In less than two months time, school's out for summer. With more people than ever going down the 'stay-cation route', many hotels have risen to the challenge and there's now a good selection of carefully thought-out family-orientated packages available. Whether you're just looking for a comfortable base from which to plan your own adventures or you're looking to keep the kids occupied ever moment of the day, every day, here are five to consider.

1. Glamorous Galway?

One tends to think of boutique hotels as being the domain of loved up couples or the venue for chic girlie weekends, as opposed to family hols. The Twelve, in the pretty little village of Bearna, just ten minutes drive from Galway city, welcomes you and your brood with open arms. Here, you can stay in the roomy Marvellous Suite that comes equipped with lots of necessaries like a microwave, a fridge for bottles and snacks, two TVs and a cocktail bar for Mum and Dad to indulge in once everyone else has gone to bed. The package, which is based on a four night stay for two adults and two children costs €890 and included is breakfast each morning (do try the pastries and bread from the Twelve's onsite bakery); dinner in the hotel's Pins Bistro on three nights and complimentary passes to Leisure Land and the Atlant-aquarium. You can also stay an extra night for just €60 extra for bed and breakfast, and of course you're perfectly position­ed here to enjoy Galway City itself; drives in Conne­mara; trips to the wonderful Silver Strand beach and everything else this lovely part of the country has to offer.

Tel 091 597000 www.thetwelvehotel.ie

2. Surfing Sligo

Your kids get to go surfing and you get to live it up in the Radisson Blue Hotel & Spa Sligo – essentially this offer is a win-win situation. The package includes five nights' bed and breakfast (midweek) for two adults and two children, sharing a business class room and costs €1,000. The kids will attend the Strandhill Surf School Summer Camp, which runs Monday to Friday from 9am to 12 noon during the summer holidays, aimed for children between the ages of 8-12 years and 12-16 years.

The break also includes dinner for the entire family on an evening of your choice in the hotel's Classiebawn Restaurant and while the kids are out on the waves, Mum and Dad can avail of their complimentary access to the Thermal Suita at Solas Spa and Wellness Centre.

Surfing aside, there's plenty to do in the area like tours of the Arigna mines, visiting the beautiful Lough Key Forest Park or even just picnics on the beach.

Tel: 071 91 40008 www.activitynorthwest.com

3. Cool Kildare

While many hotels target younger children, what to do with pre-teens and teenagers, who are probably unwilling participants in the family holiday, is an entirely different manner. Carton House in Maynooth has launched an activity programme with this potential problem in mind. Running from
1 July-31 August, guests will check in on Sundays for five days and sign up for activities which will include dance academies, altitude challenges and multi-vine rope exercise. Teen girls and their mums can attend a workshop in the Aveda spa on how to look after teenage and mature skin; there's daily golf, tennis and football academies for the under 12s and Splash Time for even younger folk in the pool from 3-5pm.

There are also 'Teen Zones' where teens can chill out in their own private club, listen to music and play computer, minus the adults. Parents meanwhile can look forward to cookery demonstrations, wine tastings, tennis competitions and a complimentary round of golf. The package includes dinner on arrival, breakfast daily, a healthy lunch daily and dinner each evening with a prize giving dinner on day five.

The rate is €500 to include full board, scheduled activities, workshops and demonstrations.

Tel: 0 1 5052000 www.cartonhouse.com

4. All About Athlone

As a destination, Athlone is extremely family friendly. Clonmacnoise and Athlone Castle are worth exploring; a cruise along the Shannon is highly recommended and there's also the Glendeer Pet Farm (090 6437147) where children can see the deer, feed the donkeys, goats, llamas and marvel at Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. The Hodson Bay Hotel, on the banks of Lough Ree, is extremely child friendly but certainly does not neglect its adult clientele. Its Penguin Kids Activity Camp is a fully supervised children's activity programme (for 4-12 year olds) with indoor and outdoor games, operating from 10-1pm and 5.30-11pm and includes healthy meals and snacks. It costs €25 per child per day. Parents are free to check out a range of activities including wine-tasting and aqua aerobics. Two championship courses, Athlone Golf Club and Glasson Golf Course are nearby and the spa here is award winning and incredibly luxurious.

The hotel has a range of packages for families this summer, based on two adults sharing with children. Two nights bed and breakfast with one night's dinner is from €349; five nights bed and breakfast with four dinners is from €749 and included in both is a family boat trip on Lough Ree or Lough Corrib or a €30 pampering treatment voucher.

T: 090 6442000 www.hodsonbayhotel.com

5. Connemara Calling

If you're looking for high-octane, adrenaline-fuelled thrills, Delphi Mountain Resort can offer you that but it's also so much more. Set within 400 acres of prime Connemara forest and close to the surfer's paradise that is Cross beach, its natural assets are abundant. But Delphi is not negligent on the indulgence front, boasting a luxurious spa, while the food has been rightly acclaimed. The outdoors adventures include every­thing from sea-kayaking to archery. For €999, they offer five nights bed and breakfast with three sessions of adventure activities for a family of two adults and two children. The offer is limited to the first 100 holidays booked. Alternatively, if you'd like to send the kids off for five days of fresh air and fun, the summer camp is one of Ireland's longest running, catering for 8-17 year olds. Available in July and August, Monday to Friday, it offers 24-hour supervision with fully qualified instructors and over 30 challenging activities and costs €429 per person sharing.

Tel: 095 42208 www.delphimountainresort.com