IF you haven’t booked a ski break yet, there’s still time to hit the slopes, but don’t expect to find as many last-minute bargains as you did 12 months ago.

Laura Hazel from specialist ski operator Ski Beat, blames the fact that a pre-Christmas rush on bookings was followed by a very quiet period.

‘‘Early snowfalls stimulated demand for ski holiday bookings pre-Christmas, and then suddenly we saw a partial thaw in January, and our bookings dropped like a stone, in common with other ski holiday companies.’’ The drop in bookings is seen in part as a result of high-profile ski accidents, including Michael Schumacher, who was plunged into a coma after an off-piste accident, and Angela Merkel, who fractured her pelvis in a fall.

But confidence returned, and Hazel says there was a rush in bookings for March and April, making them much busier periods than in previous years.

More snowfall in the Alps in the past week has also increased interest. But with most flights now either sold out or very expensive for the half-term, families will struggle to book a late ski break. Lucy suggests driving to the Alps and taking advantage of a number of chalet deals.

Ski Beat will be cutting the price of all self-drive half term holidays by £500. Visit skibeat.co.uk

Forty years of adventure travel

HAPPY Birthday to adventure travel company Exodus, which celebrates its 40th birthday this month. Founded by two friends in 1974, the company’s first adventure was an overland tour to the Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan. Today they operate in 90 countries with more than 500 tours.

Pioneering achievements over the past four decades include taking the first overland truck into China in the 1990s, and being the first operator to enter several Russian and Siberian destinations after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1990. Visit exodus.co.uk

Animal art

Photographic safaris have been popular for some time, but now painting wildlife with watercolours is a growing trend. Cox & Kings have recently teamed up with Art Safari to launch a collection of art safaris in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi and Zambia. The seven-night Zambia: Large, Grey & Unmistakable trip, for example, costs £2,895pp departing October 11.

Visit coxandkings.co.uk/art-safaris