School holidays have a habit of creeping up.
One moment Easter feels comfortably far away, and the next you realise flights are filling up, the children are about to finish school and nothing is actually booked yet.
Travelling with two children ourselves, we know that moment well.
The good news is that Easter trips don’t need to be planned months in advance to be exceptional. If you know where to look – and have the right partners on the ground – there are still some brilliant options available, even a few weeks out.
What tends to work best at this time of year is a simple formula: easy travel, reliable weather, and hotels that are genuinely good with families.
Below are a few places we particularly like for last-minute Easter holidays, whether you’re based in the UK, Europe or the US.
The English Countryside
For families who would prefer to stay closer to home, Easter can be the perfect moment to retreat into the English countryside. Large country estates and manor houses come into their own at this time of year. Gardens are beginning to bloom again, fires are still lit in the evenings, and there’s space for children to roam while adults enjoy long lunches and slow mornings.
Many of the best estates offer Easter activities for families, from egg hunts and nature walks to cooking classes and spa afternoons.
Places we particularly love include Estelle Manor in Oxfordshire, The Newt in Somerset, and the ever-beautiful Heckfield Place in Hampshire – each offering that rare balance of polished hospitality and relaxed countryside living. For families with younger children, especially, these estates provide a sense of freedom that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.
Tenerife
If sunshine is the priority, Tenerife remains one of the easiest wins. It’s just a few hours from the UK and mainland Europe, the weather is reliably warm by Easter, and the island works remarkably well for families when you choose the right hotel.
Jonas recently visited Tenerife with his own family – children, grandparents, the full multi-generational dynamic – and came away pleasantly surprised by how well it delivered. Two properties in particular stood out.
Bahía del Duque, set along the Costa Adeje coastline, feels almost like a small village with multiple pools, beach access and excellent restaurants. Meanwhile Hotel Botánico in the greener north of the island offers a calmer, more classic atmosphere surrounded by lush gardens.
You can read Jonas’ full thoughts on both in our journal.
For families looking for reliable Easter sunshine without long-haul travel, Tenerife works exceptionally well.
Mallorca
Mallorca in spring is one of the Mediterranean’s great pleasures. The island is still green from winter rains, wildflowers line the roads, and the temperatures are perfect for exploring – warm enough for beach days, but cool enough to wander villages or mountain trails without the intensity of summer heat.
Two hotels we particularly love here offer very different interpretations of the island.
Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor, which Charlie visited shortly after opening, sits dramatically between pine forest and sea on one of Mallorca’s most beautiful stretches of coastline. It’s cinematic, secluded and perfect for families who want beach days, boat trips and plenty of space.
Further inland in the Tramuntana mountains, La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel, offers something altogether more romantic. Set among terraced gardens and olive groves in the artistic village of Deià, it’s a place where days revolve around long lunches, coastal walks and sunset views across the mountains.
Either way, Mallorca in spring feels wonderfully alive.
Southern California
For travellers willing to go a little further – or for our US clients planning Spring Break – Southern California is hard to beat. The climate at this time of year is bright and comfortable, beaches stretch endlessly along the Pacific, and the lifestyle feels effortlessly relaxed.
Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito remains one of the most beautiful coastal resorts in California. Set directly on Butterfly Beach, it’s the sort of place where mornings begin with coffee by the ocean, afternoons drift between the sand and the pool, and evenings often end at Caruso’s watching the Pacific turn gold at sunset. For families, it works especially well – children can try their hand at surfing along the gentle coastline, cycle the beachfront paths or spend long days on the sand.
Further south in Los Angeles, Regent Santa Monica Beach has quickly established itself as one of the most exciting new openings on the West Coast. Jonas recently had the privilege of participating in the IHG Luxury Advisory Board here, giving our team particularly strong insight into the property.
From here, families can combine beach days with excursions to Malibu, Santa Barbara or even the desert landscapes of Palm Springs.
Istanbul & Bodrum
Turkey is another destination that works very well for Easter travel. Istanbul in spring is magnificent. The city is alive with colour as tulips bloom across parks and palace gardens, and the mild temperatures make exploring far more comfortable than during the summer months.
Two of our favourite bases are Four Seasons Sultanahmet, set within the historic Old City, and Four Seasons Bosphorus, which offers a calmer waterfront setting overlooking the strait.
From Istanbul, many travellers continue south to Bodrum, where the Aegean coast begins to warm up again in spring. Here we love Mandarin Oriental Bodrum, with its hillside villas and private bays, or Six Senses Kaplankaya, which offers a more contemporary wellness-focused retreat along a dramatic stretch of coastline and ample space for families to spread out in expansive, private villas.
The combination of city culture followed by seaside relaxation makes Turkey one of the most rewarding Easter itineraries.
Still deciding where to go?
Last-minute travel often works better than people expect.
With the right advice – and strong relationships with the hotels and partners behind them – it’s often still possible to secure excellent rooms and shape a fantastic trip even a few weeks out.
At RASK Travel, we spend a lot of time helping clients make these slightly spontaneous journeys come together smoothly. If Easter plans are still undecided, we’d be delighted to help.
