London - The European summer can be a changeable mistress, prone to disappearing without notice or reason. And just when she announces that she will give you her undivided attention during August, she checks her watch, becomes evasive and declares that she really has to leave.
But September can be a last, glorious chance to spend a few days in her company – partly because summer still dances on the sand in many areas of Europe; partly because beaches are quieter and prices lower. Tour operator Destinology (0808 252 3815; destinology.co.uk) reports a post-Olympics bookings surge.
North African escape
Tunisia boasts 11 000km of coastline, wild and beautiful desert, a fascinating history, good food, friendly people – and the near-certainty of good weather in September. But the protests that swept Tunisia early last year were the tinder spark for the Arab uprisings – and prompted the evacuation of British holidaymakers .
The numbers are bouncing back, as prices for packages have fallen. Provided you’re in the UK, a week’s half-board at the four-star Royal Azur Thalasso Golf Resort in Hammamet, leaving September 19, costs from £476 (around R6 200) a person, including flights from Gatwick with Thomas Cook (0844 879 8400; thomascook.com).
Brought to heel
Italy’s curves are a fine environment for September sun. Southerly Puglia guards the embers of summer as it abuts the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.
Think Puglia (020 7377 8518; thinkpuglia.com) offers villas across the region.
Ai Trulli – a pair of the classic conical trulli houses – sits in gardens at northerly Cisternino. The main trullo sleeps four, and is available for the weeks starting September 15 and 22 September, from £2 500. Secondo Amore is close to the coast at Ostuni.
Balearic bliss
A family favourite in high season, Mallorca loses some of the plop and thwack of buckets and spades on its beaches as August fades, and becomes more of a haven for afternoons spent sitting in olive groves or lazing by pools. Mallorca Farmhouses (0845 800 8080; e-mail orca.co.uk) has properties across the island, and discounts during September.
Greece is the word
Scenes of civil unrest and financial turmoil have hit consumer confidence in Greece as a destination.
Warm weather and cool breezes bless its islands in September.
Contact Ionian Island Holidays (020-8459 0777; ionianislandholidays.com). A sample package, from the UK, is £791 a person (three sharing) for seven nights at Villa Bougazi on Paxos – departing September 17, including flights from Manchester or Gatwick, transfers and car hire.
The balmy Balkans
Montenegro is gaining a chic reputation – thanks in part to the continuing development of the swish Porto Montenegro and last year’s opening of the Aman Sveti Stefan resort. Double rooms at this enclave of luxury (00 382 33 420 000; amanresorts.com), just south of Budva, cost from e753 (about R7 600) a night in September. Explore Montenegro (explore montenegro.com) dispenses less expensive alternatives: a week at Prcanj Vista, a restored stone cottage on the edge of dramatic Kotor Bay, is £345 a person (based on four sharing), with flights from Gatwick to Tivat in September and October.
Insider information
“For guaranteed sun, go to Dubai – it has great beaches. The Caribbean is always a late summer option. Jamaica has been popular this year, but Barbados, St Lucia and Antigua are also good choices. Virgin launched its new route into Cancun in Mexico in June, and temperatures hit 30ºC in September. For a party, Las Vegas has seen a surge in interest since Prince Harry’s visit.” James Eustace, Virgin Holidays (virginholidays.co.uk)
The best of both worlds
Green Island Holidays (greenislandholidays.com) focuses on Turkey and the north of Cyprus. As non-stop flights from Britain to the self-styled “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” are banned, you have to touch down in Turkey. So the company offers twin-centre breaks that mix the epic history of Istanbul with the joys of Kyrenia on the top edge of the Mediterranean isle. A 10-night, four-star escape – three nights in Istanbul and seven at Bellapais Monastery Village in Kyrenia – costs £599 a person (two sharing) this month and next, including flights from Stansted.
Who said that?
“The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece!/Where burning Sappho loved and sung/Where grew the city of war and peace/ Where Delos rose and Phoebus sprung!/Eternal summer gilds them yet.” – (Lord) George Byron, Don Juan
“I know you’re really busy and I know you’ve got plans/But are you really too busy for a suntan?” – Dizzee Rascal, Holiday – The Independent