🇵🇹 PORTUGAL
Alentejo
Cork oaks, whitewashed hill towns and long, empty Atlantic beaches.
Road trip✈️ 3h7 to 10 nights££
BEST TIMEAPR–JUN, SEP
🏖️ HOLIDAY TYPE
Beach holidays
Warm sea, soft sand and somewhere to dry off with an ice cream. Here's where to go for a beach holiday, and the best months for each.
Beach holidays: 51 guides
🇧🇿 BELIZE
Ambergris Caye
Golf carts, reef snorkelling and nurse sharks off a laid-back Caribbean island.
Beach✈️ 11h7 to 10 nights£££
BEST TIMEFEB–APR
🇪🇸 SPAIN
Asturias
Green mountains, cider houses and sandy coves on Spain's cool, rainy northern coast.
Nature & hiking✈️ 2h7 nights££
BEST TIMEJUN–SEP
🇮🇩 INDONESIA
Bali
Temples, rice terraces, monkeys and warm sea, at very good value.
Beach✈️ 17h10 to 14 nights£
BEST TIMEAPR–SEP
🇧🇧 BARBADOS
Barbados
Calm Caribbean beaches, swimming with turtles and fish fries on a Friday night.
Beach✈️ 9h10 to 14 nights£££
BEST TIMEDEC–APR
🇪🇸 SPAIN
Barcelona
Gaudí's fairy-tale buildings, a city beach and tapas for dinner.
City break✈️ 2h3 to 5 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
🇲🇾 MALAYSIA
Borneo
Orangutans, pygmy elephants and rainforest river cruises, with islands to finish.
Nature & hiking✈️ 15h10 to 14 nights££
BEST TIMEMAR–AUG
🇲🇽 MEXICO
Cancún
Caribbean beaches, Maya pyramids and swimming in underground caves.
Beach✈️ 11h10 to 14 nights££
BEST TIMEDEC–APR
🇿🇦 SOUTH AFRICA
Cape Town
Penguins on the beach, a mountain with a cable car and a jet-lag-free flight.
City break✈️ 13h10 to 14 nights££
BEST TIMENOV–MAR
🇨🇻 CAPE VERDE
Cape Verde
Year-round sunshine, wide sandy beaches and lemon sharks in the shallows off West Africa.
Beach✈️ 6h7 nights££
BEST TIMEMAR–JUN, NOV
🇨🇴 COLOMBIA
Cartagena
Colourful colonial streets, old city walls and island boat trips on Colombia's Caribbean coast.
City break✈️ 11h5 to 7 nights££
BEST TIMEDEC–MAR
🇫🇷 FRANCE
Corsica
Mountains that drop straight into clear sea, hilltop villages and beaches that feel more Caribbean than French.
Beach✈️ 3h7 to 10 nights£££
BEST TIMEJUN, SEP
🇨🇷 COSTA RICA
Costa Rica
Sloths, volcanoes, zip lines through the rainforest and two coasts of beaches.
Nature & hiking✈️ 12h12 to 14 nights££
BEST TIMEDEC–APR
🇬🇷 GREECE
Crete
Pink sand beaches, a palace from the legend of the Minotaur and long sunny days.
Beach✈️ 4h7 to 14 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇦🇪 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Dubai
Winter sun, water parks and the tallest building in the world.
City break✈️ 8h5 to 7 nights£££
BEST TIMENOV–MAR
🇭🇷 CROATIA
Dubrovnik
Walk the old city walls, swim off the rocks and kayak to a sea cave.
Beach✈️ 3h4 to 7 nights£££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP
🇪🇨 ECUADOR
Galápagos Islands
Swim with sea lions, walk past giant tortoises and spot blue-footed boobies.
Nature & hiking✈️ 14h7 to 10 nights£££
BEST TIMEDEC–MAY
🇵🇱 POLAND
Gdańsk
Tall painted merchant houses, amber shops and Baltic beaches a short train ride away.
City break✈️ 3h3 to 4 nights£
BEST TIMEJUN–AUG
🇲🇹 MALTA
Gozo
Malta's smaller, greener sister island, with salt pans, sea caves and sleepy villages.
Relax & spa✈️ 4h5 to 7 nights££
BEST TIMEMAY–JUN, SEP–OCT
🇬🇩 GRENADA
Grenada
Spice farms, chocolate estates and a long white beach on the Caribbean's Spice Isle.
Beach✈️ 10h7 to 10 nights£££
BEST TIMEJAN–APR
🇻🇳 VIETNAM
Hoi An
Lantern-lit streets, basket boats and a beach just down the road.
Beach✈️ 13h7 to 10 nights£
BEST TIMEFEB–APR
🇭🇷 CROATIA
Istria
Venetian harbour towns, truffle hill villages and clear swimming spots on Croatia's northern tip.
Beach✈️ 3h7 nights££
BEST TIMEJUN, SEP
🇹🇷 TURKEY
Kaş
Turquoise coves, ancient ruins in town and boat trips over a sunken city.
Beach✈️ 5h7 to 10 nights££
BEST TIMEJUN, SEP–OCT
🇬🇷 GREECE
Kefalonia
Turquoise coves, loggerhead turtles and mountain roads on Greece's largest Ionian island.
Beach✈️ 4h7 to 10 nights££
BEST TIMEJUN, SEP
Showing 24 of 51 guides
When to go
Where's at its best in each month of the year.
- January
- Barbados, Cancún, Cape Town, Cartagena, Costa Rica, Dubai, Galápagos Islands, Grenada and 7 more
- February
- Ambergris Caye, Barbados, Cancún, Cape Town, Cartagena, Costa Rica, Dubai, Galápagos Islands and 9 more
- March
- Ambergris Caye, Barbados, Borneo, Cancún, Cape Town, Cape Verde, Cartagena, Costa Rica and 12 more
- April
- Alentejo, Ambergris Caye, Bali, Barbados, Borneo, Cancún, Cape Verde, Costa Rica and 14 more
- May
- Alentejo, Bali, Barcelona, Borneo, Cape Verde, Crete, Dubrovnik, Galápagos Islands and 10 more
- December
- Barbados, Cancún, Cape Town, Cartagena, Costa Rica, Dubai, Galápagos Islands, Koh Lanta and 6 more
Beach holidays: common questions
Where is hot for a beach holiday in winter?
From December to February, look further afield: Barbados, the Maldives, Mauritius, Cancún and Cape Town are all at their best then. Closer to home, Tenerife stays mild all winter.
Where can we go for a beach holiday in the summer holidays?
July and August suit the north of Spain, like Asturias, and places where it's dry season then, such as Bali, Lombok and Zanzibar. The Mediterranean is lovely but hot and busy, so June and September are often better there.
Which beach destinations are good for a short flight from the UK?
Spain, Portugal, Malta, Croatia and the Greek islands are mostly three to four hours away. Tenerife and Cape Verde take a little longer but are warm well into winter.
Other kinds of holiday
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