It’s warm in Madeira and the Canaries right now. And right now you could cruise there and back on a FRED. OLSEN LINES Winter Cruise (depar¬tures from London every Thurs¬day up to May 5). If you book quickly you may qualify for a reduced fare. The fully-stabil¬ised, one-class Blenheim and Black Watch are equipped with relaxing lounges and bars, plenty of deck space, shops and more. The cabins are very comfortable and the Norwegian food is superb. No wonder many passengers are to be found taking their third, even their fourth Fred. Olsen Lines winter cruise.

Madeira in Portugal

Holland’s bulbfields in the spring are spectacular. And cruising along the canals aboard a BOTEL is the way to see them. This ‘floating hotel’ (it always ties up overnight) sails from Amsterdam via Arnhem, Dordrecht, Gouda, Haarlem and Zaandam. Visits to Rotterdam, Aalsmeer and Volendam are included and there are optional excursions to the Hague and Scheveningen. The service is friendly, the meals varied and the single or double cabins cosy (many with private bath). 8 days with 1st class return rail/sea travel from London, from £181 ,

Get to know Norway and have a winter-break ‘tonic’ on a FRED. OLSEN-BERGEN LINE mini-cruise. Sailing from Newcastle you call at Kristiansand, Stavanger and Bergen (time to explore ashore at each) and see many fjords and islands. On board your floating hotel you’ll enjoy excellent food (including the famous Nor¬wegian Cold Table !), dancing and duty-free drinks. And a helpful hostess is always on hand. Monday departures from £39, Thursday depar¬tures from £49, excluding meals. Longer Nor wegian winter-breaks available, too.

How far will your holiday money go this summer ? You can stretch your budget further on CTC CRUISES because everything you buy on board is in sterling? Departing from Tilbury or Southampton, you can cruise to the Northern Capitals; the Atlantic islands; or the Mediter¬ranean and the Black Sea with special inclusive excursions to Moscow or Leningrad. (Each cruise includes 5 or 6 ports of call.) The one-class ships offer all kinds of amenities. There’s no tipping and medical attention is free. Fares
from around f200 for 14 nights.

Your children will have the time of their young lives on a PG L ADVENTURE HOLIDAY. For 1 or 2 weeks helped and encouraged by friendly, expert instructors and supervisors, they’ll combine sailing on Lake Liangorse, pony trekking in the Black Mountains and canoeing on the River Wye with many other activities such as archery, Caving, mountain walking and orienteering. Or they can choose a similar holiday in the South of France. The children are grouped by age — 7-9′s, 9-12′s and 12-17′s — so they all holiday happily at their own pace.

Action Holidays by PENNWORLD are for get-up-and-go people — even if it’s just for two weeks. No two groups are ever the same. You might find yourself travelling by special Minibus, a Desertbus, coach or even local transport, combined with camping and occasional stays in inexpensive accommodation. So options can be kept open and daily itineraries left flexible enabling a group to stay longer in one place if they wish. Two weeks could take you to Greece, the Middle East or Turkey.

If you’re driving to Germany, the quick, simple way is with PRINS FERRIES from Harwich. The big, white drive-on, drive-off ferries, Prinz Hamlet or Prins Oberon, will carry you overnight to Hamburg or Bremerhaven while you wine, dine and dance in bar, restaurant or disco, then relax in a comfortable cabin (many oeptp-mrhave their own shower and toilet). And there’s a ‘bonus’ when you are three fare-paying passengers travelling together — your car, no matter what length, travels to either port (Ham¬burg or Bremerhaven) for only £16.65 return.

Sail straight to Norway with FRED. OLSEN-BERGEN LINE aboard their luxury drive-on, drive-off ferries. They have 5 sailings a week from Newcastle and 3 a fortnight from Harwich — the only direct routes. On board these fully stabilisedships you’ll find super cabins and lounges,even dancing to live music ! Single fares (excluding meals) arefrom E39(children 4 to 15 half fare) and the charge for any car is £10. Fred. Olsen-Bergen Line also offer a programme of inclusive holidays in Norway. (56)These range from camping to 2-centre holidays. Details of fares and sailings list only.

The Irish way to Ireland and also the most convenient is with B & I LINE. You can choose a day or night crossing and sail city to city — Liverpool to Dublin or Swansea to Cork. If you’re travelling by car, both the Liverpool and Swansea terminals connect with major motorways. If you’re travelling
by rail, I have coaches to meet you and take you to the terminals. They even run a scheme with National coaches to take you from London’s Victoria coach station direct to Dublin or Cork. They have money-saving .bargain fare offers, too.

‘Drive’ to Spain by sea with AZNAR FERRIES (in association with PEr0 Ferries) and cP&Out hundreds of miles by road. There are sailings twice weekly from Southampton (Tuesday and Saturday) to Santander, a delightful, un¬crowded Spanish resort. Life aboard an Aznar ferry is luxurious. All cabins are air conditioned and most have their own shower and toilet. On board you’ll find a swimming pool, cinema, bars, cafeteria serving buffet meals, dining room and dancing. Aznar have ferry services from Valencia and Barcelona to the Balearic islands, too.

Northern motorists! The forecast is that drivers going to the south coast will encounter heavy crowds and possibly high (car) temperatures. Whereas motorists heading to¬wards Hull will find the roads clear. And the evening will brighten up when you board NORTH SEA FERRIES. After a drink and dinner you’ll enjoy a settled night. Then you’ll have breakfast (both meals included in the price of your ticket) be¬fore landing early next morning in either Rotterdam (Europoort) or Zeebrugge. Roads from here will remain clear. Travel this easy way overnight, every night.

Only one company takes you direct to Brittany and that’s BRITTANY FERRIES. You can sail from Portsmouth and Plymouth to St. Malo and Roscoff — both super holiday places themselves and close to every other part of Brittany. There are daily departures on both routes—now so popular that they operate year round. Whether you’re headed for Brittany itself (ideal for a short winter break, too) or for the Dordogne, the Loire Valley or South West France, Brittany Ferries provide the quickest way of getting there.