Travel advice: affordable summer holidays for the family Prices for villas and self-catering apartments in Europe and the UK tend to stay high until the second half of August, when weekly rates can drop by around £100- £150 for a property sleeping four. Tour operator packages also fall in this period - you could expect a seven-night Majorca package for a family of four, for example, to be reduced by more than £700 for departures on August 25. Alternatively, you might consider travelling during the Whitsun half-term week (this year it falls in the first week of June). Prices will be lower than peak rates, yet temperatures can still make it a good time to travel to the Mediterranean (though you will probably need a heated pool). A seaside villa in Sicily, sleeping four, will cost £880 per week, compared to the peak price of £1,180. Flights and car hire will also be better value. Other tips for cutting bills include travelling in midweek, at early-morning or late-night times when flights and ferry fares are cheaper (compare prices on fare-search sites such as aferry.co.uk and skyscanner.co.uk). It's also worth booking your travel well in advance as fares will rise as the summer approaches. You could consider sharing a large self-catering property with another family, staying in a less popular area, self-driving rather than hiring a car and, if you want to avoid the high costs of eating out, booking an all-inclusive package. That way, at least you'll be able to control your budget more easily once you're there. Michael Reid writes I have travelled to the north coast of Tenerife previously, but am interested in going west of Santa Cruz. Do you know if there are any reasonably priced hotels on this part of the island? Sophie Butler replies There are, though do be aware that there are industrial areas in this part of Tenerife. I suggest you contact Canaries specialist Cachet Travel (020 8847 8700; cachet-travel.co.uk), which offers the three-star Hotel El Medano on the south-west coast from £547 per week, half board. Billie Donne writes Mongolia is a country that holds a special fascination for me. Can you suggest a low-cost group tour on which I could travel? Try Imaginative Traveller (0845 287 7066; imaginative-traveller.com). This company offers two trips to Mongolia, starting at £1,195 for a 20-day wilderness adventure, excluding flights and local payments. Alasdair Hope writes We want to book a villa in the Naples area of Florida in January next year. Can you suggest good websites for checking what's available? For plenty of choice on the Gulf coast, I suggest you try HomeAway Holiday Rentals (holiday-rentals.co.uk); Holiday Lettings (holidaylettings.co.uk); and Villarenters (villarenters.com). Henry Cullis writes I want to explore Vietnam and China for three weeks to a month. But can you tell me how easy it might be to travel between these countries? It's actually relatively easy to travel from China to Vietnam by rail but unfortunately it means that you won't have much time in each country. If this is important to you, my advice would be to focus on one destination at a time.