Six of the most effective late-summer getaways in southern Europe and Morocco | Seashore holidays

Puglia, Italy

The summer season has left the water deliciously heat. We paddle into sea caves as gorgeous as cathedrals

The massive Pizzomunno rock, within the Puglian city of Vieste, feels heat from the September solar as I gaze southwards, watching Castello seaside shrug off the load of excessive summer season. There are a couple of individuals within the water or mendacity on the sand, however the sunbeds and umbrellas have began disappearing, and this two-mile stretch of pale sand is getting again to its unspoilt self.

The 25-metre Pizzomunno sea stack was as soon as, in line with legend, a good-looking fisherman of the identical title, who would meet his sweetheart Cristalda on this spot. Sadly, the native mermaids fancied the pants off him too, and of their jealousy dragged Cristalda to a watery demise, leaving Pizzomunno petrified by grief.

The ill-fated pair are stated to come back alive once more as soon as each 100 years on 15 August, but when they accomplish that any summer season quickly, they’ll wrestle to discover a quiet spot for his or her tryst. For 2 or three weeks each August, Vieste – with its outdated city on a excessive promontory, its slender streets and archways, and its newly restored romanesque cathedral – is a magnet for (primarily Italian) holidaymakers. The city receives 80% of its annual two million visits within the area of lower than a month. By the point of the Settimana dell’Olio olive oil competition in late August, Vieste is noticeably quieter, and in September peace returns.

We’re staying 25 miles to the south within the small city of Mattinata. Right here, a couple of mile from the coast, it’s “tranquil even in August”, a neighborhood tells us. Agriturismo Giorgio (doubles from €59 B&B in off-season – 16 September to 31 October) stands on its western edge, strolling distance from nice eating places resembling Locanda del Maniscalco.

Temperatures climb to 28C most days, and the summer season’s warmth has left the ocean deliciously heat. On our first full day, we drive 10 minutes to Mattinatella seaside, the place we’ve rented a clear canoe from native operator Dove Andiamo Sul Gargano (full day €60). We’re aiming for Baia delle Zagare (Citrus Blossom Bay), a few miles up the coast, nevertheless it takes us half the day to get there as a result of we cease to paddle into sea caves as gorgeous as cathedrals, and picnic on an in any other case inaccessible little seaside. The bay itself is legendary for its sea stacks, one referred to as “the scissors” for its curious form, eroded by sea and wind.

This south aspect of the peninsula is sheltered from any northerly winds, so excellent in autumn. One other day, we swim out from Baia di San Felice to admire the pure sea arch that guards it, and significantly get pleasure from a visit on hired ebikes (half-day €30) to view these white seashores from the clifftop Sentiero dell’Amore.

The opposite benefit of early autumn within the Gargano is that it’s, paradoxically, a livelier interval. The onerous graft of summer season finished, locals put together to celebration. Each September Vieste in Love expands on the story of Pizzomunno and Cristalda, internet hosting free exhibits, concert events and kids’s occasions throughout the historic centre. Mattinata celebrates its patron saint in mid-September with so many parades, concert events, magic exhibits and fireworks we catch only a fraction of what’s on. And that’s earlier than it goes actually mad with its October olive harvest festival.

September can also be busy in Unesco-listed Monte Sant’Angelo, whose Archangel Michael competition on 29 September attracts pilgrims from everywhere in the world. The enjoyable bit is a torchlit reenactment the Sunday earlier than, with splendidly costumed angels, archers, bishops and even God himself giving their all in the principle sq..

Later within the autumn there’s leaf-peeping in the Foresta Umbra a couple of miles inland. Quick ahead to spring within the Gargano and also you’ll be rewarded with one in every of Europe’s highest concentrations of wild orchids, plus extra festivals – one celebrating rosé wine in Vieste, for instance. Which makes it all of the weirder that everybody crowds right here in August.
Liz Boulter

Alentejo, Portugal

It’s onerous to beat as a base for catching late-summer solar – you will have a pristine seaside to your self

The “queen of fado”, Amália Rodrigues, stated Portugal’s melancholic, passionate ballads “got here from the ocean, the huge sea in entrance of us”. No shock, then, within the Nineteen Sixties, that Amália selected an Alentejo clifftop overlooking the Atlantic to construct a artistic retreat.

Small waves of artists and sun-seekers arrived within the 70s and 80s, and this south-western shoreline continues to draw these on the lookout for a special life; incomers who dwell side-by-side with locals whose households have been there for hundreds of years, united by the rhythm of the land and the ocean. The peaceable, gradual methods of rural Portuguese life distinction with the uncooked pure panorama, and the most effective half is that it’s nonetheless blissfully undeveloped.

Check out a map and also you’ll discover an absence of cities or giant cities on this nook of Portugal. The principle motorway south from Lisbon heads deep inland, earlier than persevering with all the way down to Faro. Even the nationwide roads steer away from the coast. There’s no quick approach to attain Alentejo, and whenever you do, you’ll discover time slows down.

Odeceixe (pronounced “oh-deh-shay-sh”) is difficult to beat as a base for absorbing late-summer solar. On its seaside, black cliffs rise on each side, the Algarve to the south, the Alentejo to the north. The big, golden seaside is a story of two halves, with the clear, shallow waters of the river excellent for paddleboarding and kayaking, and the ocean providing constantly good waves for all browsing ranges. Water Element offers surf lessons 12 months spherical, plus rent of surfboards, bodyboards, canoes, kayaks, in addition to umbrellas, sunloungers and a therapeutic massage space.

These within the know return to Bar da Praia, 12 months after 12 months, in a hidden-away spot (tip: comply with the blue umbrellas) perched above the seaside at Odeceixe with fabulous views. For 12 years it has been delivering a menu of classics resembling Amêijoas á bulhão Pato (clams in garlic, coriander, white wine and lemon).

The village of Odeceixe is 2 miles from the seaside and has a lifetime of its personal. Social life strikes to the village sq. after the solar goes down and its bakeries and cafes open early. The village is made up of small homes painted white with colored borders across the home windows and doorways. There’s a working Iberian windmill, painted in white and Alentejo blue, with views of the River Seixe snaking via a flat valley to the Atlantic.

With the extraordinary summer season warmth subsiding, the temperature is good for every day walks on the Rota Vicentina – a community of trails taking in nature and historic villages, with inland and coastal routes. As soon as used solely by locals to entry secluded seashores and fishing spots, the single-track Fisherman’s Path is now a well-marked route. There are additionally 24 circular routes overlaying greater than 155 miles, and a few shorter out-and-back stretches excellent for combining with a day on the seaside. In late summer season, it’s not uncommon to have a pristine seaside to your self.

For these trying to decide up the tempo, Adventure Riding affords horseback excursions for all ranges alongside clifftops and thru the countryside (as of 2025, seaside rides are now not permitted within the nature park), together with at sundown and within the moonlight.

Tucked away are particular locations celebrating an easier lifestyle, far from huge cities and mass tourism. The pair behind Casa Ateliê, Samer Haidar and Lisa Müller, supply pottery workshops and Lebanese meals at their mattress and breakfast in a village setting to the north of Odeceixe – effectively positioned for exploring Zambujeira do Mar, Vila Nova de Milfontes and Almograve.

Italian Filippo Pozzi arrived within the space with classical winemaking expertise in south-west France and California’s Napa Valley. He got down to restore uncared for parcels of land and is producing “unconventional” single winery wines. On prime of a small hill, surrounded by olive timber, vineyards and cork oaks, Atlas Land quinta (from €100 an evening, room-only) is bathed in daylight from daybreak to nightfall. There are two double rooms and wine-tasting periods may be organized. The closest city is Aljezur, with ruins of a Tenth-century fortress and a Moorish village.

Inland from Odeceixe is Monte West Coast (from €104 B&B, two-night minimal), a set of restored rustic buildings on a farm, with a saltwater pool, kitchen gardens, orchards, and tables and chairs dotted in regards to the wild grass meadows.
Emma Balch

Corsica

I wander deeper into the maze of alleyways the place eating places spill out and diners clink glasses

It’s not simply summer season that adheres on in southern Corsica, so too does the precipitous citadel that hangs on the cliff edge in Bonifacio. It’s a surprise that the partitions haven’t tumbled into the Mediterranean within the intervening millennium, however this jumble of terracotta-roofed properties and retailers stands proud atop 70-metre-tall white limestone cliffs, on a slender promontory, to create one in every of Corsica’s most spectacular sights.

It’s a scorching Saturday afternoon once I arrive and the slender, shaded streets inside the outdated city supply a welcome reduction. After checking into the Hotel Le Royal (doubles from €76 room-only), a vivid, trendy lodge, I wander deeper into the maze of alleys the place restaurant terraces spill out on to the road and cheerful diners clink glasses. It isn’t lengthy earlier than I’ve reached what feels just like the summit, however to get a greater view I have to climb up the steps on the citadel partitions.

From the nook of Rue des Bocche, the view is spectacular: the interior harbour beneath and a jagged coast that zigzags into the space, framed by a hazy backdrop of mountains. A few steps away on Rue du Palais, an attractive bar, L’Assaghju, is serving aperitifs, together with the proprietor’s do-it-yourself chestnut liqueur, a candy and moreish tipple I sip from a stool in the cool stone arches of the bar. She tells me about different liqueurs she’s created from the island’s many signature merchandise, resembling clementines. “Have you ever tried the native wine?” she asks, pouring me a glass of the muscat pétillant, a carefully candy and delicate glowing white.

I make my approach again to the lodge’s restaurant feeling a little bit tipsy, gazing on the towering palm timber within the Place Carrega and peering into the ladder-like stairways of the imposing buildings, so steep I’m wondering how they get any furnishings into the flats.

The following morning, I enterprise west to the Plage de la Tonnara, 20 minutes’ drive alongside the coast, to get pleasure from a special aspect of Corsica. The encircling panorama is rocky and arid, however the seaside is a crescent of blond sand that descends right into a shallow bay of crystalline water heat sufficient for swimming in October. I spend an hour paddling, studying and people-watching.

Lunch is booked an additional 50 minutes across the coast and inland in the direction of the perched city of Sartène, the place the panorama modifications once more. Steep mountains lie forward and I cease at La Bergerie d’Acciola, a laid-back bar-restaurant serving barbecued dishes below a country, timber-framed roof, with a terrace providing views of the encompassing peaks. I order a platter of cheese and charcuterie, together with a prisuttu ham, with fats that melts within the mouth like butter; the goat and sheep cheeses are salty and moreish. I banish the thought that my journey will finish quickly and savour the flavours of the island, clinging on to the enjoyment of its many faces for so long as potential.
Carolyn Boyd

Essaouira, Morocco

Camel rides, kayaking, browsing and horse using are all on supply on the lengthy, sandy seaside

Guests beware. I went to Essaouira for a day journey and ended up residing there for a 12 months. I had pushed down from Marrakech (it’s simply three hours by street), the place the temperature was within the excessive 30s. I swept spherical the ultimate roundabout and on to the corniche. The ocean was a deep, glittering blue framed by imposing maritime pines, and the sand was sprinkled with colored umbrellas. A cool breeze wafted in via the window – such a welcome change from the furnace of Marrakech. At that second, I made a decision to maneuver and arrange dwelling there.

In the summertime, the town is rammed with Moroccans on their holidays, however by late September and October it’s a lot quieter with temperatures all the way down to about 24C.

Essaouira has two distinct components: the medina, enclosed inside excessive partitions, and the brand new city, which has grown up round it. The medina is small and rather more navigable than the Marrakech equal, however nonetheless with that heady African/Arab combine. Two fundamental streets lead off Place Moulay Hassan, the principle sq. by the port. Avenue Sidi Ben Mohamed Abdellah is called “vacationer road” and parallel is Avenue de L’Istiqlal, “market road”. I like to walk alongside market road round 5pm, when all of the Souiris (locals) are out purchasing for dinner, and fats dates, spicy olives and contemporary fruit from surrounding farms are out ready to be tasted.

To be within the centre of the motion, base your self within the medina at Dar Adul (doubles £59 B&B), a typical riad; or Salut Maroc (doubles from €200), a riot of sample and color with rooftop bar and restaurant.

The town has at all times been a buying and selling port, the transit level for gold, material, leather-based and ostrich feathers popping out of the Sahara and happening to Europe, and there are lots of treasures to be discovered, together with the distinctive Saharan throws and blankets dyed a deep blue or patterned in sand and black. Midway up vacationer road, conventional and fusion music performs from a store whose knowledgable proprietor can introduce you to the rhythms of gnaoua (additionally gnawa), the music dropped at Morocco from west Africa. Dozens of small galleries promote work by native artists, and on Sundays many artists open their studios to guests within the joutiya flea market within the new city.

Essaouira can also be a vibrant fishing hub, and at lunchtime stalls on the port promote a wide range of seafood (the sardines are sometimes freshest and least expensive – head to the much less touristy stalls farthest away), which you then take to be cooked over charcoal for a couple of dirhams. Eat your catch with do-it-yourself bread and candy tea, watching the seagulls and cats struggle for the scraps.

But it surely’s the lengthy, sandy seaside that draws most guests. There’s loads for the lively: kite browsing, browsing, kayaking, quad biking, camel rides and horse using are all on supply. Additionally it is a fantastic seaside for youths and swimming, because the waves and tides will not be sturdy.

My favorite factor to do is to stroll alongside the seaside to the city of Sidi Kaouki. It’s about 16 miles (25km) and will take many of the day (or bounce in a taxi) however you’ll see horses galloping previous and go locals fishing for octopus perching patiently over the rock swimming pools. Sidi Kaouki is turning into identified for wellness as effectively as browsing. Little boutique accommodations resembling Kasbah d’Eau (doubles from €340 B&B for 2 nights), which has simply opened, supply a lot of sea- and land-based actions.

Day by day in Essaouira must be a sundowner day. You’re in Morocco’s most westerly metropolis and the sunsets are superb. Sipping a relaxing glass of wine at one of many seaside eating places, like Ocean Vagabond, whereas watching the camelteers take their animals house is the proper prelude to dinner.

There are some nice small eating places within the medina and new city, providing tagine, couscous and grilled sardines, however I love the meat wellington at Umia and the grilled fish of the day at La Coupole. For those who’re up for some enjoyable, attempt the fireplace present and magicians at Caravane Cafe.

Essaouira has heaps to supply nevertheless it doesn’t foist itself on you. The individuals are relaxed, the climate is delicate and also you get to get pleasure from Morocco at a slower tempo. Penning this has made me realise that it’s excessive time for one more go to.
Alice Morrison

Axarquía, Spain

That is the best of Andalucía’s pueblos blancos, in a land of caves, valleys and historic trails

There’s one thing pleasant – and sensible – about planning your subsequent few days’ actions simply by looking from the terrace of your lodge. On the Hotel Rural Olivia Verde (doubles from €90 room-only) within the village of Comares, you are able to do simply that. Comares, an hour’s drive north-east of Málaga, is the best of the pueblos blancos, the white villages that dot the Andalucian panorama. It’s within the coronary heart of the Axarquía, a land of valleys, caves, limestone outcrops, white villages and historic – Roman, Arabic and presumably Phoenician – trails that crisscross them.

Because of the village’s many vantage factors, together with the terrace, you get a 360-degree view of your forthcoming actions.

The lodge (additionally dwelling to the most effective restaurant round) is a transformed olive mill. From its terrace, there’s a steep 100-metre drop to a dusty street beneath and to the south is the glittering Mediterranean. However when you’ve made it up the winding street from the plain to Comares, then you definately’re probably right here for the mountains, the walks and the journey.

Let your gaze drop down and switch inland alongside that dusty street. Around the bend, you’ll be a part of up with one of many well-signposted paths that hem the village. Near the aquifer that has sustained the village for hundreds of years, you’ll in all probability see climbers scaling a rock face. The village additionally has its personal zip wire.

Now walkers can actually get excited. Heading inland, the route referred to as La Teja passes one other enormous outcrop. In about an hour you’ll attain the stays of an Arab settlement at Masmullar.

Drop into a restaurant within the hamlet of Los Ventorros, or head again to Comares up the monitor for relaxation and refreshments on the glorious Mirador de la Axarquía restaurant on the village outskirts. That ought to be sufficient for day one.

A number of individuals know that the Costa del Sol is barricaded by mountains, however most vacationers don’t enterprise additional than crowded locations like Ronda. That could be a enormous disgrace as a result of the Axarquía wants guests – no overtourism right here – and since a lot of people that respect clear air and empty, epic nation are lacking out.

You probably have a motorcycle, head into the campo (countryside) and discover the villages of Cutar and Benarmagosa. In case your tyres can take it, bump alongside the riverbed of the Riogordo in the direction of Colmenar. It’s going to nearly definitely be dry, but when the rains do come, beware – the river and the villages that lie alongside its banks is flash-flood territory.

The majestic peak of La Maroma, the native mountain, is walkable, however at over 2,000m, it’s finest to get a information. The quiet village of Canillas de Aceituno is an effective base camp.

To enterprise past, you’ll in all probability want a automotive. The principle village on La Maroma’s southern flank is Cómpeta, which is sweet enjoyable and bustling. I’ve at all times loved a go to to the long-established El Pilón restaurant.

However most villages have a bustle about them as soon as the summer season warmth has handed: gone is the ghost-town environment of the distant pueblos blancos, the place everybody stays indoors with the blinds down within the scorching climate. Whereas lots of the annual village ferias (gala’s) happen in summer season, Nerja’s is mid-October, Comares has its Evening of the Candles in early September, whereas Cutar affords the Moorish-themed Fiesta del Monfi in October.

And the season is lengthening. In late November I used to be nonetheless in my shorts. November was once when the rains got here.
Mark Jones

Konitsa, Greece

The river, fed by mountain springs, holds probably the most luminous blue once I open my eyes below water

A small bell nonetheless hangs beneath the Konitsa bridge to warn these crossing the cobbles of sturdy winds. In-built 1870 and curving 20 metres above the translucent inexperienced waters of the Aoos River, this astonishing stone bridge is regarded as one of many highest single-arched spans within the Balkans. I look upstream from it into the Aoos gorge because the solar rises over the towering mountains.

The summer season warmth of Greece has mellowed to a heat September glow – and shortly autumn will start to yellow and bronze the leaves of the canyon timber. It’s my favorite time of 12 months to be on this land of mountains, water and stone.

About 40 miles north of the town of Ioannina in north-west Greece, the historic city of Konitsa spreads like an amphitheatre over the decrease slopes of Mount Trapezitsa. A zigzagging street from the river results in its leafy squares and evocative higher city with Ottoman-era mansions and Orthodox church buildings. I’m staying on the great, family-run Konitsa Mountain Hotel (doubles from €90 room-only), and every afternoon I savour wild mountain tea on the terrace with a panoramic view of the Albanian mountains and the Aoos winding throughout the plain in the direction of the border.

As a part of Unesco’s Vikos-Aoos Geopark, Konitsa is the proper base for exploring the broader area. The following morning, I drive quarter-hour south to the Voidomatis River. There I comply with a marked path alongside the riverbank upwards from one other elegant stone bridge close to the village of Kleidonia via an attractive gallery forest of airplane timber that bend low over the water. Within the canyon partitions above the path are rock shelters as soon as utilized by Palaeolithic hunters; beneath, fish fin slowly in opposition to the swift currents within the shadows of the timber. I at all times succumb to a swim on this river. Fed by deep mountain springs, it’s freezing whether or not excessive summer season or late autumn, however holds probably the most luminous blue once I open my eyes underwater.

After a riverside lunch of grilled trout and contemporary Greek salad at O Voidomatis taverna (open daytime solely) I drive up into the Zagori area. The gorgeous stone homes and plane-shaded squares of Papingo and Mikro Papigko sit beneath the limestone mass of Mount Tyymfi, however my vacation spot is the village of Vikos, on the sting of the Vikos Gorge – one of many deepest and most extraordinary geological varieties on the planet. The cooler temperatures of late September and October make strolling the trail all the way down to the gorge’s turquoise springs far simpler than in summer season, and the reward after the ascent is a chilly drink on the welcoming Viewpoint Backyard cafe, set on a pure balcony above the chasm.

Throughout the years I’ve been coming to Konitsa I’ve visited the atmospheric monastery of Molyvdoskepastos close to the border with Albania and explored the gorgeous villages of Monodendri, Kipoi and Vitsa on the southern finish of Zagori. I’ve watched river-rafters on the Voidomatis, swum within the rock swimming pools of Papingo, and listened to long-distance hikers discuss in regards to the alpine lakes and mountain refuge on Mount Tymfi. However I at all times return to the outstanding bridge over the Aoos earlier than leaving.

I cease for espresso and conventional walnut cake on the cafe of the Gefyri Hotel by the bridge, after which stroll the trail in the direction of the Panagia Stomiou monastery perched on a promontory by the narrowest level of the gorge. Pale boulders break the green-blue torrents whereas nonetheless swimming pools by the banks mirror the craggy cliffs. Kingfishers fizz upriver and dippers dive into the move, because the immense geological drama of the canyon and its present unfolds. It is a place the place the traditional contours of earth and water are shut sufficient to the touch.
Julian Hoffman
For details about conservation work on the Aoos River, go to med-ina.org.

The lodging costs quoted are for October 2025 and have been appropriate on the time of publication