4 June 2019 | Updated 7 February 20256 min read
Budelli Island, Sardinia This unsung Med isle has plenty of quiet beach holiday potential.
Drop the sunblock and back away from that beach towel. It’s time to seek horizons beyond Benidorm, Majorca and the rest of the beach-lover’s A-list, and we’re brimming with alternative ideas for a quiet beach holiday in Europe.
Golden sands and periwinkle-blue skies are guaranteed, but you’ll find them on unsung Mediterranean islands, quiet rivieras and even rugged Atlantic isles.
So if you’re dreaming of a crowd-free beach break in Europe this summer, consider one of these idyllic destinations.
With family-friendly resorts, charming seaside towns and pretty pebbled beaches, Croatia is a classic beach break. But you’ll discover similar splendour without the crowds in nearby Montenegro.
Small but mighty is how you’d describe Montenegro’s 294km (183 miles) of Adriatic coastline that extends south of Croatia. Active beach bums will want to make a beeline for Budva. Once you’ve tried your hand at parasailing and sea kayaking, you can guzzle cocktails in Budva’s trendy beach clubs.
For quieter beach breaks with the family, look to Bečići and Petrovac. Both resorts have an idyllic sand-shingle sweep book-ended by lush green mountains reminiscent of Croatia’s Dalmatian coast.
Hotel Astoria
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Despite excellent beaches on every coast, the island of Sardinia doesn’t draw anything close to the same volume of visitors as Majorca.
Find Sardinia’s best sunbathing spots along the northern Costa Smeralda, home to the island’s most glamorous resorts. Western Alghero is also excellent for kicking back on a beach, but the most peaceful pace can be found amid the baroque beauty of towns such as Oristano.
And you won’t long for the Moorish forts of Majorca: Sardinia’s crumbling nuraghe (towers), which date right back to the Iron Age, add mystery to the island’s stunning coast.
Club Hotel Baja Sardinia
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Bulgaria is no longer the only contender for cheap beach breaks outside of the Med. Enter Poland’s Baltic coast.
Don’t let its chilly name fool you – with beaches ranging from the activity-filled to the blissfully unspoilt, plus summer temperatures in the mid-twenties, Poland’s Riviera is anything but Baltic.
Spa town, Sopot, has one of the best beaches with 4km (2.4 miles) of fine sand, while across the Gulf of Gdańsk, the wonderfully wild Hel Peninsula is 35km (22 miles) of stunning, untouched beaches.
It’s set to become a new holiday hit, with more and more travellers cottoning on to its charms over the last two years. Our tip? Get there first.
It takes somewhere truly remarkable to beat the Canary Islands’ rugged terrain, volcanic sands and crystalline waters. But the Azores in the North Atlantic might just have the right stuff.
Like the Canaries, this Portuguese archipelago boasts beaches and rippling cliffs, but it remains something of an unknown land for travellers.
Almost all nine islands are ideal for surfing (the largest isle, São Miguel, has the best choice). Alternatively, embrace a quieter pace on Santa Maria island, a patchwork of golden coves, green pastures and whitewashed houses.
The Azores is also one of the world’s best places to whale watch, with one-third of the world’s whale species letting off steam in these deep blue waters.
Gaivota
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Plenty of beach destinations rival coastal Portugal, if you know where to look. Parga, on a pine-fringed stretch of mainland Greece, strikes a similar balance between family beaches and lively tavernas.
Sizzle on Krioneri Beach, the most central of Parga’s sunbathing spots, or seek out relative calm on family-friendly Valtos Beach (backed by an excellent camp site). Summer adds fizz to the old town’s bars, but sleepy Parga never gets too raucous.
Beyond the beaches, board a boat to pretty Paxos and Antipaxos, or unleash your inner Lara Croft by rambling the spooky ruins of the Necromanteion 20km southeast of Parga, which the ancient Greeks considered a gateway to the Underworld.
Adams Hotel
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The Amalfi Coast doesn’t have the monopoly on glam. The ‘toe’ to Italy’s boot, Calabria is brimming with grand gems.
In Tropea, winding streets snake through its centro storico, offering up stunning sea views in the most unlikely of places. And along its coast, the impressive Santa Maria dell’Isola church is the postcard shot. For a little extra luxury, sailing is one of the top experiences in the area.
Further south is Scilla. Once famous for its star role in Homer’s Odyssey, today the town’s main drawcards are its pretty pastel houses, a sandy beach, and Castello Ruffo, which sits high on a rocky promontory.
For many western European tourists, the name ‘Albania’ elicits more bewilderment than wanderlust. But Albania shares the same Mediterranean waters and balmy weather as Greece and southern Italy.
Though popular with Balkan travellers, only a trickle of foreign visitors arrive to Dhërmi, whose turquoise waters gleam brightly enough to warrant sunglasses, and the islands of Ksamil cove are swimmable from the mainland.
With its blend of clear waters and dreamy villages, a holiday to Albania makes an excellent alternative to Corfu (though we’d warn that Albanian rakia is a little stronger).
*Note: The easiest way to reach the Albanian Riviera is to fly to Corfu and take the cost-effective and quick ferry across to Saranda.
Are you yearning for stress-free island life, with slow food, fresh air and coastal splendour? Malta might be the classic choice, but unsung Gozo also has quiet beach holidays down to a tee.
This laidback lovely has stunning beaches without a resort in sight, boho beach bars and ocean views aplenty. As in Malta, the snorkelling and diving is excellent with clear waters and a number of wrecks to explore, especially the trio at Xatt l-Ahmar (Red Bay).
Marsalforn has some of the island’s best seafood restaurants or head to Ramla Beach for striking red sands you won’t find on Malta.
Murella Living
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Menorca may already be quieter than its bigger sister, but for a holiday that seriously feels one step removed from remote, the Îles d'Hyères are just the ticket.
The main island, Porquerolles, is about 20 minutes from Hyères on France’s south coast and its national park designation means much of the island is wonderfully untouched. Transport is of the two-wheeled kind (cars are banned) and hotels are few and far between.
Plage Notre Dame is one of the best stretches of sand on the island, though its other beaches certainly won’t disappoint. For history and panoramic views, there’s Fort St Agatha, while art lovers can get a fix at Fondation Carmignac.
More than 200km (125 miles) of coastline separates Spain’s iconic Costa del Sol from the equally famous Costa Blanca. This lesser-developed stretch, spared from the tourism boom of the 1960s due to poor road connections, is the Costa de Almeria – and it’s just as fabulous as its more popular neighbours.
Roquetas de Mar is the region’s biggest resort town with plenty of family-friendly beaches to keep kids entertained all day, but you’ll find even better stretches at the protected Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park.
If that’s not enough sand, a holiday to Costa de Almeria puts you within touching distance of the Tabernas Desert, Europe’s only desert.
Nuevo Torreluz Hotel
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Paphos’s beaches and ancient ruins are hard to beat, but you’ll find their likeness in Çirali, about 90 minutes south of Antalya.
Just like Paphos’s Lara Bay, carretta carretta loggerhead turtles flock to Çirali’s 3km (2 miles) sand and pebble beach; thanks to conservation efforts, their nesting numbers have recently hit a 30-year high. The adorable residents have kept development on the beach to a minimum but it’s still superb territory for catching some rays.
Beyond the beach, the ruins of an ancient Greek settlement are hidden beneath the hulking form of Mount Olympos, while the mysterious rock flames of Yanartaş, about an hour’s walk away, really fire the imagination.
Paloma Oceana
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Like the Costa Brava, Alentejo boasts a wild and rocky coastline punctuated with swathes of golden sand.
Some of Portugal’s best beaches are here, including Odeceixe Beach, a soft-sand stretch at the mouth of the Ribeira de Seixe river, and upmarket Praia da Comporta, where in-the-know A-listers have been flocking to for years.
The Fisherman’s Trail runs 227km (141 miles) right along the coast and is superb for avid hikers looking for a challenge. Choose one of the 13 day-long walks for a snapshot of what makes Alentejo’s dramatic coastline so special.
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