If you're not ready to say goodbye to summer, or want a luxurious relaxing getaway, there's a clever way to get more for your money; swap popular hotspots for more affordable destinations that offer a surprisingly similar experience.
From stunning countryside retreats to beautiful beaches and bucket-list scenery, these holidays prove you don’t always need to spend big to travel well. Below are six destinations that deliver sunshine, scenery and all the luxury you’re looking for – without the eye-watering price tag.
Best for sleek hotels
Dreaming of Dubai? You’ll love Turkey.
We’ve all seen images of influencers basking beside rooftop pools in the UAE or aboard Dubai mega-yachts. Their job is to lure in the top 1% and it’s worked.
Hotel suites are prohibitively expensive, while cocktails can cost up to £31,000 (admittedly, this particular tequila tipple included a crystal Baccarat glass, one of only two in existence).
Meanwhile, Turkey’s Turquoise Coast - stretching from Bodrum eastwards to Belek - enjoys the same winter warmth and the same bling hotels, but at half the price.
With infinitely more real estate than tiny Dubai, and a mission to lure flash families (not just Gen Z), Turkey has curated an impressive coastline of expansive beach resorts among tropical gardens, gorgeous undulating golf courses, over-water pontoon dining and chic outdoor shopping malls that stay open until late.
Take Regnum Crown, for example, a brand-new five-star, for which J-Lo performed at the opening party, and guests since have included Jason Statham and Stacey Solomon. Guy Ritchie even shot a movie there, with stars Henry Cavill and Hugh Grant staying on-site.
It’s an ultra-all-inclusive resort, which means every extra is thrown in, from your private butler, on-tap champagne, adults-only rooftop infinity pool (the only one in Turkey), entry to water park Aqualantis, hammam spa, plus tennis, padel courts and floodlit football pitches.
If you’ve an entourage to think of, Bayou Villas are luxurious one-to-four-bed hip houses, which work on the same ultra-all-inclusive model, but come with the privacy of exclusive use.
A two-bedroom villa has its own sauna, gym, two pools and games room, while everything on the room service menu is gratis, from Turkish menemen breakfast eggs, to party-sized sushi platters.
BOOK IT: Seven nights at Regnum Crown, from £3,914pp, all-inclusive, including flights; britishairways.com. Seven nights at Bayou Villas, from £2,772pp, all-inclusive, including flights; easyjet.com.
Best for UK chic
Dreaming of the Cotswolds? You’ll love the New Forest
Thanks to the Beckhams and Soho Farmhouse, the Cotswolds are now as glitzy as the British countryside gets - with a price tag to match. Instead, spend your precious days off in the New Forest in Hampshire, a national park with room to roam, trimmed by a stunning coast of low-key beach huts and cute cafes.
Elegant country house Chewton Glen is right by the coast and has a fantastic spa, multiple dining outlets and a cookery school. Accommodation comes in the form of elegant classic-style rooms or modern family-friendly treehouses.
It’s the perfect base for exploring the New Forest, whether you get stuck into crabbing off Lymington Pier or enjoying countryside walks. The glorious New Forest National Park spans 220 square miles and includes beautiful ancient woodland. You're bound to see its famous wild ponies - though be sure to give them plenty of space. A 2023 Public Spaces Protection Order prohibits the touching or feeding of any New Forest pony, horse mule or donkey, and there's a fine for any breaches. Stick to the 140 miles of footpaths and waymarked tracks and savour nature without disturbing it.
BOOK IT: Doubles at Chewton Glen from £230
Best for exclusivity
Dreaming of a private island? You’ll love a Caribbean cruise
For those of us without Beyoncé’s budget to spend on our own island (hers is rumoured to be a cay in the Bahamas), or still awaiting an invitation to Leonardo DiCaprio’s (an exclusive islet off Belize), there is another option… a cruise.
This is down to a little-known perk of cruising: the private island. Many cruise lines buy a paradise speck in the Caribbean, adding a unique port to their ever-more exotic itineraries, while simultaneously giving guests a taste of VIP life. These islands are completely closed off to the public and only cruise passengers can visit.
It started when NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line) bought Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, followed by Royal Caribbean landing CocoCay, and Disney Cruise Line opening Castaway Cay for lucky passengers.
Some wow-factor islands feature water parks, while others are much more nature-focused, such as Harvest Caye, part-owned by the Belizean government.
Our favourite is Ocean Cay, open only to MSC cruise passengers, and now a hugely successful marine reserve. In the Bahamas, the island has been turned from a disused sand-extraction site into a marine biology project, establishing more than 75,000 plants, relocating coral to safe areas, and protecting waters so effectively that loggerhead turtles have returned to lay eggs.
There’s plenty of bling along with the biology. You can eat local lobster at the clapboard restaurants or go for sunset margaritas at Ocean Cay beach bar. Then, as night falls, MSC turns the island’s timber lighthouse into a spectacle, with thousands of LED lights in formation alongside Bahamian dancers.
BOOK IT: Seven nights full board on MSC Seascape, stopping in Ocean Cay, plus islands Roatan (Honduras) and Cozumel (Mexico), and Galveston in Texas, starts from £332pp, excluding flights; msccruises.co.uk
Best for wellbeing
Now the It Crowd is all grown up, Ibiza has gone from Europe’s priciest party island to its priciest wellness escape.
Another Spanish island with a relaxed vibe and a focus on health is Lanzarote. You’ve also a better chance of catching winter sun in the Canary Islands, and self-catering accommodation - from yurts to beach villas - is affordable.
Finca de Arrieta is an eco village of glamping and stone cottages around a solar-heated pool. There’s yoga, Pilates and qigong, as well as the chance to walk with donkeys or book a massage. It also offers villas to rent around the island - perfect for bigger groups.
BOOK IT: TUI flies direct to Lanzarote from 11 UK airports; tui.co.uk. Finca Panorama villa sleeps 10, from £259 per night, while eco yurts at the main Finca de Arrieta site start at £99 per night.
Best for tropical vibes
Dreaming of the Maldives? You’ll love Sri Lanka
What if we knew of a place with the same Indian Ocean waters, ocean-view pavilions and infinity pools, within minutes of UNESCO heritage sites, at a far lower bill than you’ll pay in the exclusive Maldives?
We do, and it’s Sri Lanka’s untouched east coast. Here, turtles nibble on coral just offshore, and the food is ultra fresh, and often cooked on the beach.
The place to stay is Sun Siyam Pasikudah, which is the first hotel outside the archipelago by family-owned Maldivian group Sun Siyam.
That’s why the resort is so similar to the Maldives, with over-water swings, private plunge-pool rooms and a floating bar (with a glass floor, no less, plus traditional wooden boat transfer). Best of all, rooms start from under £100 a night.
Drive a little north, and you can snorkel at Pigeon Island marine reserve, where benign black-tip sharks swim alongside green sea turtles. Inland, you can explore the wonder that is the Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, whose temples, stupas and statues are well worth a day’s visit. Also nearby is Minneriya National Park, a wildlife sanctuary that is home to Asian elephants, langur monkeys and more.
BOOK IT: Seven nights at Sun Siyam Pasikudah from £1,849pp, B&B, including private transfers and flights; trailfinders.com
Best for celeb spotting
Dreaming of the Amalfi Coast? You’ll love Sicily
The craggy Amalfi coastline looks so ravishing in every classic film and fashion campaign that people now visit in droves, clogging up its cobbled streets, filling hotels and raising prices.
So we suggest Sicily if you want a taste of retro Italian glamour, along with waterfront accommodation. The island’s appeal has been growing since The White Lotus season 2, but following Dua Lipa and Callum Turner’s wedding celebration in capital Palermo, Sicily is the new Italian hot spot.
It’s affordable too, with three different airports, all served by low-cost airlines, and a range of hotels because it’s so popular with Italians on their own vacanza.
Mix rural escapism with a couple of days in the city for the best flavour of Sicily. Verdura resort is on the green south coast, near Blue Zone Caltabellotta (officially recognised thanks to the locals’ longevity).
Low-rise cottage rooms and whitewashed cubic outbuildings are the only development in this vast expanse of cactus green and never-ending blue sky; Verdura even has its own farm from where most of its food is sourced. Of eight restaurants, Amare is a highlight, serving spaghetti alle vongole on the beach.
After a few days of relaxation, drive to Palermo, where the 19th-century palazzo Villa Igiea has been transformed into a boutique hotel with sea and city views. We say the best
place to enjoy Palermo is from Igiea’s wraparound terrace (with Campari in hand), but there are three ancient markets that still flourish, of which La Vucciria stays open after dark. Salute!
BOOK IT: Doubles at Verdura from £374 and at Villa Igiea from £439; roccofortehotels.com