Six family holiday ideas for the October half term week

It feels like the children have only just gone back to school after the summer but my son already needs a new school jumper. I think he eats them. Any minute now it will be the October half-term holiday week (or possibly two weeks if they’re at an independent school). UK schools are unusual in having a holiday in October which means that this can be a great time for a short trip. Here are some ideas for October family holidays.

This is a good time to visit the Mediterranean because it’s not too hot and the local children are all at school. Around 1.5 million tourists visit the ancient site of Ephesus in Turkey each year but we had the place virtually to ourselves when we visited during October half term:
This is also harvest time for many Mediterranean crops and some places invite visitors to get involved. We loved helping harvest the olives on the Exclusive Escapes Dionysos Estate last October (photo at the top of this post).
City breaks work well at this time of year too. Amsterdam, Venice, Paris and Rome are all great places to visit with kids and are much cooler and less crowded than in the summer.
Skiing is a possibility. Places at high altitudes such as Zermatt in Switzerland and Saas Fee and Pitztal in Austria should be open for skiing by half term.
If you want a break in the UK choose somewhere which has stuff to do if the weather’s not great. Holiday parks with indoor pools can work well (think Center Parcs or Butlins) although they’ll probably be pretty crowded.
Home swapping is a good option for families. If you choose another family to swap with then they can let you know the family-friendly things to do in their area and their house will be geared up for kids, whatever the weather.
If you want hot weather think about the Canary Islands or Morocco. The Mediterranean will still be warmer than the UK but is not reliably hot by mid-October. Flights to the Canaries take around four hours and to Morocco around three hours from London.