Revealed: The 28 last-minute summer season holidays for below £1,000
Feeling the pinch this summer? Take heart — there’s still time to bag a holiday for less than £1,000 per person.
Experience a plush transatlantic cruise to New York, chill out at a beach resort in Mauritius or the Caribbean, or enjoy peak season stays in Europe with the family — it’s all a matter of shopping around and knowing where to look.
Here, we’ve dug about to find some of the best, with prices for trips between June 1 and September 30.
SICILY FOR A SONG
Visit Sicily in June and get 20 per cent off the price of Wish Sicily’s villas on the north coast, which also have good availability in July and August. Just outside the coastal village of Finale di Pollina, they have their own pool and direct beach access. Cefalu is a 15-minute drive away.
Book it: Seven nights at the four-bedroom Aqua Turchina (pictured) for eight in June from £2,167 (wishsicily.com). Returns to Palermo from £245 with 10 kg luggage (ryanair.com).
BARGAIN VILLAS IN GREECE
Get up to 40 per cent off villa rentals in Greece with CV Villas from June to August. The company has most availability in Corfu, where properties include the three-bedroom Villa Zacharenia (pictured), which has a pool and is near the beach and tavernas.
Book it: Seven nights self-catering, with flights, from £476 pp based on six sharing in June, and from £876 pp leaving July 15 (cvvillas.com).
CRUISE UNDER £700
Experience the elegance of cruising from yesteryear, when the journey was the point of the holiday. Prices are so low on this six-night cruise on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 (pictured) you’ll be able to afford a night in a New York hotel before flying home.
Book it: Six nights full-board leaving Southampton June 23 from £485 pp in an inside cabin, or £533 pp in an outside cabin (seascanner.co.uk). Return flight from New York from £213 (flynorse.com).
PEAK SEASON SPAIN
Vintage Travel has a number of villas in Andalusia offering great value in peak season. They include Casa Montana (pictured), amid the limestone peaks of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, which has a pool and three bedrooms. Ronda is a 30-minute drive away.
Book it: Seven nights self-catering from £1,598 for six starting August 24 and in July, falling to £1,098 in June (vintagetravel.co.uk). Returns from Stansted to Malaga from £336 with 10 kg luggage (ryanair.com).
CUT-PRICE TRANSYLVANIA
See Count Dracula’s castle and medieval towns (both pictured), and visit a bear sanctuary on this group tour of Transylvania. A guide accompanies a maximum of 16 holidaymakers; entry fees are included.
Book it: Seven nights B&B with one lunch and one dinner for departures from June 29 to September 21 costs from £764 pp, down from £899 pp (untravelledpaths.com). Returns to Bucharest with 10 kg luggage from £122 (ryanair.com).
BUDGET STAY NEAR VERONA
There are six pastel rooms at the Relais Borghetto (pictured) with its garden pool in the village of Borghetto sul Mincio. Stay there and walk to local restaurants serving amazing tortellini, take bikes along the Mincio River’s 40 km cycle path or head to Verona.
Book it: Seven nights B&B with transfers from £780 pp throughout the summer (expertoitaly.com). Returns from London to Verona from £100 (easyjet.com).
HALF-PRICE MACEDONIA
If you just want a simple hotel to use as a base to explore the countryside and walking trails round Lake Ohrid, this half-price deal is for you. Villa Forest hotel has stripped-back rooms and a pool with great lakeside views.
Book it: Seven nights B&B with flights from Manchester in June from £327 pp (tui.co.uk). July prices are from £468 pp.
SAVE IN FRANCE’S CAMARGUE
Get 15 per cent off summer bookings when you hire a boat to explore the Camargue wetlands, home to saltwater lagoons, beautiful beaches, wild horses, flamingos and the fortress city of Aigues-Mortes.
Book it: Seven nights from June 1 in a boat for six from £1,439, with good summer availability (leboat.co.uk). Returns to Montpellier from £96 (easyjet.com).
MARVEL AT MAURITIUS
Get 43 per cent off the cost of a week’s all-inclusive with a room upgrade, 20-minute massage and 50 per cent spa discount at Casuarina Resort & Spa, overlooking the Trou aux Biches lagoon. The best price at this hotel with three restaurants is available on various dates in June, July and September.
Book it: Seven nights all-inclusive from £999 pp, with flights (bluebaytravel.co.uk).
HAPPY SINGLETONS
There’s no supplement when you stay alone at the 19-room Forever Hotel in Turkey’s Olu Deniz, near the beach at Fethiye, with Friendship Travel. The week is run house party-style, with a host to break the ice. The hotel has a pool, bar and ping-pong.
Book it: Seven nights B&B with four dinners and flights from Gatwick from £705 pp in July, with availability throughout summer (friendshiptravel.com).
FLORIDA FRUGALLY
Stay at Universal Orlando Resort’s retro-themed Cabana Bay Beach Resort and hit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter as well as other attractions. The 1,800-room hotel, with a lazy river and waterslide, is over the road from the Volcano Bay water park (pictured). Park tickets cost extra but hotel guests get early entrance.
Book it: Seven nights room only, with flights from Gatwick on June 2, from £836 pp. Other June dates are available (travelsupermarket.co.uk).
GLAMPING IN ISTRIA
With its own beach, spa, yoga, windsurfing and kids’ club, Arena One 99 glampsite (pictured) in Croatia offers masses to do. Its 199 tents and mini lodges are set in woodland on the coast, with air con and kitchens. The site is close to historic Pula.
Book it: Seven nights self-catering in June from £277 pp in a two-bed safari tent (arenaglamping.com). Returns from Stansted to Pula from £168 with 10 kg luggage (ryanair.com).
AMSTERDAM BY BOAT
Explore Amsterdam in your own boat, then putter along windmill-lined canals to take in Gouda or Edam for a cheesy break. The round-trip from Loosdrecht also takes in Utrecht, with its many castles.
Book it: Seven nights from June 15 in a boat for four from £2,651 (locaboat.com), with good summer availability. Eurostar returns to Amsterdam, a bus ride from Loosdrecht, from £172 (eurostar.com).
LANZAROTE FOR LESS
Lanzarote with its volcanic scenery and beaches is ideal for early summer sun. Save up to £259 per couple at the adults only H10 Timanfaya Palace in Playa Blanca (pictured). A blend of Moorish and modern style, the hotel has two pools and is close to Flamingo Beach.
Book it: Seven nights half- board with flights leaving June 24 costs from £877 pp, with good summer availability; book by May 31 (sovereign.com).
SURF IN PORTUGAL
Learn to surf on this family beach holiday, with lessons in the morning and activities (from paddleboarding to beach volleyball) in the afternoon. Stay in a tipi at the family-friendly campsite at Povoa de Varzim, close to Porto.
Book it: Seven nights camping with breakfast, five dinners, surfing lessons and flights, from £985 pp in July and August, based on a
family of four (familiesworld wide.co.uk).
MOROCCAN MULE RIDES
The seven riad-style villas in the coastal village of Sidi Kaouki near Essaouira make a great base to try activities including kite-surfing and riding a mule to a Berber village (pictured). Larger properties have private pools; there is also a shared pool.
Book it: Seven nights in July or August from £480 pp based on four sharing, including airport transfers (fleewinter.com). Returns from Stansted to Essaouira from £102 with 10 kg luggage (ryanair.com)
WALKING IN MAJORCA
Explore the dramatic Tramuntana Sierra (pictured) in Majorca from Soller on a self-guided walking holiday from boutique Hotel El Guia. Take a stroll into Port de Soller and return by tram, hike up to the Muleta plateau for panoramic views, or follow mule paths between Soller and Deia.
Book it: Seven nights B&B with walking notes and maps from £825 pp in June and September (inntravel.co.uk). Returns to Palma from £111 (easyjet.com).
ACTIVITIES IN ANDORRA
Go white water rafting through the Pyrenees, cycle mountain trails and zipline between trees on this group activity in Andorra. Soldeu ski resort is your base.
Book it: Seven nights B&B with four dinners plus activities and transfers cost from £795 pp in June, rising to £833 pp in July (intrepidtravel.com). Returns from London to Toulouse with 10 kg luggage from £124 (ryanair.com).
SRI LANKAN SAVINGS
PAY for six nights and stay for seven on Sri Lanka’s south-west coast. The four-star Tangerine Beach Hotel is on the beach at Kalutara, with a pool and hot tub, plus colourful bedrooms that have either a balcony or patio. Beyond the beach, visit Galle, spend the day at a tea estate, or take a boat trip down the river.
Book it: Seven nights B&B with flights from June 13 is from £937pp (awayholidays.co.uk).
ALL-INCLUSIVE IN TURKEY
If you can fly from Glasgow, you can get 23 per cent off the all-inclusive Rixos Downtown Antalya. Guests get free access to The Land Of Legends Theme Park, reached by a complementary shuttle service.
On its own stretch of pebble beach, the hotel has a buffet plus three a la carte restaurants.
Book it: Seven nights all-inclusive from £964 pp leaving June 1, with flights from Glasgow (tui.co.uk).
ISLAND-HOPPING IN GREECE
Enjoy two islands for the price of one in Greece’s Dodecanese. Spend four nights on Rhodes, with its interesting old town and crusading history before taking the ferry to Symi, whose pastel neo-classical houses seem to cling to the hillside above the harbour.
Book it: Seven nights room only from £791 pp in August with flights and ferry crossing (olympicholidays.com).
AUGUST ADRIATIC CRUISE
Sail between ports serving Athens and Rome, taking in Dubrovnik, Kotor, Nisos Kerkira in Corfu (pictured) and Naples. All meals are covered on board Holland America’s Oosterdam, but you can upgrade to the grill or Italian restaurant for an additional charge.
Book it: Seven nights full-board with flights from £749pp in an inside cabin (hollandamerica.com). Gratuities extra.
TIME IN TUNISIA
The Residence Tunis has a spa inspired by Roman thermal baths, an 18-hole golf course and six restaurants and bars. The beachfront resort is also well placed to visit the ruins of Carthage.
Book it: Seven nights B&B with flights from £820 pp in September, with similar prices in June, rising to £935 in July (lastminute.com).
LAKE ANNECY CHALETS
Combine the lakes and mountains of the French Alps with a stay by Lake Annecy, with a 42km cycling loop and lakeside hiking. Ovo Network has more than 100 chalets near the lake, including Chalet Lomatika, with a Nordic spa and four bedrooms.
Book it: Seven nights self-catering for eight starting June 15 from £2,573 (ovonetwork.com). Returns to Geneva from £90 (easyjet.com).
NORWAY ON THE CHEAP
It’s notoriously expensive in Norway, but if you take a cruise there from Southampton, you can eat on board and there’s no need to shell out for flights. The MSC Virtuosa (pictured) calls at Alesund and Bergen, among other ports; gratuities are included.
Book it: Seven nights full-board leaving August 31 from £662 pp in an inside cabin, and £736 pp leaving August 24 (seascanner.co.uk).
RED SEA REVELS
SAVE £365 per couple on a week at Cook’s Club El Gouna in Egypt. The boho-chic adults-only hotel has a late night weekly pool party and DJ sets. There are beach sports on the sand and yoga classes. It’s just a short walk from downtown El Gouna.
Book it: Seven nights B&B with flights leaving July 3 from £760 pp (easyjet.com).
COOL CARIBBEAN
OK, so this one is £1 over budget, but then it is the Caribbean. Stay on the island of Aruba in the Dutch Antilles at the small, whitewashed Courtyard By Marriott, with its two large pools and contemporary rooms (pictured). A complementary shuttle takes guests to the Palm Beach strip, with its shops, restaurants and gorgeous Eagle Beach (pictured).
Book it: Seven nights B&B throughout September is from £1,001 pp (ba.com).
TENERIFE FOR A STEAL
The price for a week’s getaway at the stylish Harbour Club hotel in the seaside village of Los Gigantes is down by 44 per cent if you book for next month. It’s a ten-minute walk to the volcanic black sands of Los Guios Beach.
Book it: Seven nights from £333 pp self-catering departing on June 10 with Manchester flights (firstchoice.co.uk).
- Prices checked this week and correct at time of publication.
