Fun on a shoestring

A tight budget doesn't mean you have to scale back your ambitions. From taking an RV around Florida to relaxing in a Spanish log cabin, there's plenty you can do for less

Historic theme park
Vendée, France

Skip Disneyland Paris for an equally fun and less commercial visit to Puy Du Fou, a European history theme park in the Vendée with a replica medieval city, 18th-century village, Vikings and musketeers, gladiator matches and starlit jousting. Stay in the onsite hotel or camp at nearby La Garangeoire campsite, right next to an authentic Gallo-Roman temple. From here you can visit the beaches of the Côte de Lumière (cote-de-lumiere.fr).

· (0033 2 51 64 11 11, puydufou.com). The park is an hour from Angers and Nantes (both have train stations); entry from €26 per adult, €15 per child per day. A room in the onsite Gallo-Romaine Villa hotel for 2 nights, including park entry costs from €155 for 2 adults, plus €39 per child. Campsite (+2 51 46 65 39, camping-la-garangeoire.com) from €19 a night for a family of 4.

Penichette houseboat
Holland

Explore the waterways of Amsterdam and the surrounding area in a Penichette - a barge specially designed to minimise wash and therefore reduce disruption to the local wildlife. After collecting the boat at Loosdrecht - where there are five interconnecting lakes - cruise to Amsterdam and beyond. You can hire bikes to explore inland.

· European Boating Holidays (0845 450 5229, europeanboatingholidays.co.uk) offers 4 nights on a Penichette for up to 5 people from £384, or 7 nights from £675. Eurostar to Amsterdam (raileurope.co.uk); train to Hilversum, then taxi or bus to Loosdrecht. Bike hire €42 per week, children €21.

Beaver safari
Sweden

Spot some elusive furry friends on a guided beaver safari while exploring the Klaralven, Sweden's longest river, near the city of Karlstad. You stay in simple cabins in Vamas, on a campsite, and spend a day building your own raft from logs and ropes to float downstream. Other activities include canoeing, fishing in local lakes and relaxing in the wood-heated sauna.

· 4 days with Nature Travels (01929 463774, naturetravels.co.uk) costs £144 per adult, £72 per child. Ryanair flies Stansted-Gothenburg from £38 return. From there take a train to Karlstad (2 hours) then a bus (1 hour), book trains through SJ (0046 771 757 575, sj.se).

Womad festival
Wiltshire

Unlike other UK festivals, which have limited kids' areas, Womad promotes itself as totally family oriented, and the standard and cleanliness of facilities such as toilets and showers surpasses those at other big events. World music, arts and dance is the theme, with costumed performers from around the globe, and kids can join music and arts workshops. This year's line-up includes Roni Size, Orchestra Baobab and bands from Egypt, Tibet, Mali and Japan.

· July 25-27, 0845 146 1735, womad.org. Kids under 14 go free, adults £125pp for the weekend, including camping.

Danute's Guest House
Kaunas, Lithuania

A small, friendly guesthouse offering great local and homegrown food. Hosts Danute and Jurgis lead day trips to local villages, and Lithuania's most traditional city, Kaunus, is 10 minutes away by bus.

· Baltic Holidays (balticholidays.com, 0845 070 5711) offers 7 nights at Danute's Guest House for £900 for a family of 4, including flights.

Tuscan View Apartments
Montaione, Tuscany

These apartments in restored farmhouses scattered across the hills make a peaceful base. The estate's activities include tennis, mountain-biking through olive groves, fishing and golf - there is also a small bar and restaurant and a mini-market and a shared outdoor pool.

· Inntravel (inntravel.co.uk, 01653 617949) has 7 nights from £318 per adult, including return ferry crossing. Children go free.

Tourist Farm
Dolencevi, Slovenia

A family-run working farm with animals that won't mind being patted and a guesthouse serving traditional homemade food. It's surrounded by meadows full of wild berries and edible mushrooms and a river perfect for a dip. A must-see site is the famous Postojna Cave, but book ahead for a private tour of the gnarlier sections usually closed to the general public (00386 7000 103).

· 00386 5 756 2022, dolencevi.si, from €28pp per night half-board. EasyJet flies to Ljubljana from £43.98pp.

Super RV Florida

Discover the unspoilt parts of Orange County at your own pace in an RV, pitching up each night at a different campsite. There are plenty of attractive, relaxing spots beyond the theme parks - canoe past alligators in the Hillsborough River State Park (canoeescape.com), collect shells and look out for manatees on the white sands of Sanibel island and swim off the Keys. If they insist on a theme park, Wannado City in Fort Lauderdale lets kids try different jobs - from DJ to doctor - in the recreation hospital, airport, newspaper, police station, film studio or court house (wannadocity.com, entry $30 ages 2-14).

· Keycamp (0844 406 0319, keycamp.co.uk) offers an RV sleeping five from £103 per night including pitches at any of its four camp sites. Flights with Thomsonfly.com from Gatwick-Sanford from £250pp return; in May, Zoom (flyzoom.com) starts a new service to Fort Lauderdale, from £399 return.

Falcon Hills Hotel
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

A small, friendly hotel, away from the crowds with most rooms overlooking the swimming pool. A few shops and restaurants are within walking distance and it's a 10-minute taxi-ride from Naama Bay, where you can arrange diving and snorkelling on the world-famous reefs.

· Longwood Holidays (020-8418 2515, longwoodholidays.co.uk) offers 7 nights B&B for £1,428 (2 adults, 2 children) including flights and transfers.

Camping and log cabins
Asturias, Spain

Spain's north coast "green" region has many beaches and prehistoric caves. Camping Tauran, a clifftop campsite on the protected west coast, is 1km from Salinas beach near pretty Luarca, with farm animals, bikes and a pool.

· Tent pitch and family of four €22 per night, log cabin from €65 per night, 0034 985 641 272, campingtauran.com. EasyJet (easyjet.com) flies Stansted to Asturias. Ferries from Plymouth to Santander with Brittany Ferries (brittany-ferries.co.uk).

The GuardianTramp

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