A villa thriller Winp
BAG a villa holiday in Spain, Portugal, Cyprus or Greece by voting in the 2018 British Travel Awards. Everyone who votes is entered into a draw for a bonanza of prizes worth tens of thousands of pounds. Among those is a break with flights w worth £3,000 from Solmar Villa Holidays. See britishtravelawards.com. There are 83 categories – vote for as many as you want. THERE are still plenty of sunshine days left on the beaches of Europe. But these late bloomers have more to offer than a last blast of heat.
Fish fancier Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal
Turkey is great value thanks to the tumbling value of its lira. This small resort town on the island-filled Bay of Fethiye is particularly appealing for single travellers looking to grab some late sun now all the families have gone.
Besides the beach there is sightseeing to Lycian rock tombs, trips looking for loggerhead turtles or you can spend a day on a traditional gulet sailing ship. GO: Friendship Travel has week-long singles house parties at Oludeniz’s Forever Hotel. It is a modest place with 19 rooms, a pool, garden, bar and restaurant. It costs from £689pp for a week, flights and four dinners. Last departure September 24. See friendshiptravel.com.
Roller coaster Salou, Spain
This inexpensive resort south of Barcelona is well supplied with big sand beaches and large enough to still have plenty of action in its bars and nightclubs. It is also home to Spain’s big theme parks – Port Aventura and Ferrari Land, with Europe’s fastest roller coaster.
Some of Catalonia’s best golf courses are near, so a break can be all action or all laziness. GO: Easyjet Holidays has seven nights half board at Sol Costa Daurada, with two pools, sun terrace, spa, gym and sauna, from £285pp with flights from Gatwick. See easyjet.com/holidays.
Go getters Rhodes, Greece
An island celebrated in myths – the Colossus statue on its harbour was one of the Seven Wonders of the World – Rhodes is big enough to still have plenty going on as autumn nears.
Afandou is its longest beach, on the east coast among heavenly scented pine and cypress forests 12 miles from the capital, Rhodes Town. And it is like an outdoor gym – a place to turn yourself into a Greek god before winter. GO: Mark Warner’s purpose-built Levante Beach Resort on Afandou is chic and sophisticated, as well as having state-of-the-art tennis, cycling and water sports facilities, with no fewer than