Todra Gorge and visit the fortified village of Ait Benhaddou, where Gladiator and The Mummy were filmed. The week-long trip departs October 24 and costs £1,069pp, including flights and mostly B&B accommodation. Details: The Adventure Company (0845 6090890, www.adventurecompany.co.uk).

Culture vulture in Venice

Bribe the kids with gelati and pizza while you introduce them to the art and architecture of Venice. Stay three nights for the price of two at the five-star Ca’Sagredo, an historic palazzo on the Grand Canal. It is opposite the Rialto market and only a short boat trip from the outlying islands, including Murano, where you can watch the glass-blowing. It costs £788pp, a saving of £148pp, including flights, B&B and entry to the Doge’s Palace. Details: 020-7593 2283, www.kirkerholidays.com

Texan cowboy

Bring out their inner cowboy at the Mayan Dude Ranch in Texas, which is good for children and novice riders, with orderly trail rides through the stunning Texan countryside on well-trained ponies. Seven nights’ full board costs £1,775 for an adult and £1,289 for a child over 6, including flights and two trail rides a day, with Ranch America (0845 2773306, ranchamerica.co.uk).

Active Devon

Climbing, abseiling, raft-building and dry-slope skiing are just some of the family activities included in a week’s PGL trip in Devon. There’s also plenty of evening entertainment. Seven nights’ full board at PGL’s Barton Hall, in South Devon, starting October 24, cost £959 for a family of four, staying in adjacent rooms, a saving of £320. Children must be aged 6 or above. Details: 0870 0507507, www.pgl.co.uk

Cycling in Spain

Get on your bikes and explore the unspoilt part of Majorca. Discover inland lagoons and salt flats, the windmills that the area is famous for and Es Trenc, the island’s longest natural beach. Stay at an agriturismo property and a country farmhouse, both with pools. The six-night trip costs £685 for an adult and £535 for a child, including half board, cycle hire and luggage tranfers between hotels, but not flights. Details: Inntravel (01653 617000, www.inntravel.co.uk).

African safari

OK, this is the expensive one, but you do get one free child place for every adult on this family-friendly Norman Carr safari in Zambia. There are family foot safaris to identify trails and droppings and children also get the chance to interact with local schoolchildren, learn some of the local language and join in a game of football. The price for a family of four (minimum age 8) is now £8,234, a saving of £2,298, including all flights, full board and activities. Book with Expert Africa (020-8232 9777, expertafrica.com).

Or if you’d prefer a visit to Kenya, try Audley Travel (01993 838000, audleytravel.com), which has an eight-night safari split between two resorts — four nights at Governors’ Camp in the Masai Mara and four nights at Governors’ Mfangano Island Camp on Lake Victoria, from £2,720 for an adult and £2,250 for a child. The price includes flights, full board and activities but must be booked by September 30.

Cornish farm stay

Help to feed the farm animals, collect the eggs and get a trailer ride on a self-catering farm holiday. Cornish Farm Holidays (cornishfarmholidays.co.uk) says that almost half the properties it lists are still available, many of which are close to the coastal path for walking and cycling, and close to the beach. They include East Penrest Barn, which is on an organic farm at Lezant, near Launceston. The barn sleeps 8-10, in four bedrooms. It costs £950 for the week starting October 23.

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