St George Beach, Naxos, Greece
Greece has no shortage of gorgeous beaches, but when it comes to accessible and child-friendly options, the Cyclades island of Naxos is hard to beat. One of the best bets for families can be found within a five-minute walk of Naxos Town (Chora). The warm, shallow waters of St George beach are perfect for paddling and snorkelling but there’s plenty to keep older children happy, too. At the Flisvos Sport Club, you can sign up for windsurfing, wakeboarding or waterskiing, hire a mountain bike, or play a game of beach tennis or volleyball. The beach is lined with laid-back tavernas and beach clubs which hire out sun loungers.
• A week self-catering for two at Kalergis Studios, a stone’s throw from the beach, costs £667
Morgat, Crozon, Brittany
Even in summer, the beaches of the rugged Crozon peninsula remain relatively quiet. In a sheltered bay, where the peninsula meets the mainland, is the seaside town of Morgat, with its crescent of pine-fringed sand. At low-tide, it’s a great spot for rock-pooling and, at high tide, the peninsula’s sea caves can be explored on a boat trip from the harbour (vedettes-sirenes.com). There are surf and dive schools, bikes and kayaks to hire, and sailboats to rent. Refuel at one of the many creperies on the harbour – Atao Aman (34 Boulevard de la Plage) serves savoury and sweet versions.
• Brittany Ferries has two-bedroom gites from £955 (9 July-19 Aug) including ferry crossing
Praia da Salema, Algarve
In the far west of the Algarve, the fishing village of Salema has somehow escaped the large-scale development that blights much of Portugal’s southern coast. Fishermen tend their nets on the sandy Blue Flag-certified beach, and dinosaur footprints can be found preserved in the limestone rocks. The gentle waves are perfect for a spot of boogie boarding under the watchful eye of the lifeguards on duty in the summer. There are sun loungers and umbrellas for hire, toilets and showers, and a good choice of restaurants and cafes.
• The View has accommodation close to the beach from £1,508 a week for a two-bedroom villa
• Holiday guide to the Algarve – best restaurants, places to stay and beaches
Yyteri, Pori, Finland
Picture a beach holiday and Finland is not the first country that springs to mind, yet this Nordic country is home to one of the finest stretches of sand in northern Europe. Yyteri beach, near the city of Pori, is a 5km stretch of powder-soft sand backed by dunes and pine forests. In late summer, the shallow waters of the Baltic are surprisingly warm and the offshore breezes attract surfers from across Scandinavia. There are wetsuits, surf- and stand-up paddle boards for hire from the Yyteri Surf Centre (purjelautaliitto.fi). Facilities are low-key: a couple of coffee and ice-cream stalls, picnic tables, a children’s play area, toilets and not much else.
• Two-bedroom villa at Yyteri Hotel & Spa from €1,250 a week
Cala Gonone, Sardinia
It’s not difficult to find a stunning beach on Sardinia, but finding one that caters for families on a modest budget is more of a challenge. Cala Gonone ticks all of the right boxes. White pebble-and-sand beaches, with sun loungers and parasols for rent, calm, turquoise waters for swimming and snorkelling, a long seafront promenade lined with low-key trattorias – and none of the bling that accompanies the glitzier Costa Smeralda to the north. When the charms of Cala Gonone’s two small but perfectly formed beaches pall, there are daily boat trips to the Bue Marino caves and more remote beaches, such as Cala Luna and Cala Fuili, further south.
• Bungalows at Camping Cala Gonone €120 a night
• Holiday guide to Sardinia
Comillas, Cantabria, Spain
Just a short hop from the ferry port at Santander on Spain’s north coast, the genteel seaside town of Comillas is popular with Spanish families but largely overlooked by foreign tourists. The town has two fine beaches: Playa de Comillas, which has a sprinkling of cafes and a small fishing harbour, showers, ice-cream stalls and rock pools to explore; and the wilder Playa de Oyambre, backed by a beautiful nature reserve and the snow-capped Picos de Europa mountains.
• Casas Cantabricas has stays around Comillas from £620 a week for an apartment sleeping four
Sunj, Lopud, Croatia
Sandy beaches are outnumbered by pebbly ones in Croatia, but the car-free island of Lopud, a 40-minute ferry ride from Dubrovnik, is the exception. Locals ferry visitors in golf buggies from the port to Sunj beach, a 1km strip of sand sloping gently into limpid, shallow waters on the island’s south coast. There are two restaurants, both of which rent deck chairs and beach umbrellas, and a choice of activities from beach volleyball to tennis.
• Apartment sleeping four in Lopudski Residence costs £797pp including flights with Thomson Holidays
Pinarello, Corsica
An arc of soft white sand, backed by a pram-friendly boardwalk and a pine forest make this beach on Corsica’s south-eastern coast a guaranteed hit with families. Overlooked by a Genoese watchtower, it’s a lovely spot with just a smattering of restaurants: La Pizzeria du Rouf is right on the beachfront and beach bars. From the port, there are boat trips to the nearby town of Porto-Vecchio.
• Alto di Pinarello apartments sleep four, from £1,315pp a week, including flights
Ramla l-Hamra Gozo, Malta
With its ochre sand and deep blue sea, Ramla Bay on Gozo is one of Malta’s most enticing spots. Facilities are minimal – toilets, showers, a couple of cafes, an ice-cream van, umbrellas and deck chairs, a statue of the Virgin Mary – but that’s all part of the charm. Don’t forget to bring your snorkelling gear; the sea life and water clarity are up there with the best in the Med.
• James Villas has three houses in the nearby village of Xaghra, including a rustic stone farmhouse at £1,071 for a week
Es Grau, Menorca
Menorca has some of the most family-friendly beaches in the Med but they are often busy in July and August. To escape the crowds, head to Es Grau on the island’s quieter north-east coast. This horseshoe-shaped beach is a popular day trip for residents of the capital Mahon but the absence of any hotels has kept things pleasantly low-key. The tranquil bay with a natural, undeveloped backdrop, is like a vast, shallow paddling pool and you can hire kayaks and paddleboards from local operator Menorca en Kayak. From the beach it’s a short stroll into the village which has a handful of family-run restaurants and gift shops.
• Owners Direct has several local villas close to the beach, from £520 for cottage sleeping four
-
Accommodation prices stated throughout are for July-August peak season
