holiday

If you want to grab your last chance to hit the slopes this season, now is the time to book your late season skiing holiday. So get your sunglasses and poles ready as we help you pick the best late season ski resorts!

Zermatt, Switzerland

The famous Swiss ski resort hosts Europe's highest lifts from the Klein Matterhorn, taking you up to 3899m where snow retains its high quality until late in the season. It is also one of the few truly year-round ski destinations in the world, as 70 per cent of the pistes are either situated on the glacier or have snow-making facilities. What is more, the iconic Matterhorn is probably an even more awe inspiring sight during spring than in winter.

Riksgransen, Sweden

If you are not heading high in search for snow, you definitely have to head north! Situated 250km inside the Arctic Circle, Riksgransen is one of the world's most northern ski resorts. It offers the best skiing conditions late in the season and the lifts don't stop running until the end of June. In fact, it is too dark to open until February but, from late May, the 24-hour daylight allows you to ski under the midnight sun into the small hours!

Mexico impresses the visitor with both its scale and diversity; a land of tempting eats, jungle hikes, paradise isles and the ruins of an ancient empire. It's also a country where your money will go a long way.

This is all good news for the thousands of student and gap year travellers who take holidays to Mexico, through budget providers such as www.holidayhypermarket.co.uk, every year. Armed with a few tips, you can eat, party and sleep here for the price of a meal out back home and there's a wealth of natural and cultural attractions to try in between.

There's no doubt that Mexican accommodation is a steal. Here, hostels are not the only cheap way to stay, with some budget hotels costing under £10 a night in the capital, Mexico City. Staying by the coast in a big resort like Cabo San Lucas or Cancun (pictured above) will up the prices, but some do reasonable all-inclusive deals if you're just here for a two-week break in between semesters. You could try out life the Mayan way if you're heading to the beach; sleeping in a hammock under the insanely low-cost roof of a beach hut or cabana.

Amy is an Taiwanese student currently studying at Kingston University in London. She recently won a tour of Scotland as part of a ForeignStudents.com competition, and here she describes her experiences from the trip. 

"Before I headed to Scotland, I knew nothing about the country. All I knew was that I wanted to search for the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie. On my way to Edinburgh, I saw the view from the window was rapidly changing. I could really tell it was a whole new country and it was so different from London.

I have to say that Scotland is very beautiful. One moment that summed it up for me, was being on top of a mountain that overlooked the landscape of the Isle of Skye (below). It was breathtaking. It is unspoilt natural beauty and marvellous mountain splendour. The waterfall, castles and loch were all stunning, especially when the sun came out, reflecting on to the water and the land. I was speechless.