Great Escapes: Up to €580 off a Tuscan villa

Beautiful Tuscan villas reduced by up to €580

Find end-of-season discounts from €200 to €580 on Tuscan villas for August and September. Browse a selection of beautifully restored villas with pools in totuscany.ie. CasaVecchia at Montebuoni near Siena is reduced to €567 for a week. The two-bedroom house has a beautiful outdoor terrace and views over vineyards and olive groves to Monte Amiata. La Terraza at Montefienali is reduced to €791 per week,totuscany.ie.

Walk the sugar soft beaches of Cancun

On the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, with its sugar soft beaches, the 5-star Secrets the Vine Cancun Hotel is an escape from reality. A week in September all-inclusive will cost from €1,765pps including flights. Steintravel.ie, (01) 5175990.

The Irish passport: everything you need to know

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Extra holidays for autumn in Italy

Italy is selling so well this year that Topflight has arranged extra capacity and flights for holidays from Dublin and Belfast up to mid-October. Belfast and Dublin will have extra flights to Verona and additional hotels on Lake Garda. Catania in Sicily, Naples, and Bari in Puglia will have extra capacity for seven-night holidays. Stay in the Hotel Bristol in Sorrento half board from €999pps, Bella Italia resort, Lake Garda from €399 (four sharing) and Sicily five-star hotel from €799pps. From Belfast Desenzano de Garda, Hotel Villa Maria is from £679ppps. Escorted tours in October of Venice, Lake Garda, Verona and Cortina reduced to €879pps topflight.ie, (01) 240 1700, Belfast 02897521168.

Foodie Festival at Hotel Westport

Explore the autumn bounty in Westport at the Foodie Festival October 20th -22nd. Forage for your food and visit a local microbrewery. It includes two nights B&B with dinner one evening, cookery demonstrations, entertainment and use of the leisure facilities from €189pps, €239 single, hotelwestport.ie.

Pack your boots to explore the Austrian Alps

Discover the beauty of the mountains in autumn with a trip to Mayrhofen in the Austrian Tyrol. Usually a popular ski destination, Mayrhofen is a lovely resort where you can enjoy the outdoors and explore the Zillertal Nature Park. A week staying in a guest house on B&B basis will cost from €383pps with Crystalsummer.ie, (01) 4331010.

Four-star New York city break from €599

Using the new Norwegian service to Newburgh Stewart International airport ClickandGo is offering a four-star break in New York, staying for three nights in the Wyndham New Yorker Hotel at 8th Avenue and 34th Street, from €599 per person. Express bus from the airport is $20 each way and can be booked on stewartairportexpress.com and takes under two hours, clickandgo.com, (01) 539 7777.

No single supplement - music to lone travellers’ ears

The over-55s travel company Golden Ireland has just launched a new solo-friendly holiday, with no single supplement. The first of Golden Ireland’s solo breaks is to Killarney, Co Kerry from the October 15th to 18th. It includes three nights B&B and three dinners in the four-star Lake Hotel, on the shores of Lough Léin, the largest of Killarney’s three lakes. The package also includes a tour of The Ring of Kerry, a cruise on the lakes of Killarney, nightly entertainment, and pick up and collection from the bus or train station, €350, info@goldenireland.ie.