Italy

Bio Elba, Elba island

Pippo Maiocchi, octogenarian smallholder and beekeeper, has created Elba's own island paradise, 12 miles off the Tuscan coast. Just four bungalows are dotted throughout 33,000 sq m of forestland on Elba's south-east coast. Pick of the bunch at this agriturismo is Casetta Sogno (Dream Cabin), complete with outdoor shower and private beach access. Campers can pitch their tents on a base of soft pine needles before exploring the trails threading south along the coast. Organic provisions including goose eggs, olive oil, honey and homemade wine can be purchased directly from Pippo.

• 0039 0565 939 072, bioelba.it. Camping from €9pp pn. Casetta Sogno from €600pw (sleeps five). Nearest airport: Elba (with ElbaFly or InterSky).

Riva di Ugento Camping, Ugento, Lecce, Puglia

Gloriously underpopulated, even during the height of summer, the white sand beaches stretching from the southernmost point of Italy's heel are one of the country's best-kept secrets. Riva di Ugento sits just behind miles of open coastline. Brand new mobile homes and caravans cluster around a central restaurant, cafe, swimming pools and tennis courts, and there are shady spots where tents can be pitched on the fine, soft sand.

• 0039 0833 933 600, rivadiugento.it. From €18pp pn, based on five sharing. Nearest airport: Puglia.

Spain

Dunas Playa, Formentera

With some of the clearest water and whitest sand in the Mediterranean, sleepy Formentera, a short boat ride from Ibiza, is a beach bum's haven. You'll see a few, too, as swimming togs are optional on most of the beaches. Dunas Playa is on the island's sheltered sunset side and offers sea-view apartments and bungalows nestled in the dunes, with a pool and little shop onsite. A 20-minute wander over the isthmus is Playa di Migjorn, a 7km windswept beach dotted with bars. Bike tracks crisscross the island, although roads can become choked by holidaymakers in August.

• 0034 971 328 041, dunasplaya.com. From €42.50pp pn, based on four sharing. Nearest airport: Ibiza.

Eco Fisherman's Cottage, Lanzarote

This shabbily chichi cottage right on the beach at Arrieta makes great use of the Canary Island's year-round sunshine by running on solar power. Inside the cottage there's a mammoth bed; outside there's a balcony with outdoor shower and courtyard for dining al fresco. Provisions can be brought from shops in the centre of Arrieta, a five-minute walk away. Lanzarote Retreats boasts several other eco-holiday homes around the island, including a luxurious yurt just up the road.

• 0034 9 2882 6720, lanzaroteretreats.com. From €120pp pw, based on five sharing. Nearest airport: Arrecife.

Camping Sonbou, Menorca

Set in 20 acres of pine forest, the Sonbou is a campsite with a pool, football nets, tennis courts and several other sporting activities. Staff can organise biking and horse rides in the forest or along the beach. Less expensive than the well-appointed chalets are the Bengali bungalows. These white canvas structures are a cool alternative to the even cheaper camping pitches, and come complete with beds, oven and fridge. The wild dunes and turquoise shallows of Son Bou beach, Menorca's longest, are one mile away.

• 0034 971 372 727, campingsonbou.com. Bungalows from €16.50pp pn, based on four sharing. Nearest airport: Mahon.

Casas Karen, Los Caños de Meca

At the foot of the Breña y Marismas del Barbate coastal reserve and just south of Cádiz, these eight Andalucían cottages are nestled into Casas Karen's rambling, colourful garden. Guests can bed down in the Choza Pequeña, a traditional thatched choza de paja constructed from straw and bamboo, or Casa Karen 2 has a roof terrace with views over to the north African coastline. The Costa de la Luz's unspoilt beaches, pine forests and the Trafalgar lighthouse are all five to 10 minutes away.

• 0034 956 437 067, casaskaren.com. From €153.75pp pw, based on four sharing. Nearest airport: Jerez.

France

Camping des Abers, Landéda, Brittany

This camping site, one hour west of the ferry terminal at Roscoff advertises itself as pieds dans l'eau, and the tent and caravan pitches really do slope down to the sea. The well-appointed clapboard mobile homes are a few minutes further back, separated from the sand by dunes and a small copse. But with the most luxurious of these - sleeping up to six, and with their own terraces - coming in at less than €300 for a week in June, who's measuring? As well as the typically Gallic children's activities onsite (pétanque, babyfoot), several deserted islands are accessible across the estuary at low tide.

• 0033 2 9804 9335, camping-des-abers.com. Mobile homes from €54pp pw based on five sharing. Nearest station: Brest.

Penty Kerveron, Crozon, Brittany

The seascape views, sprawling garden and bracing Atlantic breezes make this 17th-century fisherman's cottage a rugged Breton dream. The interior has been restored using heirloom antiques and the kitchen sports a vast open fireplace, complete with traditional galette (Breton pancake) hotplate. Stroll the 300m to the nearest sandy beach or continue exploring along the old custom officers' coastal walkway, skirting the edge of the Crozon peninsula. The area is a birdwatcher's paradise, with cormorants, sandpipers and grey herons.

• 0033 2 9827 2041, locations-kerveron.com. From €140pp pw based on six sharing. Nearest station: Brest.

Camping de la Plage, Algajola, Corsica

The aptly named Camping de la Plage adds a touch of class to Corsica's legion of camping options: its own rail platform links the leafy site with historic Calvi, 20 minutes along the coast, and Bastia, one hour away. Just 100m from the open-all-hours campsite shop is a 4km sandy beach where you'll find top snorkelling and several sand-in-your-toes dining options, all with prix fixe menus and wine by the pichet. The onsite budget dining option takes the form of a busy pizza oven.

• 0033 495 60 71 76, camping-de-la-plage-en-balagne.com. Chalets from €13.25pp pn based on four sharing, camping from €6.10pp pn plus €2.90 per tent pn. Nearest airport: Calvi.

Holland

Kustpark, Egmond Aan Zee

This beachside park sums up Dutch operator Roompot's swath of coastal camping resorts: clean, efficient and cheap. Pre-pitched tents are of the sturdy 1980s variety with hefty steel poles, plastic curtained windows and plenty of space to stand up. For a few euros more, the chalets offer sun terraces, garden furniture and dishwashers. The wide beach runs for miles with sandy bottomed shallows for swimming, while a cycle track meanders through the dunes behind. Amsterdam is one hour by car.

• 0031 72 506 1702, roompotparken.nl. Chalets from €20pp pn, camping pitches from €105 for three nights. Nearest station: Alkmarr.

Texel Yurts, Oudeschild, Texel Island

Just east of Texel's national park Dunes, each yurt is 20-25ft in diameter and kitted out with a wood-burning stove, a hammock and piles of woolly hides and sheepskin rugs to lounge on. It's just steps to the sandy beaches, and the town of Oudeschild is within easy walking distance. Ferries run every 30 minutes between Den Helder on the mainland and Texel Island.

• 0031 222 322 100, texelyurts.nl. From €198.75pp pw based on four sharing. Nearest station: Den Helder.

Turkey

Sundance Nature Village, Tekirova, Antalya

Sandwiched between towering Mount Tahtali and the translucent waters of its 1km arch-shaped private beach, Sundance strives towards total self-sufficiency. Solar panels heat the water, pomegranates come from the garden, sea bream and shrimp are purchased from local fishermen. Accommodation ranges from air-conditioned adobe bungalows to mattresses in mosquito netting wedged in treehouses with views of the starry night skies. There are yoga classes, horseriding and food foraging workshops.

• 0090 242 821 4165, sundancecamp.com. From €13pp pn for a three-person treehouse, €22pp pn for a two-person bungalow. Nearest airport: Antalya.

Arcadia, Çirali

Pine and cedar wood bungalows are dotted throughout the orange grove, hammocks sway in the breeze and guests are encouraged to dine under the stars. Hike the 5km to Chimaera (Yanartas, or "burning flame" in Turkish) where methane emissions from the earth cause natural fires. The pristine beach adjacent to the cottages is a crucial nesting site for endangered loggerhead sea turtles, and is avidly protected by the local community.

• 0090 242 825 7340, arcadiaholiday.com or journeyanatolia.com. From €43.35pp pn inc breakfast, based on three sharing. Nearest airport: Antalya.

Croatia

Vesna's Cottage, Lapad, Dubrovnik

On the lush Lapad peninsula, 3km north-west of Dubrovnik, this enchanting little cottage is nestled within a walled garden, surrounded by caper bushes and shaded by towering bamboo. Inside, vases overflowing with jasmine cuttings from the garden offset the cottage's contemporary turquoise and emerald walls. Owners Vesna, a local mountaineering expert, and Maro, an artist and scuba-diving instructor (blueplanet-diving.com), live next door. The cottage has air-conditioning and Wi-Fi, but as it's metres from Dubrovnik's port, with swimming beaches only a walk away, you probably won't be spending much time indoors.

• 00385 20 356 078, vesna-cottage.com. From €175pp pw, based on four sharing. Nearest airport: Dubrovnik.

Veli Rat, Dugi island, Croatia

Unlike some lighthouses, Veli Rat isn't completely isolated, idyllic though that may sound. Instead of a pricey private speedboat ride to get there, guests can hop on a local ferry from Ryanair's Croatian hub at Zadar, 60 miles north of Split. The two apartments below the lighthouse tower are basic, but the setting is sublime, with wide ocean views from the deserted pebbly beach. Walkers can take in the two nearby national parks. And bring a snorkel: there's plenty to see, shipwreck included, in the crystal clear waters off Dugi island.

• 00385 12 415 611, adriatica.net. From €255pp pw based on four sharing. Nearest airport: Zadar.

Denmark

Hasle Hytteby Cottages, Bornholm Island

Tranquil Bornholm boasts a string of white-sand beaches ringing the island, and Hasle Hytteby's triangular cabins are located in a pine forest, a few minutes from one such beach. Being Danish, these are design-led dwellings, decked out with parquet floors, foldout tables, seductive lighting and sun-terraces complete with garden furniture. A combined rail and fast ferry service (bornholm.info) links Copenhagen with Bornholm in around three hours.

• 0045 5695 7295, holidaybornholm.com. From €66.25pp pw based on four sharing. Nearest airport: Copenhagen.

Sweden

Björkängs Havsbad Camping, Varberg

This lovely spot on Sweden's sandy western coast, 50 miles south of Gothenburg, manages to take in several Scandinavian stereotypes: flatpack housing, great seafood - and the opportunity to get your kit off. The Stuga wooden cabins nestled up against the dunes may be simple, but the different styles can fit families from two to six. The area is as family friendly as they come, with summertime sandcastle competitions, mini golf, an inflatable castle and acres of beach. The onsite Lanternan restaurant hosts a shrimp feast every Wednesday. There's a small nudist area up the coast.

• 0046 340 421 34, bjorkangscamping.se. From £62pp pw based on six sharing, camping from £13.60 per pitch. Nearest airport: Gothenburg.

Estonia

Järve Farm, Saaremaa

Ideal for those who count target practice and elk tracking as essential to a perfect holiday. As well as arranging country pursuits, Järve Farm has a variety of rustic accommodation, including a granary, log houses and cabins beneath a pine canopy. Located on Estonia's largest island, Saaremaa, the farm is minutes from the rolling dunes of Mändjala-Järve beach. Buses from Tallinn to Kuressaare depart every two hours; driving from the capital takes around four hours.

• 00372 457 1479, jarvetalu.ee. Log houses from €20pp pn based on five sharing, two-person cabins from €11.50pp pn. Nearest airport: Kuressaare or Tallinn.

Madeira

Quinta das Vinhas, Estreito da Calheta

With its mild climate, the island has long been a magnet for intrepid trekkers intent on hiking its unique "levadas" - 16th-century irrigation canals. In the hills above the surfer paradise of Jardim do Mar, Quinta das Vinhas's 14 eco-friendly cottages have been constructed using traditional Madeiran dry stone techniques. Pergolas laced with bougainvillea provide shade for lazing. A short uphill hop from sandy Calheta beach, the cottages share a central pool.

• 00351 291 824 086, qdvmadeira.com. From €294pp pw, based on two sharing. Nearest airport: Madeira.

Greece

Makryammos Bungalows, Thassos, Macedonia

OK, it's a shade over £50 a night, but what price paradise? Set against a scented forest, if the pool doesn't tempt you, the Blue Flag beach will. The more historically minded can hike along the coastal trails to an ancient Greek theatre. Back on the shore there's beach volleyball, tennis and a host of inflatable toys. Each bungalow is constructed using Thassos's own natural resources, and each has a balcony and sea view.

• 0030 259 3022 101, makryammos-hotel.gr. From €64pp pn based on three sharing. Nearest airport: Kavala.

• Prices throughout are correct for June 2009.