Make your money go further this summer without cramping your style. Irish travel writer of the year Pól Ó Conghaile picks his top 20 package holidays.

Farmhouse Fun in Mallorca

Just because times are hard, you don’t have to write off the summer holiday. Self-catering can be the key to catching early sun without breaking the bank. Mallorca Farmhouses has two properties near Pollenca available in June: Les Rotes, a three-bed in a quiet country lane; and Miquel, a peaceful two-bed with stunning sea views. Both have private pools and daily maid service.

Details: Mallorca Farmhouses (0044 118 947 3001; mallorca.co.uk) has Les Rotes for €945 and Miguel for €910 per week in June. Both farmhouses sleep four. Aer Lingus (0818 365 000; aerlingus.com) and Ryanair (0818 303 030; ryanair. com) fly from Dublin to Palma.

Mobile Home Madness

While it may be going a little far to suggest that the recession has decimated hotel business, holidaymakers are certainly looking at alternatives. Crystal Holidays’ Al Fresco brand offers mobile homes in holiday parks all over Europe.

Its current offers include notable deals in Tuscany’s Le Pianacce Park and Les Sablons Park in Languedoc, France. The mobile homes themselves can be surprisingly luxurious — many come with decked verandas and patio heaters.

Details: Crystal Holidays (01-433 1080; crystalholidays.ie) has seven nights at Le Pianacce Park from €917 per mobile, departing July 2, and at Les Sablons Park from €597 per mobile, departing June 2. Flights are not included.

Destination Disney

If Disney World is the purpose of your holiday to Florida, then why not stay next door? American Sky is offering accommodation, flights from Dublin (via Philadelphia) with US Airlines and car-hire from €500pps all-in (for four sharing).

The accommodation is in the three- bed Disney Florida Homes, within 20 minutes of the Disney resort (well, that’s next door in American terms) and situated close to a host of retail stores, supermarkets, restaurants and bars.

Details: American Sky (01-526 2566 or 068 56868; americansky.ie) is offering seven nights on a four-star self-catering basis, from €500 per person. Valid on selected dates in June.

Norwegian Fjords Cruise

Cruises come in for a bad rap from critics (naff, staid, not ‘real’ travel), but for fans, they offer a safe, preorganised opportunity to see incredible landscapes from the comfort of your own cabin. And few landscapes are as spectacular as the Norwegian fjords. This weeklong cruise from specialist agent John Galligan Travel visits Bergen, Olden, Flam and Eidfjord.

Details: John Galligan Travel (01-207 6555; jgt.ie) has seven nights on Fred Olsen's Balmoral from €499pp, departing Dover on May 31. Flights and transfers are not included.

Cool Croatia

Surrounded by crystal-clear seas, stony cliffs and passing yachts, Dubrovnik’s Old Town is a true European treasure. Its mighty walls, humming cafes, amble-worn cobblestones and heart-breaking history combine to give a sun and city break package without match east of Italy.

Elsewhere, Brac is the largest of Croatia’s Dalmatian islands, featuring picture-pretty bays with sand and pebble beaches and the famous Golden Cape strand at Bol.

Details: Concorde Travel (01-775 9300; concordetravel.ie) has seven nights’ self-catering at the three-star Villa Erna Apartments for €464pp for four sharing.

Departures are from Cork on June 6, 13 and 20. A week in the four-star Hotel & Apartments Pastura on Brac is priced from €464pps, from Dublin.

Moroccan Adventures

We’ve gotten wind of two fantastic adventure breaks in Morocco, both geared towards families. The first is from Explore, who have a five-day trip taking in Marrakech, a day’s walk in the Atlas foothills and a traditional Berber lunch.

The second is from the Adventure Company: a package aimed at kids aged five+ and including sandy beaches at Aourir, a coastal camel ride and the old pirates’ lair of Essaouira.

Details: Explore (01-677 9479; explore.co.uk) prices ‘A Taste of Morocco’ from £555/€622 per adult and £495/€555 per child, inc flights, for August departures.

The Adventure Company (0044 845 609 0890; adventurecompany.co.uk) has ‘Kids in the Kasbahs’ from €406 per adult and €353 per child, excluding flights, for August 9-16 departures.

Taste of Tunisia

To those who haven’t been, North Africa seems much further away than it actually is — a 3.5-hour direct flight from Dublin. This is doubtless due to the image of Africa as a ‘difficult’ destination, but, as Sarah Palin will tell you, Africa is a continent, not a country, and boasts all of the diversity that entails.

Tunisia combines a 1,300km Mediterranean coastline with great Star Wars locations, expeditions into the Sahara and, of course, tried-and-tested package resorts.

Details: Sunway (01-231 1888; sunway.ie) has the two-star Dreams Palace Hotel from €403pps, the three-star Royal Residence from €483pps and the four-star Flora Park Hotel from €463pps. Departures in June.

Awesome Oz

Australia is truly a once-in-a-lifetime destination and, with airlines falling over themselves to fill seats during the recession, there’s never been a cheaper time to go. Cheap is relative when it comes to long-haul, of course, but Australian Holidays’ offer of a fortnight for a family of four, including seven nights at the Crown Plaza in Sydney and a week at the Sands Mediterranean Resort Gold Coast, is good value.

Sydney has endless family attractions, from the Aquarium o Taronga Zoo, and the Gold Coast offers Sea World, unlimited sun and the chance to learn to surf.

Details: Australian Holidays (01- 500 5522; australianholidays.ie) has this trip for €4,230, including flights and accommodation. Offer ends June 15. Return flights are out of Brisbane.

The Big O

Florida is Ireland’s favourite longhaul sun destination by a country mile — one reason for the deluge of offers currently available in Orlando. In June, Sunway has seven nights at the two-star Comfort Inn Universal for €1,949, though an upgrade to the four-star Rosen Plaza at €2,205 looks tempting (both prices are for two adults and two children sharing).

American Holidays has a week in the Quality Inn from €499pps, Tour America prices the three-star International Plaza Resort from €495pps, and ebookers has a family room at the Howard Johnson Inn in Kissimmee at €1,558 for four people, allin. Sand, sun and scintillating rides at Disney World — it can’t be beat.

Details: Sunway (01-231 1888; sunway.ie); Tour America (01-817 3500; touramerica.ie); American Holidays (01-673 3840; www. americanholidays.ie); Ebookers (01-431 1311; ebookers.ie).

Crazy About Crete

The birthplace of Zeus is loaded with Greek history, as you might expect, though package tourism has inevitably brought a change to its seaside character. This can frustrate if you’re seeking the unspoilt island of times past (for that, head for the interior), but it has many pros for family holidays. Think waterparks, seaside restaurants, improving standards of accommodation and, of course, the blazingly hot beaches that make the four-hour flight worthwhile in the first place.

Details: Budget Travel (budgettravel. ie) is offering 14 nights in Crete for €2,069, for two adults and two children sharing. Departures are on August 7; accommodation at the Lyda apartments in Gouves.

Sunny Spain

Terrazas Costa del Sol Holiday Village is a new holiday destination for summer 2009, offering self-catering apartments with panoramic views of the Costa del Sol and the rock of Gibraltar. Developed by Pierre & Vacances, the village is laid out around a pleasant main square and offers a large infinity pool, kids’ clubs for three to 18 year olds and a private beach area with tapas bar. It’s less than an hour from Malaga.

Details: PV Holidays (0033 158 215 584; pv-holidays.com) has seven nights in a one-bed apartment (sleeping four) at the Terrazas Costa del Sol Holiday Village from £430 (€481) per week. Aer Lingus (0818 365 000; aerlingus.com) and Ryanair (0818 303 030; ryanair.com) fly from Dublin to Malaga.

Marvellous Marbella

It’s hard to believe Marbella was once a small Andalucían fishing village. From that old chrysalis, of course, one of the Costa del Sol’s best-known playgrounds has emerged, now synonymous with the international Jet Set and the Irish boom years.

Marbella is today about trendy bars and restaurants as much as Moorish lanes, and Puerto Banus is just 6km away.

Details: Lastminute.com prices seven nights for two adults and two children travelling from June 29 at €1,948. It includes flights, car hire and accommodation at the Crown Resorts Apartments.

Made in Menorca Oasis Park is a family-friendly spot in Menorca’s Cala ’n Forcat resort, comprising several groups of lively apartments that work to create the impression of a small and chummy village. A short couple of steps from the sandy cove of Cala Picas, and just 300m from the resort centre with all of its restaurants, shops and nightlife, Joe Walsh Tours pitches it as “a home from home”.

Details: Joe Walsh Tours (01-241 0800; www.joewalshtours.ie) has 14 nights at Oasis Park priced at €1,492, for two adults and two children sharing. Departures on June 5.

Camp in France

Camping holidays in France were an Irish summer stalwart before the budget airline revolution, and they could be due a big comeback. The French Holiday Centre suggests the four-star La California campsite, roughly 3km from the bustling seaside resort of St. Jean de Monts. It’s indicative of how far these resorts have come — bars, a playground, pools and a restaurant are all on-site, and the classic countryside and beaches of Brittany are right outside the gates.

Details: The French Holiday Centre (021 427 2527; frenchholidaycentre. ie) offers 10 nights in a two-bed bungalow tent for €1,998, and 10 nights in a two-bed Bali mobile home for €2,398. Prices are for two adults and up to four children, and include berths on Irish Ferries. Departs July 14.

Time for Thailand

Thailand has had its fair share of problems in recent years, with the fall-out from avian flu, the 2004 tsunami and ongoing political unrest now exacerbated by global recession. You could see the glass as half-full, however.

From Bangkok to beautifully clear waters and idyllic islands (this is where The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed), Thailand has lots to offer. And now, as with long-haul travel generally, it’s throwing up deals that would have looked cheap 10 years ago.

Details: Tropical Places (01-433 1029; www.tropicalplaces.ie) has eight nights at the three-star Orchidacea car) from Belfast can be booked with Pegasus Airlines.

Malta Teaser

Viewers of RTE’s The Restaurant will be familiar with Ray Byrne, owner of the Wineport restaurant in which the series is filmed. Less well-known is the fact that Byrne is one of six Irish investors in the fivestar Phoenicia Hotel in Malta.

A 3.5-hour flight from Ireland, Malta is a much underrated archipelago offering jaw-dropping scenery, world-class historic architecture and, naturally, sunshine on tap.

Details: A weekend at the Phoenicia Hotel (www/phoeniciamalta. com) from July 4-7 works out at €324 for a family of four. Ryanair (0818 303 030; ryanair.com) flies direct from Dublin to Malta, as does Belleair (0044 208 785 3222; belleair.co.uk) — every Saturday from May to October.

Sing Like a Canary

Although the flights can be up to four hours, the Canary Islands remain popular year-round sun destinations for Irish holidaymakers. Departing June 21, Topflight has one week for two adults and one child at the Aguamarina or Bitacora complexes in Lanzarote from €1,379.

Departing July 10, Panorama Holidays is offering seven nights self-catering at the Los Alisios Apartments in Tenerife for €439pps (for four people sharing) and, a day later, Sunworld customers can leave for the Puerto Plata Apartments in Gran Canaria’s Puerto Rico for €479pps (for three sharing).

Details: Topflight (1890 240 170; topflight.ie); Panorama Holidays (0818 202 020; panoramaholidays. ie); and Sunworld Holidays (0818 202 020; sunworld.ie).

Direct Holidays (01-886 0400; directholidays.ie); and Falcon Holidays (1850 946164; falconholidays.ie) also have wide a range of Canaries offers.

Portuguese Perfection

The Algarve is a summer staple for Irish package holidaymakers, offering guaranteed sun, sandy beaches, bustling seafood restaurants and a family-friendly culture. It’s widely covered by Irish operators, but Topflight has an eye-catching spread starting at €1,359 for two adults and one child at the four-star Hotel Montechoro (departing in June, seven nights).

Down the road at Club Praia da Oura, seven nights in a two-bed apartment is priced at €1,939 for two adults and two kids.

Details: Topflight (1890 240 170; topflight.ie) also has seven nights for two adults and two children at the Montechoro Club 99 for €1,719, departing June 7.

Maldives Magic

The Maldives may be slowly dropping into the Indian Ocean, but until recently, its holiday prices were going the opposite way. Then came a certain recession, and suddenly, we’re looking at seven nights in the five-star Velassaru resort for €945pps — a saving of €474pp, according to luxury Irish tour operator Escape 2.

Accommodation is in a deluxe bungalow, next to waters straight out of Finding Nemo.

Details: Escape 2 (01-895 8000; escape2.ie) has this holiday for departures up to July 13. Prices are for Qatar Airway flights via London and Doha, and do not include taxes of €255pp.

- Pol O Conghaile