Little Beach Book

Forget waking up at the crack of dawn to bag a sunlounger and don’t worry about Brexiters abroad harshing your mellow. These are the six best beaches for gastronomes, castaways and sybarites all, as chosen by MH’S team of intrepid sunbathers. There’s a st

The Algarve, on the southwestern tip of the Iberian peninsula, has long cemented its place among the planet’s top surf destinations, with breaks that easily rival the best Australian or Hawaiian spots. Cascade Resort, close to Meia Praia – the town of Lagos’s 5km-long golden sand beach – is the ideal base for rookies looking to catch their first waves, or hire bodyboards and roll around in the surf.

More experienced surfers, however, should make the half-hour pilgrimage away from the yoga retreats, juice bars and organic everythings of surf-bum mecca Lagos and head westwards to Zavial. Here you’ll find a hollow right-hand beach break of bucket list-ticking quality, situated in an area of unspoilt beauty. The Restaurante Zavial is the only concession to the surf-tourism trade. Overlooking the waters, it’s the perfect place to relive your exploits over a cold one. Flights to Faro from £80 with Easyjet, visitalgarve.pt, cascaderesortalgarve.com

Without a single permanent structure – let alone human population – to speak of, plus a beach accessible during only mid- and high-tides, this quiet cove on the eastern edge of the Whitsunday archipelago isn’t just off the beaten track, it’s positively isolated. But this is rather the point. Any intrepid explorer who hires his own boat (thus avoiding the gap year booze-cruisers who congregate on neighbouring Whitsunday Island) and moors up on Border Island will be rewarded with blissful seclusion. Swap your deck shoes for trainers and hike up to the island’s central ridge for breathtaking views of the surrounding isles and out over the Great Barrier Reef beyond. Then cool off with a leisurely snorkel over the surrounding coral reef, the teeming subaquatic marine life – including clownfish and placid white-tipped reef sharks – your only company. Flights to Brisbane from £ 1000 with Emirates Internal flight to Proserpine £ 103 with Virgin Australia Charter a boat at airliebeach.com