The Côte d’Azur challenger Dhërmi, Albania
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How to do it: Minimalist lakeside luxury from £150 a night at the adults-only LUA Resort (00 36 87 512 500 ). Had your fill of sunbathing? Discover the Badacsony wine region and the Baroque opulence of the Festetics Palace. Among the best beaches are those at Keszthely City, Balatonfüred Esterházy, Balatongyörök and Alsóörs. Affectionately referred to as the “Hungarian Sea”, not least for the inland beach opportunities it offers, Lake Balaton is ripe for a longer getaway or a day trip from Budapest. The Marbella opponent Lake Balaton, Hungaryīeaches, verdant countryside, pretty villages, wineries and thermal spas – welcome to Lake Balaton. How to do it: Experience staying in luxurious takes on traditional Bosnian stone houses in nearby Međugorje from £60 a night at Herceg Etno Selo (00 387 36 653 400 ). If the relatively cool temperatures don’t sound appealing, hop in a rental boat to get up close and personal with the magnificent falls, before retreating to the beach and café. While fast and furious springtime flows make Kravica Bosnia’s very own mini Niagara, the calm cascades (and warm temperatures) of summer are ideal to cool off in and bring swimmers and sunbathers to the falls. At the Kravica waterfall, the Trebižat River tumbles from a height of 25 metres to form a mesmerising emerald pool. The mini Niagara Falls Kravica Waterfalls, Bosnia and Herzegovinaīosnia and Herzegovina may only have 12 miles of coastline, but a journey into the countryside 25 miles south-west of Mostar (famed for its much-photographed Stari Most) reveals a landlocked beach and summer swimming spot worth travelling inland for. How to do it: The aptly named Hotel Luxury (00 355 89 321 004 hotel-luxury.al) offers elegant rooms and Adriatic panoramas from £52 a night. Most visitors opt to stay in the nearby mainland village of Ksamil and take the chance to also visit Unesco World Heritage Site Butrint, a national park and ancient city with ruins dating back as far as the 7th century BC. They are only accessible by a 30-minute boat ride (fly into Tirana or Corfu) or an energetic swim, if you need to burn off some delectable cheese-stuffed byrek. Four small islands in southern Albania, the Ksamil Islands, are a white sand-adorned paradise that have largely escaped the notice of international beachgoers. The Corfu competitor The Ksamil Islands, AlbaniaĪlbania’s very own “Ionian Pearl” lies just over the water from the Greek island of Corfu. These low-key alternative beach breaks are ripe for a long weekend or bigger adventure.
The latter announced new routes this summer between London Gatwick and Burgas and Varna (Bulgaria) and Podgorica (Montenegro). Getting to these spellbinding beaches is only getting easier, almost 1,500 direct flights leave from UK airports every week to Eastern Europe, according to OAG data, most of them under three hours long, with budget airlines including easyJet ( ), Ryanair ( ) and Wizz Air ( ). And half board in a four-star hotel is as little as £35 per person per night (or £245 for a week) at places like the Poseidon Jaz ( ) on Montenegro’s Jaz Beach, with a similar stay in Marbella reasonably costing upwards of £500 per person. What’s more, you’re in with a chance of discovering some stunning beach spots (by the coast and inland) with fewer crowds – Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, received around two million tourists in 2019, while Spain welcomed a whopping 87.3 million (around double its population).
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Backed by magnificent mountains and gently lapped by warm waters, these serene spots offered the perfect combination of wild beauty and holiday comforts in spades – reasonably priced iced coffee, local beers and restaurants serving up zgara (grilled meats) with vibrant salads, plus a captivating (if unsettling) recent history to boot.Īlbania is the tip of the iceberg, from the Byzantine churches of Ohrid to the bustling streets of Sozopol’s old town – Eastern Europe is flush with destinations combining natural beauty and culture. I was captivated by its beaches, which could easily rival Greece or the Bahamas. My first eye-opening insight into this enthralling region was as a teenager, when I hopped on a ferry from Corfu to Sarandë – on Albania’s Riviera – set on the dazzling Ionian Sea.
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