Where to travel for the sea — the world's great coastlines

Türkiye — the Turquoise Coast and the Aegean

Türkiye has around 8,000 km of coastline across four seas, and the stretch between Fethiye and Antalya — the Turquoise Coast — is one of the best combinations of water, landscape and price in the Mediterranean.

What makes it different: the water is properly clear and stays swimmable from May into late October, ancient ruins sit directly on the beaches, and a gulet (wooden boat) charter for a few days is affordable in a way the Greek or Italian equivalent simply is not.

• Ölüdeniz & Kabak, Fethiye

  The lagoon everyone has seen in photographs, plus the quieter valley beaches south of it. Paragliding off Babadağ lands on the beach.

• Kaş & Kalkan

  The connoisseurs' choice. Diving, sunken Lycian ruins at Kekova, small stone-house hotels and one of the best restaurant scenes on the coast.

• Datça & Bozburun peninsulas

  Where Turks go. Almond trees, clear coves, almost no mass tourism, and some of the finest late-September swimming in the country.

• Çeşme & Alaçatı

  İzmir's weekend coast — wind for kitesurfing, stone streets, and a breakfast culture worth the trip on its own.

• Bodrum peninsula

  Two versions in one place: the polished bays of Yalıkavak and Türkbükü, and the plain, cheap, wonderful village beaches on the north side.

• Patara & Antalya's Lycian shore

  An 18 km sand beach backed by dunes and a Roman city, with turtles nesting in summer.

The rest of the Mediterranean

• Greece

  Milos for volcanic coves, Naxos for family beaches, Crete for the pink sand at Elafonisi, Ikaria for nobody being there. Skip Santorini if swimming is the point — it barely has beaches.

• Italy

  Puglia and Sardinia beat Amalfi for actual swimming. Sardinia's Costa Smeralda water is the clearest in the western Mediterranean.

• Croatia, Montenegro, Albania

  The Adriatic is cold-clear and rocky rather than sandy. Albania's Riviera around Himarë is the value pick of the whole sea.

• Spain & Portugal

  The Balearics for coves (Menorca over Mallorca), Portugal's Algarve for cliffs, and the Atlantic west coast for surf rather than swimming.

Further afield

• Maldives & Zanzibar

  Indian Ocean water at its most unreal. Maldives for a single-resort trip, Zanzibar for a beach plus a real place around it.

• Thailand & the Philippines

  Krabi and Koh Lanta from November to March; Palawan for some of the best island-hopping on earth.

• Caribbean

  Turks and Caicos for sand quality, Dominican Republic for value, Curaçao for calm water and snorkelling straight off the shore.

• Brazil & Mexico

  Bahia and Fernando de Noronha in Brazil; Tulum and the Riviera Maya's cenotes as a swimming trip of a different kind.

Timing the water

The eastern Mediterranean is warmest not in July but in late August and September — the sea lags the air by about six weeks. That is why the last two weeks of September on Türkiye's coast are among the best swimming of the year, with the lowest prices of the season.

The Adriatic peaks in August. The Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia work best from November to March. The Caribbean is December to April, outside hurricane season.

Türkiye coast by coast

• Kaş and Kalkan

  Some of the clearest water in the country, diving straight off the rocks, Lycian tombs above the harbour. Best for couples and divers.

• Fethiye, Ölüdeniz and Butterfly Valley

  The postcard lagoon, paragliding off Babadağ, and boat days into hidden coves.

• Datça and Bozburun

  Quiet, pine-covered, almost no package tourism. A classic gulet departure point.

• Bodrum peninsula

  Split personality — Yalıkavak and Türkbükü for glamour, Gümüşlük and Akyarlar for calm, sunset fish and sea-level tables.

• Çeşme and Alaçatı

  Windsurfing, stone streets, İzmir's weekend crowd, and a serious breakfast culture.

• Antalya to Side

  Family territory: long beaches, ruins on the sand at Patara and Side, the most hotel choice.

• The Black Sea coast

  Not for swimming — for green mountains, Ayder's plateaus and a completely different Türkiye.

Sea temperature by month

• May

  20–22°C in the Turkish and Greek Med. Swimmable, empty, cheapest of the season.

• June

  24–25°C and the ideal balance of heat, price and crowd.

• July–August

  27–29°C, bath-warm, the busiest and most expensive weeks.

• September

  27°C and the sweet spot on the coast — warm sea, thinner crowds, lower prices.

• October

  24–25°C early in the month. Swimming holds in Türkiye, Cyprus and Crete well past the point most of Europe has given up.

Beyond the Mediterranean

• The Seychelles and Mauritius

  Among the best warm-water islands, with good infrastructure and no legal complications for any traveller.

• Thailand's Andaman coast

  November to April only; Krabi and the Trang islands beat Phuket.

• Zanzibar and Mozambique

  Extraordinary water; check local laws and conditions before booking.

• Sardinia and Corsica

  The clearest water in the western Mediterranean, best by car in June or September.

• The Azores and Madeira

  Atlantic, cooler, dramatic — swimming in volcanic pools rather than on sand.

How to plan a boat week

A gulet week along the Turkish coast is the cheapest way to do a luxury-feeling sea holiday, and it is the only way to reach the bays that matter — Kekova's sunken city, Gökkaya, Sedir Island's shell sand.

Book a cabin charter if you are two people and a full boat if you are six or more; the price per person crosses over around four. Depart from Fethiye, Göcek, Marmaris or Bodrum, travel in June or September, and expect anchoring rather than marinas most nights.

Greece, island by island

• The Cyclades

  Naxos is the all-rounder — long sand, mountain villages, honest tavernas and prices far below Mykonos. Milos for volcanic coves, Paros for the balance of both, Mykonos for the scene rather than the swimming.

• Crete

  Big enough to be a holiday of its own. Elafonisi and Falassarna in the west, the south-coast gorges for hike-and-swim days, and an island food culture that stands with any in the Mediterranean.

• The Dodecanese and the east

  Rhodes for a medieval old town with beaches attached, Karpathos for tradition, Symi for harbour colour. Ferries from Bodrum and Marmaris make two-country trips easy.

• The Ionian

  Corfu, Paxos, Ithaca and Lefkada — greener, Venetian in feel, and west-facing for sunset. Lefkada's Porto Katsiki is one of the most photographed beaches in Europe.

• What Greece is for

  Island variety, and the hopping itself. Nowhere else lets you build a different beach every day out of a ferry timetable.

Italy and the Adriatic, in depth

• Sardinia

  Costa Smeralda for the famous water; Ogliastra's coves and Chia in the south for similar clarity without the price tag. An island that needs a car and rewards one, best in June or September.

• Puglia

  The Salento coast around Otranto and Gallipoli: low cliffs, turquoise shallows, masserie stays, and some of the best value on the Italian side of the sea.

• Sicily

  San Vito Lo Capo and the Zingaro reserve in the west, the Aeolian islands for volcano-and-swim days, and food that rivals anywhere in Italy.

• Amalfi and Capri

  The most photographed coast in the country and the least room to actually swim. Come for the walks and the boat days; swim better elsewhere.

• Croatia, Montenegro and Albania

  Split's Marjan coves, Montenegro's Luštica peninsula, and the Albanian Riviera from Himarë to Ksamil — the last is the value story of the whole Mediterranean right now.

The Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia

• The Caribbean

  Turks and Caicos for sand quality, the Dominican Republic for value, Curaçao and Bonaire for calm shore snorkelling. December to April, outside hurricane season.

• The Maldives and Mauritius

  One-resort simplicity and water you can read a book through. Mauritius adds mountains, a real interior and a self-driveable island.

• Thailand

  Krabi, Koh Lanta and the Trang islands over Phuket; Khao Lak for families. The Andaman coast runs on the November-to-April monsoon rhythm.

• The Philippines

  Palawan — El Nido and Coron — for limestone lagoons and island-hopping, Siargao for surf. Longer travel days in exchange for lower prices and thinner crowds.

• The Seychelles and Zanzibar

  The Seychelles for the granite-boulder beaches, Zanzibar for beach plus a real, living old town. Check current advisories for Zanzibar before booking.

Which coast for which traveller

• A first big sea holiday

  Antalya's coast in Türkiye, Crete, Mallorca or the Dominican Republic — long seasons, easy flights, hotels at every price.

• A honeymoon

  The Maldives or the Seychelles for the classic version; the boutique stone hotels of Kalkan and Kaş, or a Sardinian agriturismo in June, for something quieter.

• On a budget

  The Albanian Riviera, Türkiye's southern Aegean, the Dominican Republic's north coast, or Thailand's Trang islands.

• Wind and water sports

  Çeşme and Alaçatı for wind, Tarifa for kitesurfing, the Egyptian Red Sea for diving, Palawan and Bonaire for snorkelling.

• Swimming above all else

  Kaş, Kekova and Datça; Sardinia's east coast; Menorca's northern coves; Palawan's lagoons.

Spain and Portugal: the Atlantic and the Balearics

Spain is usually written off as package territory, which ignores that it holds two very different coasts: a warm, calm Mediterranean side and a cold, dramatic Atlantic one. Portugal is almost entirely the second, with the Algarve as the warm exception.

• Menorca

  The quietest Balearic. Cala Macarella, Cala Pregonda and the Camí de Cavalls coastal path. Low-rise building rules have kept the island closer to how Mallorca looked forty years ago.

• Mallorca

  Far more than its reputation: the Serra de Tramuntana in the north-west, Cala Varques and Caló des Moro in the south-east, and Palma as a genuinely good city to end on.

• Formentera

  Sand and shallows closer to the Caribbean than to Europe, reachable only by ferry from Ibiza — which is why it stays calmer.

• Costa Brava

  Begur, Tamariu and Cadaqués: coves between pine and rock, an hour and a half from Barcelona, best in June and September.

• The Algarve

  Lagos to Sagres for cliffs and cave beaches, Tavira eastwards for warm shallow lagoons and far fewer people. Water is Atlantic-cool — around 21–23°C in August.

• Madeira and the Azores

  Volcanic pools, whale watching and green mountains rather than sand. A good answer when you want sea air without a heatwave.

Croatia, Montenegro and Albania, coast by coast

• Istria

  Rovinj and Pula: pebbly, pine-shaded, Italian-influenced food, and the easiest Croatian coast to reach by car from Central Europe.

• The Dalmatian islands

  Hvar for the scene, Vis for the quiet and Stiniva cove, Brač for Zlatni Rat, Korčula for the walled old town. Ferries from Split make a week of hopping simple.

• Dubrovnik and the south

  Spectacular and crowded. Base on Lopud or in Cavtat and visit the old town early, then swim away from it.

• Montenegro

  The Bay of Kotor is for views rather than swimming; the Luštica peninsula, Sveti Stefan and Ulcinj's long sand are where you actually get in the water.

• Albania

  Himarë, Dhërmi, Gjipe and Ksamil on the Riviera: Ionian-clear water, prices roughly half of Greece across the strait, and a road that has improved fast. Go in June or late September; August is now busy.

The Red Sea, the Gulf and North Africa

• Egypt's Red Sea

  Among the best-value diving and snorkelling anywhere: Marsa Alam and the southern reefs for coral, Dahab for freedivers and relaxed days, Hurghada for the cheapest flights and hotels. Warm enough to swim in January.

• Sharm el-Sheikh and Ras Mohammed

  Wall dives straight off the shore and reliable year-round sun. Good for a winter sea week when Europe is closed.

• Jordan's Aqaba

  A short, calm stretch of Red Sea that pairs naturally with Petra and Wadi Rum — a rare trip that combines ruins, desert and reef in a week.

• Oman

  Muscat's beaches, the Daymaniyat islands for snorkelling and the Musandam fjords by dhow. Quiet, well organised, and best from October to April.

• Tunisia and Morocco

  Djerba for shallow warm water and value; Essaouira and Taghazout for Atlantic wind and surf rather than swimming.

The Americas and the Pacific

• Mexico's Caribbean

  Tulum and Playa del Carmen for the famous strip, Isla Holbox for shallow calm water, Cozumel for reef diving. January to April avoids both hurricanes and the worst sargassum.

• Mexico's Pacific

  Oaxaca's Zipolite and Mazunte, and Sayulita further north — surf-leaning, cheaper, and far less developed than the Caribbean side.

• Brazil

  Bahia's Trancoso and Itacaré, Fernando de Noronha for protected reefs, and Florianópolis for a city with dozens of beaches attached.

• Colombia and Central America

  Tayrona's jungle-backed bays, the Rosario islands off Cartagena, Belize's cayes for the barrier reef, and Costa Rica's Nicoya peninsula for surf plus wildlife.

• Australia and the Pacific

  Whitehaven and the Whitsundays, Western Australia's Ningaloo for swimming with whale sharks, and Fiji or French Polynesia when the trip is a one-off.

Sea holidays by budget, week by week

• Under £700 a week per person

  Albania, Türkiye's southern Aegean outside August, Egypt's Hurghada coast, Bulgaria's southern beaches, or Puglia by car with a rural apartment.

• £700–£1,400

  Greece outside Mykonos and Santorini, Sardinia and Sicily in June, Menorca, Croatia's Dalmatian islands, Portugal's eastern Algarve.

• £1,400–£2,500

  A gulet cabin week, a Cyclades multi-island trip in high season, Corsica in August, or the Dominican Republic and Mexico in winter.

• Above £2,500

  The Maldives, the Seychelles, French Polynesia, Palawan with domestic flights, or a full private boat charter anywhere in the Mediterranean.

Greece: which island group, and which town

Greece is not one destination but five or six island systems with different weather, ferry logic and personalities. Choosing the group first, and the island second, saves most of the disappointment people report from Greek summers.

• Cyclades — Naxos

  The practical all-rounder: a long sandy west coast at Agios Prokopios, Plaka and Mikri Vigla, mountain villages at Halki and Apeiranthos, and food that is better and cheaper than on its famous neighbours.

• Cyclades — Paros and Antiparos

  Naoussa for evenings, Kolymbithres and Santa Maria for swimming, and a twenty-minute ferry to Antiparos when Paros feels busy.

• Cyclades — Milos

  Volcanic coastline: Sarakiniko's white rock, Tsigrado and Firiplaka in the south, and boat trips to Kleftiko. Base in Pollonia rather than Adamas.

• Cyclades — Folegandros, Sifnos, Serifos

  The quiet trio. Folegandros for the cliff-top Chora, Sifnos for the best village cooking in the Cyclades, Serifos for empty beaches a few hours from Athens.

• Cyclades — Santorini and Mykonos

  Both deliver exactly what they promise and both are crowded and expensive from June to September. Go in late April, May or October, and swim at Vlychada or Agios Sostis rather than the headline spots.

• Ionian — Kefalonia, Lefkada, Zakynthos, Corfu

  Greener, wetter in winter, milder in summer. Myrtos and Antisamos on Kefalonia, Egremni and Porto Katsiki on Lefkada, the north-west coast of Corfu around Agios Georgios, and Zakynthos for turtles at Laganas Bay.

• Dodecanese — Rhodes, Symi, Karpathos, Patmos

  Closest to Türkiye and the sunniest group. Rhodes for the medieval old town plus Lindos, Symi for the harbour, Karpathos for wind and wild beaches, Patmos for quiet and a UNESCO monastery.

• Sporades — Skopelos, Alonissos, Skiathos

  Pine forest running straight into clear water. Skopelos for coves such as Kastani and Panormos, Alonissos for the marine park and Skiathos for Lalaria and nightlife.

• Crete

  Big enough for a fortnight: Chania and the west for Balos, Elafonisi and Falasarna; the south coast at Loutro and Sougia for isolation; Heraklion for Knossos and the Archaeological Museum; Lasithi for Vai's palm beach.

• The Peloponnese, by car

  Mainland but coastal: Monemvasia's rock town, Elafonisos' Simos beach, Voidokilia's perfect crescent near Pylos, and Mani's stone towers — cheaper than the islands and easy without ferries.

Italy: five coastlines that behave differently

• Sardinia

  The clearest water in the Mediterranean. Costa Smeralda in the north for glamour, La Maddalena archipelago for boat days, Cala Goloritzé and Cala Mariolu on the Gulf of Orosei, and Chia and Tuerredda in the quieter south.

• Sicily

  Sea plus a full country's worth of history. San Vito Lo Capo and the Zingaro reserve in the west, Scala dei Turchi near Agrigento, Ortigia in Syracuse as a base, and the Aeolian islands — Salina for food, Stromboli for the volcano.

• Puglia

  Polignano a Mare and the Adriatic cliffs, Torre Guaceto's protected shallows, the Salento tip at Pescoluse, and Otranto and Gallipoli as evening towns. Masserie inland are better value than the seafront.

• Amalfi and the Cilento

  Positano, Amalfi and Ravello are scenery more than swimming. Drive south to the Cilento — Palinuro, Marina di Camerota — for the same coastline at half the price.

• Tuscany and Elba

  Argentario, Feniglia's pine-backed sand and Elba's Sansone and Cavoli for a family week that pairs with Florence and Siena.

Türkiye's coast, town by town

The Turkish coast is one of the strongest value propositions in the Mediterranean — sea at 27°C into October, pine-backed coves, ancient cities at the back of the beach — but it is long, and the towns differ sharply.

• Çeşme and Alaçatı

  Aegean wind, stone streets, some of the country's best breakfast culture, and the beaches of Ilıca and Altınkum.

• Bodrum peninsula

  Gümüşlük for sunset fish, Yalıkavak for the marina scene, Bitez and Torba for calm swimming.

• Datça and Bozburun

  The quietest stretch: almond groves, small pensions, gulet departures and almost no package tourism.

• Fethiye, Ölüdeniz and Kabak

  The Blue Lagoon, paragliding off Babadağ, and the Lycian Way footpath connecting valleys and beaches.

• Kaş and Kalkan

  Diving, sea kayaking over the sunken city at Kekova, and Patara's eighteen-kilometre beach with a Roman city behind it.

• Antalya and Side

  City beaches at Konyaaltı and Lara plus ancient theatres at Aspendos and Perge within an hour.