Casa Do Pego, Comporta, Portugal
Good for design lovers and next-big-thing seekers
Sleeps 6
Cost from €2,680 a week
In the holiday season, flights to Lisbon offer significantly better value than overpriced charters to the Algarve, and one hour to the south of the Portuguese capital lie the underrated beaches of Comporta.
The local building style is thatched, single-storey fishermen's and farmers' huts-turned-holiday-houses for the smart Lisbon set, so this villa bucks the trend – quite beautifully. It's modern and stands out architecturally in such a rural environment yet it's also comfortable, with three large doubles. It has stark walls, polished concrete floors, oversized Anglepoise lamps and butterfly chairs on the raised veranda, and an internal courtyard has a table for shady breakfasts and candlelit suppers. The heated pool is on the roof and is surrounded by a deck with bright-orange sunbeds.
From the front of the property you look out to rice fields, lavender bushes and the distant Arrábida hills that glow mauve in the morning; and from the garden, a sun-bleached wooden walkway leads through pine trees to Praia do Pego (houses cannot be built within 200m of the shore, so this is as close as you'll get), a stretch of perfect icing sugar sand sloping towards the Atlantic. Sal restaurant, one of the best in the area, sits on stilts at the head of the beach – book for lunch.
• 01619 156 792,
perfectlychilledvillas.com
Vallabonzo, Albufeira, Portugal
Good for families of all ages
Sleeps 10
Cost from £3,534 a week
This well-equipped villa above Praia da Oura in the Algarve shares its plot with next-door São Nemesio and the two can be booked together but are separate enough to feel private. A canvas-topped pergola for long lunches has a built-in barbecue, and there's a spot under the bougainvillea for sundowners. The five bedrooms are all large, and there's a home cinema, a sauna and a gym.
• 01494 815411, palmerparker.com/Portugal/Algarve/Dos-Bicos
Skiathos Holidays, Skiathos, Greece
Good for an under-the-radar break
Sleeps 4
Cost from €840 a week
This family-run self-catering complex has studios and apartments, but the half-dozen two- and three-bedroom villas are the real draw. There's no pool but the low-rise whitewashed buildings, behind the calm waters of Vromolimnos beach, have smooth stone floors, sea-view balconies and billowing muslin curtains.
• 0117 946 7072, i-escape.com/skiathos holidays
Cote Jardin, Barbati, Corfu, Greece
Good for two couples
Sleeps 4
Cost from £1,295 a week
As the name suggests, this place is all about the garden: mature olive trees, trailing fuchsia, bougainvillea and a gate on to pebbly Barbati beach. There's a small pool, rattan sofas under a pergola and a barbecue for sizzling fish. The unusual layout – one bedroom is downstairs by the sitting room; the other is accessed by an outdoor staircase and has its own kitchenette - makes it great for two couples.
• 01954 261 431, vintagetravel.co.uk
Villa Rethymno Beach, Crete, Greece
Good for social gatherings
Sleeps 4
Cost from £781 a week
In the north of the island, just a 20-minute potter from historic Rethymnon, this two-bedroom terraced house shares a pool and deck with three others. If you don't mind a bit of neighbourly chatter over the picket fences, it's great; if you do mind, get a gang of friends to rent the others. Rooms are furnished in dark wood and have beamed ceilings, but oversized glass doors let in masses of daylight.
• 0800 074 0122, jamesvillas.co.uk/crete/rethymno/rethymno-beach
Riviera Villa, Latchi, Cyprus
Good for families with under-fives
Sleeps 6
Cost from €735 a week
It may be Ikea'd up to the nines, but this house has been kitted out with exactly what you need if you have toddlers in tow, with sleek (and, most importantly, wipe-clean furniture), tiled floors and a pool that can be watched from almost every room. Through the arbor at the end of the garden lies the European Blue Flag-awarded shingle-and-sand Latchi beach, with excellent swimming and a handful of tavernas.
• No phone, beachlets.co.uk/property/cyprus-3-bed-beachfront-holiday-villa
Villa Askim, Bozburun peninsula, Turkey
Good for messing about on the water
Sleeps 4
Cost from £1,300 a week
Right on the water's edge with fantastic views across to the Greek island of Symi, Askim is one of a trio of modern vine-covered villas along stony Saranda cove. There's a private jetty jutting out into the warm Aegean and sensational snorkelling. Extras such as kayaks, gulet trips and car hire are all chucked in, so the set up here is much more all-encompassing than the average house hire.
• 020-8605 3500, exclusiveescapes.co.uk/properties/villa-askim
Dream Villa, Brac, Croatia
Good for blissful isolation
Sleeps 6
Cost from €1,500 a week
On the island of Brac, a 45-minute ferry ride from Split, this castaway blue-shuttered cabin overlooking the Adriatic has its own private beach and no neighbours in sight. And with electricity from the rooftop solar panels, rainwater tanks hooked up to the bathroom and kitchen, and thick stone walls negating the need for air conditioning, it's an eco hideout, too. As well as two double bedrooms there's also a small area for kids to play in, too.
• 01494 671359, croatianvillaholidays.com/en/dream-villa-bol-brac-split.php
Villa La Plage, Sardinia, Italy
Good for bucket and spade holidays
Sleeps 6
Cost from £1,252 a week
The glitz and megayachts of the Costa Smerelda are 300km to the north, but feel a million miles away from this sweet, straightforward house by a postcard-worthy beach just outside the small town of Villasimius, an hour from Cagliari airport. The interior is very simple, but you'll be outside the whole time anyway, lounging in the shady seating area or in a swing chair on the roof terrace.
• 020-7554 8601, italianrentals4u.com/Villa-la-Plage.html
Villa Appoline, Pozzallo, Sicily, Italy
Good for family and sunshine
Sleeps 7
Cost from €1,530 a week
This proper family holiday home sits in a stellar location on Sicily's south coast just a few steps from one of Pozzallo's buttery sand beaches. You are at the same latitude as Tunisia, so good weather is practically a given for much of the year. The garden is dotted with fat palms and fig trees, there's a fully-stocked outdoor kitchen and the owners are on hand to point out the best gelateria and bakery.
• 020-7097 1413, solosicily.com/cat49_seafront-villas-in-sicily
Le Antiche Pajare, Puglia, Italy
Good for lazy seaside days
Sleeps 6
Cost from €3,150 a week
The beaches in the heel of Italy, where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet, are stunning. And this restored farmhouse (which has now been painted a rather fetching pink) is by the edge of one of them. The main bedroom has views out to the water; the other double bedroom opens on to the delightful garden, with its crunchy green lawns, planted with prickly pear and agave, and an old well.
• 020-7377 8518,
thethinkingtraveller.com
Strandlounge, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Good for switching off
Sleeps 4
Cost from €1,960 a week
Schleswig-Holstein is sometimes called the land between the seas, sandwiched as it is by the Baltic and the North Sea. People flock here for fresh air and the unspoilt landscape of poppy-covered fields. This beach house is one of two west-facing cabins next to the Strandhaus Schwedeneck restaurant. The simple interior has a cosy woodburning stove. The sand in front is flat and wide – great for beach football and cricket.
• +49 431 6707 0126, vacation-apartments.com/49128.htm
Spahouse 579 Skallerup, Denmark
Good for multi-generation gatherings
Sleeps 12
Cost from £1,238 a week
When the Danish do Center Parc-style resorts, this is what you get: an adventure camp by heather-covered dunes on the Jutland peninsula. The lodges are basic but functional, with tongue-and-groove walls and lots of light. Request Spahouse 579, closest to the water, and you can hear the waves at night. Go on blustery walks, ride the stout ponies, splash in the indoor waterpark, or cycle the coastal paths. For grown-ups, there's a terrific spa.
• +45 9924 8400, skallerup.dk
Villa Les Ensemblerts, Ile de Ré, France
Good for family celebrations
Sleeps 12
Cost from €2,000 a week
Ile de Ré is an idyllic spot, with a Martha's Vineyard-meets-Swallows and Amazons vibe. Most accommodation is in village cottages and townhouses, so this beachfront villa in the hamlet of La Noue, with its parquet floors, pine-panelled walls and antique furnishings, is quite a find. There's masses to do, especially for kids, with swimming pool, table tennis and an array of books and toys.
• 020-8827 1971, homeaway.co.uk/France/holiday-villa-Charente-Maritime
Beach House, Concarneau, Brittany, France
Good for surfers and sailors
Sleeps 6
Cost from €600 a week
This bleached, wood-clad, grey-and-white bolthole is just feet from the sands of Plage des Sables Blanc, north of Concarneau, with a south-west-facing beach terrace that's a great suntrap. A shallow stretch of Atlantic swings from millpond to wild and windy, and is good for surfing and sailing. Go crabbing, kayaking or ride the bicycles provided to market to buy local produce for a picnic.
• No phone, thebeachhousefrance.wordpress.com
Villa Isabelle, Cap Ferret, Aquitaine, France
Good for blow-outs
Sleeps 12
Cost from £5,000 a week
Not to be confused with far glitzier Cap Ferrat on the Côte d'Azur, this peninsula separates the Atlantic from Arcachon Bay, France's oyster capital. A gate at the bottom of the garden leads on to a creamy ribbon of sand and views of bobbing fishing boats. It's a picture-book scene. Rooms are divided between an early 20th-century seaside villa and an adjacent guest cottage, with three pastel-coloured bedrooms. Sailing, surfing and boat charter are all available and the shops and restaurants of Cap Ferret are just down the road.
• 01242 787800,
redsavannah.com/villas-ski
Premium bungalow, Voga Mari, Formentera, Spain
Good for pretending you're on the Caribbean
Sleeps 2 plus sofabed
Cost from €735 a week
This is exactly the sort of place you want to know about: simple whitewashed bungalows in the south of the island on Migjorn beach, well-maintained rooms with everything you could need, and French doors leading on to terraces looking straight out to sea. It's a short ferry hop from Ibiza but a world away, with a laid-back vibe and a coastline dotted with little coves and the softest sand. The Voga Mari restaurant is a short stroll away for great seafood, or hire a scooter and buzz into nearby Sant Francesc.
• 01642 210163, formentera.co.uk
Casita Playa, Tarifa, Spain
Good for watersports lovers
Sleeps 2 adults and 2 children
Cost from €1,800 a week
With the choppy white horses of the Atlantic a minute's walk from the garden, this Tarifa cottage is great for kite- and windsurfers. Tucked between mega-villas in a gated community just above Valdevaqueros beach, the diminutive house is fresh and contemporary inside, with big sliding glass doors on to a wraparound terrace and a dip-in, leap-out unheated pool.
•+34 660 863437, tarifabeachhouse.com
Torre Blanca, Almería, Spain
Good for Spain without the hordes
Sleeps 6
Cost from €1,470 a week
The Costa de Almería is a remarkably undiscovered sweep of Andalucían coast. And this charming beach house with Provençal-style interiors is on a peaceful sandy cove between Villaricos and San Juan de los Terreros. The two twin rooms on the ground floor are ideal for children; the top bedroom has a sea-facing balcony and views over palms to the beach. The open-plan ground floor leads to a garden with terraces, hammock and pool.
• +34 915 237451, villas.spain-select.com
Boat House, Cala Jondal, Ibiza, Spain
Good for Clubbing – and chilling
Sleeps 4
Cost from €2,300 a week
There are many ultra-smart houses on the White Isle, but few can beat this for location, just down a path from Cala Jondal. It's nothing flash – a traditional, green-shuttered stone cottage among pine trees with a lovely chill-out area, a barbecue, and small pool. Go for early morning swims from the sandy stretch in front of the Tropicana Beach Club, eat grilled fish for lunch at Yemanja and trip along the bay to Blue Marlin for an evening cocktail and DJ session without having to worry about the taxi home at the end of the night.
• +34 971 336214, villasinibiza.com
