Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and is a paradise for tourists seeking sunshine, beaches, and culture. Chania lies on the northern coast of Crete. It’s the second largest city on the island and is served by an airport. Upon arrival, hire a car and drive the 30 kilometres up to the White Mountains. This beautiful setting is perfect for relaxing or doing a spot of walking and is also a good base to explore the region’s attractions.

Chania is an old harbour town with a medieval heart and is worth checking out. The seafront quarter includes a little mosque which is a remnant from the 17th century when the Turks controlled the area. These days the mosque’s been converted into a very nice art gallery. Make sure you also check out the Archeological Museum which is full of Minoan artifacts, including a glass display packed with pottery bulls. These were found in a grave site and it’s believed the pottery bulls were included in the graves where sacrificing a live bull would have been too expensive!

Elafonisi features a beach that stretches for miles. The water is very shallow with white sand that gives it its wonderful green/turquoise colour; making it look like a Caribbean lagoon! There’s even an island that you can safely wade out to. Elafonisi is also very popular with the locals and can get very busy at weekends, so it’s best to go during weekdays if possible.

Crete has changed hands several times over the centuries and the Romans occupied it from the 1st century BC to 4 AD. As well as the ruins of the Roman buildings, there is an abandoned monastery which dates back centuries but was only abandoned in 1964.

Driving up the mountain road above Maheri, you’ll see signs for the ancient church called Agios Nikolaos. Along the way the chances are that you will encounter herds of goats, some with bells around their necks. They will determinedly clank their way past you and add a real wild charm to the holiday experience! Agios Nikolaos is nestled in a valley with huge trees in front of it and it is an enchanting place. The church is Byzantine and is famous for having very old frescoes, as well as a graveyard surrounded by rows of orange trees.

Costa Blanca is the name given to Alicante's coastline in Spain, which stretches over 200 kilometres. It is an incredibly popular holiday destination for tourists from the UK, because of the marvellous weather and beaches, and low-price flights have been operating to the region since the late 1950s! Costa Blanca is both UK friendly and family friendly, thanks to the huge range of activities available there from beaches and golf to museums and parks.

You can do just about anything you can think of in Costa Blanca, which is why it's so great for kids. Obviosuly there are the beaches, such as Los Náufragos in Torrevieja with its volleyball nets, golden sands and Blue Flag status, or smaller beaches like Serragrosa with its crystal waters, ideal for swimmers. But there are also golf courses (particularly the Villaitana club de golf near Benidorm) and watersports facilities and cultural sites like museums and galleries, such as the La Asegurada Municipal Museum in Alicante which has extensive collections of Spanish art. You will need a couple of weeks on the Costa Blanca just to scratch the surface of its entertainment potential.

New York is the ultimate city break destination as far as millions of tourists are concerned. There's fantastic shopping, wonderful restaurants, bars, theatres, museums and world famous landmarks. In the winter you can go skating in Central Park, in the summer you can hire a boat and go rowing on the lake. And all year round there's a great zoo.

Regardless of your family's interests, you will have no trouble filling a week's holiday in New York. The Empire State Building, the United Nations, Central Park with its wonderful zoo, Time Square and its various shops, the bright lights of Broadway and dozens of museums and art galleries. If you get even slightly bored, you can wander around Central Park looking for locations for famous scenes from films, and if you wander a little further you'll usually bump into a film crew. If you're interested in money saving, take care with sights such as the Statue of Liberty. You can spend a lot of money on a boat trip past the statue, but given that boats no longer land on Liberty Island, you might as well just take the Staten Island Ferry. It's free and you still get a great view. While looking at Liberty Island, many tourists will now also take in a trip to Ground Zero to pay their respects at the former World Trade Centre.

The US state of Arizona is one that features a fantastic diversity of landscapes and areas of geological interest. North Arizona is famous for the Grand Canyon, a colourful chasm with steep rocky walls more than a mile deep and stretching some 277 miles alongside the Colorado River. Other notable destinations in North Arizona include Flagstaff set alongside the San Francisco Peaks which has the largest ponderosa pine forest, Museum of Northern Arizona, and is close to a number of national parks and monuments. On the south side of Arizona lies the city of Phoenix, the largest in Arizona. Notable day trips in Phoenix include the Heard Museum which is one of America's largest collections of Native American art, Phoenix Museum of History, as well as the Desert Botanical garden which has a great collection of desert plants.

Whether you are looking for sun-drenched beaches or outdoor activities in beautiful countryside, New Jersey has plenty to offer. Those who love the great outdoors should head for the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which runs along the Delaware River for forty miles. Here you can go rock climbing, canoeing, kayaking or fishing, or simply admire the stunning waterfalls. There is a huge range of hiking trails to choose from as well as historic sites to visit. In winter, you can enjoy cross-country skiing near Blue Mountain Lakes, and birdwatchers might be lucky enough to catch sight of bald eagles. If you are looking for a change, visit one of New Jersey's eleven lighthouses that are open to public, such as the one in Cape May. For art and history enthusiasts, New Jersey State Museum in Trenton has historic artefacts and American fine art from the nineteenth century to the present day as well as a Planetarium.

Mijas is a lovely Andalusian town on the Costa del Sol, not far from Fuengirola. With 12 kilometres of coastline, including the La Cala de Mijas beach resort with its European blue flag, it is the perfect family friendly holiday destination for a spot of Mediterranean sun.

Aside from relaxing on La Cala de Mijas or one of the other beaches along Mijas's 12km of coastline, you can climb up to the white-washed village of Mijas Pueblo on the mountainside for stunning views across the Costa del Sol, Gibraltar, the Atlas Mountains and over to the African coastline. Mijas Pueblo is also the place to head to take a look at the traditional bull ring or to take a donkey trip on a short tour around the area. There are also at least seven golf courses in the area surrounding Mijas (with several more under construction). The streets of Mijas are very tourist friendly, and are full of independent shops selling hand made local crafts and products. The Mijas Aqua Park in nearby Las Lagunas is also well worth a visit with the whole family.