Jet lag may be worth risk for exotic break

With record numbers expected to take summer holidays abroad this year, an autumn break may now be the best and most cost-effective option for those determined to find the sun.

More than half a million people are expected to take holidays abroad this season, according to the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA). Most family packages for June, July and August have been fully booked, says the association's chief executive, Mr Brendan Moran, and if you are adamant about taking your holidays in summer - but slow about making bookings - a flexible approach is necessary.

Alternatively, bookings in the traditional Mediterranean areas in September and October are still available. And with a wider diversity of destinations coming within the affordable price range, and more money around, it may be worth risking some jet lag in return for an exotic experience. "Long haul is becoming more and more popular, both east and west. On the west side, Mexico and the Caribbean area, are coming within range of the mass market, rather than being in the exclusive range of the very few," Mr Moran says.

Tour operators estimate that about 50,000 people are venturing beyond the more familiar Mediterranean destinations for holidays. Mr Cormac Walsh of Joe Walsh Tours points to the advantages of south east Asia. It combines a different cultural environment with good local cuisines, traditional landmark sites and activities as diverse as water sports, golf and elephant trekking. After the Asia crisis, the currency exchange rates are favourable.

"The currency is not worth anything so you just can't spend your money down there. The rupiah has completely collapsed," he says of the Indonesian currency. Popular for honeymoons and anniversaries, many people combine a few days in, for example, Bangkok - taking advantage of the shopping deals including a big, illegal trade in imitation designer clothes - before spending a week at a Thai beach resort. The standard of hotel accommodation is very high, he adds.

"If you stay in a four-star hotel in Thailand, you will not see the like of it in this country, without question," he says.

Travel to Malaysia has also increased, Mr Walsh says, offering a high standard of bus and rail services, and "is highly clean and organised". Penang and Langkawi are the two major resort islands, people combining their holiday there with three-night stays in Kuala Lumpur or across the border in Thailand. "Everything is professionally run, much more than you would imagine," he says. There are also "substantial" group discounts.

At the other side of the world, the Caribbean, Mexico and Florida have become popular over the past two years as family holiday destinations. For Barbados, Budget Travel's Family Plan costs £1,159 for two adults and one child in October, while Joe Walsh offers winter Caribbean holidays to St Lucia and Antigua, Barbados, and Grenada. Florida is "very family geared", promoters say, with its theme parks, the Disney World Resort and Universal Studios and the essential car is included in most package prices.

American Holidays specialises in the whole American continent, including the Caribbean. Its packages vary from family holidays in Florida, to coach tours, to fly/ drive deals through California and Arizona, or New England or "Go as you please" routes. A company spokeswoman says that if holiday makers are not visiting friends or family members, they typically begin the US holiday experience with a two-week holiday in Florida or California, before going on the next year to sample something else.

Europe has become expensive in comparison to the US, she adds, while air fares have come down. "The US has become affordable and is a market that has grown substantially in the last couple of years," she says.