Given the competition for the family holidays market it almost goes without saying that there are some very shopper-friendly prices around, as we head to late summer/early autumn, particularly on that lucky late booking - but what do you actually get for your money?

If it's a British resort with old-fashioned attractions - perhaps beefed up by activity holidays like pony riding or yachting - it's relatively easy to get a grip of basic costs, and a realistic picture of how things are likely to shape up, entertainment-wise.

Go online and almost any kind of leisure offer in the UK has attracted dozens of customer comments, and although these are obviously highly partial, when 100 apparently different people talk about, say, a family hotel in south Ayrshire being wonderful on all counts - and not least genuine hospitality - it's probably going to be pretty good.

Take even the best-organised tour firm's offer abroad, however, and you're in slightly different territory.

When holidaymakers' negative opinions are heard at any volume it is usually for that relatively rare "horror story" of the sort written up in newspapers, while many more mundane problems go unremarked.

Unfortunately it is possible for a package to meet its "technical spec" by diligently providing everything mentioned on the itinerary - but perhaps in a joyless, do-it-by-numbers sort of way. Extras can suddenly become an issue too.

At the other end of the spectrum is the experience of the family holidaying in Bulgaria, whose mother complained that on one morning there were cows drinking from the swimming pool, while on another it was over-run with huge frogs.

The explanation she was given was that this sort of thing was to be expected in rural Bulgaria - and, in a sort of Swiss Family Robinson spirit of adventure, some families might not mind if a certain rustic quality creeps in, so long as the place is otherwise well run, good value and family friendly.

Conversely others will be completely miserable in the sort of South European environment where infrastructure is flaky and services haphazard.

Going on an all-inclusive family holiday, most families want to have fun, but beyond all the facilities that may be available - the specialist instructors, organised games, and the rest - the most important thing to find is surely whether a place has a genuine "family atmosphere".

Get online and find reviews, or better still speak to friends or colleagues who have either been on that holiday or one in a very similar location, and ask them about the pluses and minuses.

Some of the best family holidays take place in locations where there's a really deep-rooted tradition of "family culture" and hospitality - as random examples Italy and Greece spring to mind.

In some of the quieter Greek resort towns (the ones the locals use themselves) it's heartening to see organised troupes of British and other European kids bring local children into their games - scrupulously supervised but having a great time.

As a general rule, if you are spending serious money on a family holiday you will find a plethora of major players vying for your attention - usually by offering value-added extras.

However these don't guarantee the kids will meet new friends, or be offered stimulating entertainment, and to get the truth about those all-important factors you have to go beyond the gushing prose on the brochure and find what real families actually thought of the experience.

You can do your best to ensure they're safe - but will they be bored? Hotel packages in locations as diverse as Cuba and Crete list impressive catalogues of child-friendly assets, for example teen clubs in two age groups, special menus, organised activities - but it's all but impossible to know how well run or interesting any of these will shape up in reality.

Again, it's a case of somehow finding out what other people thought of the experience.

Some children are fascinated by foreign cultures, so if you are in a resort environment which rubs cheeks with some great historic site - Knossos in Crete, perhaps, or the Alhambra in Granada - it can add extra value to the holiday to gain some flavour of the host country's heritage, without it seeming like a trudge around a dull museum.

One strong piece of advice when going anywhere abroad is to get a good "detailed picture" travel guide which gives no-holds-barred summaries of entertainment, travel, accommodation, and all the rest.

Even in the sort of holiday where you plan to be out and about a lot, the way your hotel (or caravan park, timber lodge, etc) is managed is going to be crucial to enjoying the whole experience.

Equally you want to know that the grown-ups can enjoy some time on their own and leave the children safe and happy, and the best tour operators will go into some detail about how they manage that crucial aspect of child supervision.