The Pelion, Greece
Dramatic mountain scenery, unspoilt sandy beaches, pretty mountain villages – the Pelion is gorgeous and yet untouched by mass tourism. Base yourself at the Lost Unicorn Hotel, in the mountain village of Tsangarada, which the owners have filled with antiques and curios, and which also has a library and good restaurant, and explore the area on foot or, if you prefer the idea of sipping strong coffee in sleepy village squares rather than hiking, by car.
• A seven-night B&B stay in September costs from £789pp (two sharing), including flights from Gatwick and car hire with Sunvil Holidays (020-8758 4758, sunvil.co.uk)
Puglia, Italy
Puglia, Italy's stiletto heel, boasts gorgeously baroque architecture, villages of curious trulli (conical-roofed) houses and olive groves stretching as far as the eye can see. As well as being a magnet for cultural tourists, it's also a top destination for gourmet travellers, thanks to a microclimate that produces many of the world's tastiest ingredients, not to mention seafood from the Adriatic. Then there's the weather – in September it will be pleasantly warm (early 20s) rather than scorching. The 17th-century Palazzo Guiglielmo in the heart of the sleepy town of Vignacastrisi makes a restful base. This grand-looking but quiet B&B has six rooms and plenty of outdoor space – courtyard, pool, rooftop terrace – for you to find a peaceful corner to get stuck into those books you've been meaning to read all summer. If you have a car, it's a short (3km) drive to the seaside which will be pleasantly uncrowded now that the Italian holidaymakers are back to work, and the historic city of Lecce (45km) will make a great day trip. Stay between 5 September and 9 October and get a 20% discount on the accommodation, making a week in September £308pp on a B&B basis, or £635pp with flights and car hire.
• Long Travel, (01694 722193, long-travel.co.uk)
Valletta House, Malta
Malta has a reputation for being a granny-magnet but it's not all blue-rinse tours. This romantic apartment, housed in a 16th-century building in the heart of the capital Valletta, makes a glamorous base for style-conscious lovers, with its stone arches in the kitchen, Maltese limestone and works of art and tapestries on the walls. Potter around sunny Valletta then return to an apartment fit for a knight.
• 07813 988827, vallettahouse.com, from €85 a night, including private airport pick-up (sleeps two, seven-night minimum stay),
Porto Rafael, Sardinia
Romantic bolt holes like this – there are sea views from the terrace and a private pathway down to a small quiet beach – don't come cheap in Sardinia, but for the week starting 10 September the Rosetta studio apartment is available for £350, a saving of £220 (excluding flights). Porto Rafael is a discreet and charming village in the north of the island, opposite the Maddalena islands, a protected marine park accessible by boat. The apartment sits below the main villa but has its own entrance and is just a two-minute minute walk to the square, bar and supermarket – but it's the kind of place where you'll probably want to stay home and dine alfresco overlooking the water.
• Essential Italy (01223 460100, essentialitaly.co.uk, sleeps two)
Inland Portugal
Marvão, Portugal. Photograph: Stefano Amantini/Atlantide/Phototravel/Corbis
Barretos is a picturesque, time-stood-still village of white houses, narrow cobbled streets and Gothic arches in Portugal's sleepy Alentejo region – a fitting location for the peaceful 19th-century Coat of Arms cottage. The stylishly restored three-bedroom property is surrounded by olive groves, cork oak trees and ancient pathways. Late summer is the perfect time to visit the Alentejo, when it is still hot enough to enjoy the cottage's garden, sun terrace and plunge pool, but the temperature has dropped from its sizzling 40C mid-summer high. Nearby is the historic village and castle of Marvão, one of the most beautiful in the region.
• Available from 18 September-1 October through oneoffplaces.co.uk. Usually £520, now £365 for one week (sleeps six)
Lycian coast, Turkey
If you're after pure R&R – no traipsing around the sights, no strenuous exercise – then this could be the deal for you. Villarenters has a 55% discount on a two-bedroom apartment in the fishing village of Gumusluk, on Turkey's Lycian coast, if your departure date is within one week of the booking date. It's part of a complex, overlooking the turquoise sea, with the village on your doorstep should you decide to prise yourself away from the shared pool. In the evening wander down to the village for dinner. Prices start from £235 per week for hire of the villa, reduced to £105 per week after discount based on up to five sharing.
• Book through villarenters.com (property reference: 8968). The nearest airport is Bodrum – fly there with easyJet from Gatwick, Stansted, Bristol or Liverpool
Marrakech, Morocco
Riad Farnatchi, Marrakech
Tourism to Marrakech has still not recovered following the bomb attack in the main square in April, and the knock-on effect of the Arab spring. For tourists that means there are bargains to be had. Throughout September, Black Tomato is offering four nights for the price of three at Riad Farnatchi in the medina, five minutes from the souks and 10 from Djemma al Fna. And although the riad is in the heart of the action, inside it's a sanctuary of modern chic design with large balconies and a gorgeous courtyard pool. A white marble hammam is available for guests and the stylish rooms and suites come with complimentary cream-coloured kaftans and comfy tasselled babouches.
• 0207-426 9888, blacktomato.co.uk.From £520pp B&B including flights (or £400 without flights), plus transfers and dinner on one night
Sailing flotilla, Greece
Can't face going back to work? Then sail off into a Greek sunset … at least for a week. Sunvil Sailing is offering a week's flotilla sailing with optional tuition during September from £600pp, a saving of up to £274pp on the brochure price. You set sail from Lefkas to explore some of the Ionian islands, including Meganissi, Kastos, Kalomos, Cephalonia and Ithaca. Never sailed before? Then use this as an opportunity to learn the ropes with a qualified instructor, while experienced sailors can crew their own yachts in the flotilla. The price is based on two sharing a cabin and includes flights from Gatwick and transfers, but not food (there is an on-board kitty towards food) and the yachts moor up at a different port each evening for dinner ashore.
• 020-8758 4780, sunvilsailing.co.uk
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