PUGLIA
Italy pulled back its barriers as long ago as June 3 – and while its Covid-19 woes have been widely reported, it will be as big a staple of the summer as ever. Better still, there are quiet corners where you can enjoy gelati and good weather without encountering vast crowds. Puglia is a case in point. A week’s stay for a family of four at the Rosa Marina Resort, a four-star by the beach near Ostuni – flying from Gatwick on Aug 16 – starts at £4,789 in total via Citalia (01293 765055; citalia. com), and should provide just the right amount of sunny isolation.
Eat pizza in Italy, left, or enjoy a beach barbecue in Crete as much of Europe opens up
Make the trip around to Cardedu, though, and you find Perdepera Beach Resort – a homely hideaway on a broad beach that is part of the Mark Warner (020 7361 8880; markwarner.co.uk) stable. A seven-night stay for a family of four, flying from Stansted on Aug 8, costs from £5,896 in total – including transfers, plus access to kids’ clubs and all watersports activities.
NEAPOLITAN RIVIERA
If your children are craving company of their own age and you don’t mind mingling with a group, spaces are available on the eight-day Pompeii & Pizza Family Holiday that Exodus (020 8772 3936; exodus.co.uk) has scheduled for Aug 22-29. Aimed at kids aged nine to
16, this genial jaunt will take in Mount Vesuvius and the city it most famously destroyed – while also kayaking along parts of the Amalfi Coast and hiking a section of the clifftop Path of the Gods. Prices are set at £1,599 per adult and £1,199 per child, including flights from London and most meals. Maximum group size is 18.
CRETE
The land of Zeus has been keeping British tourists at arm’s length – and, wary of our higher infection rate, will not allow direct flights from the UK until July 15. For the foreseeable future,