Take me there: Costa del Sud, Sardinia
Why go?
Sardinia's Costa Smeralda, with its millionaires, models and mega- yachts, gets all the attention, but if you'd rather not spend €25 a day on a sun lounger, travel to the south of the island, where the white-sand beaches, backed by fig groves and fragrant maquis, are just as beautiful but the resorts are far more low-key. Unlike glitzy Porto Cervo, which shuts down between October and April, the busy little market town of Pula, a few miles inland, has a life outside of tourism and makes a great base for exploring Sardinia's southern highlights.
What to do
The coast road west from Pula to Porto Teulada offers one of the most memorable drives on the island, with a succession of tempting coves and beaches laid out below: the dazzling white crescent of La Tuerredda with its café-bar and little island which you can swim out to, and the dune-backed Su Giudeu near Chia, a hotspot for windsurfers and kitesurfers, won't fail to impress. Visit the ruined Roman city at Nora, with its temples, baths and mosaic floors. Spend a day or two wandering the narrow medieval streets of Cagliari, the beguiling island capital, finishing up in the port area for the evening passeggiata.
Where to stay
The Nora Club Hotel near Pula is an attractive and intimate hotel of 27 rooms with white walls and terracotta floors, set in palm-shaded gardens around a swimming pool (from €70pp per night B&B, noraclubhotel.it).
Where to eat
People travel from all over the island for the roast suckling pig at Su Furriadroxu, an old-fashioned restaurant with an attractive leafy courtyard (sufurriadroxu.it).
Insider tip
"The limestone caves at Is Zuddas in Santadi were only recently discovered, but the stalactite and stalagmite chambers are incredible," says Janet Lindfield, the local rep for tour operator Sardinian Places (sardinianplaces.co.uk).
Give me a break
Home: Last-minute escapes to Scotland
No need to panic if you haven't yet booked a getaway for the school holidays: Scottish cottage agency Unique Cottages has added several new properties to its portfolio which still have peak season availability. A week at Upper Sonachan, a traditional farmhouse which sleeps up to eight, overlooking Loch Awe, the UK's longest freshwater lake, costs £995 in July and August (unique-cottages.co.uk).
Away: French bargain break
Les Patios Eugenie is a new complex of small but stylish self-catering apartments right in the centre of the Basque surf and seaside resort of Biarritz. Lagrange Holidays is offering 14 nights for the price of 12 on its late-summer breaks. This brings the price of a fortnight, departing 30 August, to £859 (down from £995) for a one-bed apartment with access to a shared pool (lagrange-holidays.co.uk).
