The latest and most original trend in tourism is to convert a trulli house, traditional homes built in a unique style with thick-stone whitewashed walls and conical beehive roofs. They are dotted throughout the Itria Valley in Puglia, southeast Italy, and were built from local tuffa stone without mortar because, according to ancient laws, a structure not held together by mortar could not be classified as a house and was therefore free from taxes.

In the 21st century, most locals find the stone floors and walls inhospitable and are deserting the properties, leaving them to developers, or to men such as Nicola Callela, a hotel owner who was determined to preserve his family home.

Now Parco del Vaglio is available to rent with CV Travel and it would be difficult to find a more splendid trulli for a stay. The house stands on a mound, with half-a-dozen roofs topped with stone decorations and a couple sprouting square chimneys. An extensive garden contains olive and orange trees and a large pool, and at night fairy lights glitter in pomegranate trees in front of the house.

Inside the front door, a hall leads to two domed bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, and to one side is a small lounge with wood-burning fire. On the other side is a third bedroom and in an extension, built 100 years ago with arched rather than domed ceilings, is a modern kitchen-cum-dining room, shower room and bedroom — with a covered patio and barbecue beyond. If you want to see trullis in abundance, make the short drive to Alberobello, where at least 400 rise either side of the village street. On one side, many have become tourist shops but climb the steps to the older quarter, which has a small museum in a group of trullis, and you could be back in the 17th century.

Parco del Vaglio is equidistant from Bari and Brindisi, which are served by flights from Gatwick and Stansted, and 3km from Cisternino, a hilltop town with an enclosed medieval centre and a couple of good restaurants.

The Ostuni coast, with fishing villages and sandy coves, and Torre Canne with its lidos, are a 30-minute drive and a must excursion is to Lecce, with its cathedral in an imposing piazza, old town and amphitheatre. The trulli house is available from March 31 onwards and prices start at £1,995 a week. www.cvtravel.co.uk0870 6060803

The Sydney bridge and a span of 75 years

One of the most modern iconic structures, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, is 75 years old on March 18 and the anniversary will be marked with an airshow above the bridge, water spectacular below it and an Aboriginal ceremony at sunset.

In a typical piece of Down Under thinking, the bridge will also be closed to traffic for the longest time in its history — but that will allow thousands of people to walk its length, accompanied by historic sound-bites and music from the decades. Join the celebrations on a week’s trip with All Ways Pacific, which costs £1,136 with a Singapore Airlines’ flight from Heathrow and a room at the Old Sydney Holiday Inn.

Austravel has a week’s package available throughout March with accommodation in the four-star Amora Hotel Jamison in Sydney. Prices start at £979 with Royal Brunei flights from Heathrow.

A package with Quest Travel is more of a bargain, at £859 for a week, and includes more modest accommodation at Trend-west Suites but flights with another well-regarded operator, Malaysia Airlines. Guests can, however, choose to up-grade to the four-star Sydney Harbour Marriott hotel for an extra £300. In April, Quest has a ten-night deal at the Marriott for £979 with flights on the new Etihad Airways service from Heathrow via Abu Dhabi. www.all-ways.co.uk— 01494 43274; www.austravel.com— 0870 1662070; www.questtravel.com— 0871 4230123

Late deals: four nights in Connemara, £178; Isle of Wight, £65 a night; a week skiing in Sweden or Norway, £204, and more...

British Isles

Throw a pot, catch a trout: two of the options among this week’s offers. Stay at Pottery Cottage, near Port Isaac, Cornwall, and enjoy pottery and painting lessons with the owner, himself a potter, and be inspired by the countryside and north Cornish coast. The cottage sleeps four and is reduced to £321 for a week from Saturday; prices in March start at £369 with Classic Cottages. 01326 555555

A trout lake, golf course, indoor pool and snooker room are among facilities at Renvyle House Hotel, Connemara, where Irish Ferries Holidays offers four-night breaks until the end of March. They start at £178 with B&B and Irish Sea crossings. 0870 5171717

The Celtic Manor Resort, near Newport, South Wales, has savings until February 25. Rooms for two with breakfast cost £71 a night in the Manor House and £149 in the Resort Hotel. One child under 13 sharing the room stays for free and can enjoy activities in the Hideaway Club while adults head for the golf course or spa. 01633 410262

A visit to Rievaulx Abbey (below) on the edge of the North York Moors is a must while staying at the Feversham Arms in Helmsley, Yorkshire Tourist Board’s hotel of the year. This Pride of Britain Hotel has two-night midweek breaks for £169, with dinner, B&B and champagne. 0800 0893929

Spend £65 on dinner and drinks at The Hambrough, the highly-rated boutique hotel near Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, from Sundays to Thursdays and a room for the night is included at no extra cost. Wightlink has ferry deals to tie-in with this offer. 01983 856333/ 0870 5820202

A cottage for six, five minutes’ walk from Newgale beach and the coast path, is on offer with Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire. The reduced price for a week from February 24 is £329. 01437 772760

Short haul

Skiing in Scandinavia at good prices is possible with Neilson. Choose from a week’s self-catering in Vemdalen, Sweden, with uncrowded slopes ideal for beginners, or in Geilo, Norway, with more challenging runs. Prices for a week from February 25, based on four sharing, with flights from London, are from £204. 0870 3333347

Flats for up to four and six in Le Grand Panorama residence, St Gervais, with views of Mont Blanc (above) — and in the Evasions ski area with 420km of slopes — are available with Peak Retreats. They cost £195 and £218 for a week from March 24; travel extra. 0870 7700408

Here’s a chance to dance your way through a week in Cyprus. Planet Holidays has line and partner-dancing holidays available from March 4 and 12 at the four-star Louis Imperial Beach Hotel, Paphos. They cost from £429 with flights from Gatwick, dinner, B&B, dance workshops and evening events. 0871 8712234

Diving is the main activity on a discounted week’s holiday in Egypt for singles aged 25 to 45 with SpeedBreaks. It starts with a flight on February 25 from Gatwick or Manchester and costs £499 with B&B at a Sharm el Sheikh hotel and five days’ diving or a PADI course. 0845 8382600

A house for eight, with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a pool above the beach at Tamariu in a quiet corner of the Costa Brava, is on offer for a week from March 17, 24 and 31 with Vintage Travel. It costs £695, less if up to four stay. Travel is extra. 0845 3440420

Long haul

A week in Kerala, southern India, for £411, or a fortnight for £40 more, are available with Jewel in the Crown. Both deals start with a flight from Gatwick on March 1 and include a room in the two-star Pappukutty hotel on Lighthouse Beach, Kovalam. 0870 0672352

Skiers seeking guaranteed snow can find it in Canada at cheaper prices than Europe with Travel Counsellors. Ten nights in the three-star Pine Inn Hotel, Panorama, cost from £399, with a flight on March 7 from Gatwick or Manchester. 0800 1958852

A ten-night highlights of China tour is available with Saga Holidays from £1,219. The all-inclusive break starts from Gatwick on March 13 and features stays in Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai, with sightseeing ranging from the the monumental relics of imperial China to the lively scenes along Shanghai’s Bund. 0800 414383

All prices are per person and based on two travelling together and sharing a room unless stated otherwise.

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