Despite overtourism claiming parts of Spain, France and Italy, there are still plenty of places that package holidays and weekend breakers haven’t reached yet. Savvy holidaymakers are casting the net ever wider in search of peaceful sand or empty monuments, venturing away from the usual destinations in favour of lesser-trodden countries, such as Albania and Slovenia. Meanwhile, cooler holidays continue to grow in popularity, revealing hip Scandinavian cities and off-the-beaten-track archipelagos.
However, you don’t have to go to some exotic locale to get away from it all. There are corners of Spain, Italy and France that have mysteriously avoided the attention of coach-trippers, day-trippers and package-holidaymakers too. Below, we outline 15 destinations that have escaped mass tourism – for now. See them before everyone else turns up.
Gothenburg, Sweden
Among Europe’s most underrated city break destinations, Gothenburg has been quietly consolidating its credentials over the past year and now looks set to become a long-weekend hotspot. Around 20 new restaurants have opened their doors since January and, this summer, they’ll be joined by EXO, which is set on the 69th floor of the soaring skyscraper Karlatornet, the tallest building in the Nordics.
Meanwhile, Vassen Market – a selection of street food stalls and bars in shipping containers by the port – opens up in May. Use the city as a base from which to explore the islands of the Gothenburg archipelago, easily reachable by public transport from the centre. Vrångö’s sandy beaches, with their calm, shallow waters, are a family favourite and there’s the chance to head out on seal-spotting or fishing trips, too.
Character-packed Hotel Flora has doubles from £109, B&B (00 46 3113 8616). Ryanair flies from Stansted to Gothenburg, with returns from £148.
Mdina, Malta
Photos of rubbish-strewn beaches and packed streets have put people off Malta’s considerable charms. Now, its wisest visitors are eschewing the island’s hotspots in favour of the area around Mdina, the “silent city”, where peaceful streets reveal grand palazzos and medieval dungeons.
Outside its walls, villages resembling Italy’s prettiest are waiting to be discovered. Step forward Attard, a romantic mix of twisting stone lanes and honey-hued mansions that’s been inhabited since classical times. Here, The Rug Company’s founders, Christopher and Suzanne Sharp, have spent five years sympathetically restoring Casa Bonavita, a 17-bedroom, 18th-century pile, with painted ceilings, romantically rambling gardens and a former River Café chef in the kitchen.
Casa Bonavita has doubles from €390 (around £337), B&B. KM Malta Airlines flies to Malta from Gatwick for around £150 return.
Lošinj, Croatia
Capitalising on Jet2’s two new summer routes to Pula from London Gatwick and East Midlands, Regent Holidays has launched a fly-drive package to the relatively empty island of Lošinj. Known locally as a hub for health tourism, the island is brimming with hiking and cycling trails, trimmed in pebbly beaches and offers a very different summer holiday to the crowded monuments of Dubrovnik. On the menu? Cruising the islands of Kvarner Bay with snorkelling stops to watch bottlenose dolphins, and wandering the Venetian-influenced streets of the even quieter island Cres.
Regent Holidays offers a seven-night trip from £2,160pp, B&B, including flights.
Minho, Portugal
This northern Portuguese region has no crowds, just rows of vines responsible for the country’s quaffable Vinho Verdes, as well as what’s widely thought to be Portugal’s oldest town, Ponte de Lima, set on a bank of the snoozy Lima River. There are surfing beaches, too: among the most dramatic is Viana do Castelo’s Praia da Arda, which comes with almost a mile of the whitest sand you’ll see in Europe. Hidden among its vineyards and forest, Vinte Quinta da Boavista is the antidote to the Portuguese mega-resorts, a 15th-century manor house restored in 2020, where chickens roam gardens coloured with camellias and lemon trees.
Vinte Quinta da Boavista has doubles from €251 (around £217), B&B. TAP Air Portugal flies from Gatwick to Porto from £160 return.
Ithaca, Greece
Having escaped attention for years, sleepy Ithaca will have all eyes on it this summer, when Christopher Nolan’s much-hyped version of The Odyssey hits screens. Famously the home of Odysseus (though the movie was mostly filmed in Sicily), this hilly island has nevertheless played second fiddle to neighbouring and bigger Kefalonia in recent times, although it’s one of Sunsail’s top tips for yachting holidays. In part, that’s thanks to dreamy Kioni Harbour, where a handful of villas rise up the hillside and hazy islands fill the horizon.
Ithaca has beaches, too – from the big pebbly smile of Gidaki (only accessible by boat) to the cliff-hemmed sandy stretch at Paralia Afales. Meanwhile, you can literally follow The Odysseus Trail, a walking route through olive groves towards his palace or Arethusa Springs (better done with a guide; see Island Walks).
Sunsail’s six-night Lefkas Hidden Harbours itinerary includes time in Ithaca and costs from £2,239pp (minus a skipper), leaving from Lefkas marina (0330 029 6823; sunsail.com). Tui has flights from Manchester to nearby Preveza from around £210pp.
Tampere, Finland
Slowly making it onto the radar of the coolcation crowd, Finland’s second city was once an industrial hub, which explains its nickname: “The Manchester of Finland”. However, with its wide promenades, trams and grand main square, it looks more like Zurich than northern England and it comes alive under summer’s endless sun. Sandwiched between two lakes, Tampere has a lively sauna scene that encompasses 50 public spots, including Rauhaniemi Folk Spa, where the bravest visitors alternate heat-seeking with icy winter dips in Näsijärvi lake.
In August, the switch is less extreme and there’s a lively music festival (Blockfest), too. Meanwhile, a growing food scene includes the city’s first Michelin-listed (though not yet starred) establishment, Kajo.
Dream Hostel and Hotel has doubles from £90, B&B. Ryanair flies from Heathrow to Helsinki for about £300 per person. Tampere is a two-hour rail journey from there.
Monte Argentario, Italy
Pebbly coves, hill-climbing terracotta towns and life at a snail’s pace have made this peninsula 90 minutes from Rome a bit of a jet-set secret. Few English voices will be found in the cobbled streets of its twin towns, Porto Santo Stefano and Porto Ercole, but there are plenty of mega-yachts moored in its little bays. Now, old-fashioned hotels are slowly getting 21st-century makeovers while retaining the character that’s made them so appealing. For example, La Roqqa in Porto Ercole, is a once unremarkable three-star that now comes with a slick, mid-century aesthetic and a hip beach club.
Doubles at La Roqqa cost from £434, B&B. Easyjet flies to Rome from various UK airports from around £100 return.
Arcachon, France
If you’ve watched Netflix’s glorious The Parisian Agency, in which a family of French estate agents showcase some of the country’s most beautiful properties, you may have been mystified by the sky-high prices of the wooden shacks on Arcachon Bay. But this slice of Landes coast in south-west France has become a hideaway for the French super-rich thanks to its Belle Époque mansions, long, sandy beaches, oyster beds and the chic shopping district of Le Moulleau. The monied crowd here lends it a feeling akin to The Hamptons or Salcombe with a French accent, but a plethora of campsites ensures an affordable base.
Huttopia Arcachon has a two-night stay in a chalet from €182 (around £157). EasyJet flies to Bordeaux from Gatwick from around £80 return.
Trentino, Italy
Clooney et al may have reinforced Como’s popularity and Garda is big with coach-trippers as well as the cognoscenti. But while the Dolomites are a magnet for Italians escaping coastal heat, Trentino’s 250-plus lakes are mostly off the UK tourist trail come summer. That may be set to change with La Via delle Valli, a series of 50 hiking trails launched during 2025 that connect wild-flower meadows, waterfalls and forests.
Also in the area, Lake Molveno – Italy’s cleanest – comes trimmed with forest paths and sandy beaches, then there’s balmy Lake Caldonazzo, home to some of Europe’s warmest waters and the only place in Trentino where you can waterski (as well as kayak and paddle board). The fascinating city of Bolzano, just over the border in neighbouring South Tyrol, also makes for an easy day trip – as do the pretty villages nestled into the foothills of the Dolomites, characterised by their intriguing blend of Italian and German tradition.
Three-star Grand Hotel Molveno has a pool right on the lake and doubles cost from £136, B&B. British Airways flies from Gatwick to Verona from around £285 return.
Vipava Valley, Slovenia
Once a secret spot in its own right, Slovenia’s Lake Bled has become relatively busy of late. In-the-knows are swapping it for the Vipava Valley, close to the border with Italy and home to family run vineyards that have passed through the generations, as well as empty villages reached by wriggling, single-lane roads and topped with secret restaurants serving local, seasonal produce. Foodies will have fun here, trundling past remote hamlets and rows of vines en route to tastings on the Wine Train, and enjoying prosciutto and goats’ cheese produced to centuries-old traditions.
Regent Holidays’ four-night Taste of Slovenia: Vipava Valley Food and Wine Escape costs from £1,415 per person, B&B, including flights.
Cavallo, France
You’ve heard of Corsica and Sardinia, but have you heard of Cavallo – the car-free little island between the two? Once a castaway colony for an 18th-century priest and his flock, the isle later became the private playground of 1970s club impresario Jean Castel. These days, it’s a hit with holidaymakers seeking a slower pace, away from its frenetic bigger sisters.
Most helicopter over to Hôtel des Pêcheurs, finding peace in its simple rooms overlooking the Lavezzi archipelago and eating under the stars in its terrace restaurant. Now, a scattering of private villas have arrived though, with enviable access to the island’s white sand beaches and sleepy harbour. Meanwhile, the five-roomed Les Capitaineries is perfect for romantic getaways.
Doubles at Les Captaineries cost from €216 (around £187), B&B. Air France flies from Gatwick to Ajaccio from around £364; then catch the ferry from Pantiarella, near Bonifaccio.
Samos, Greece
Jet2 opens up another lesser-travelled path this summer, with its direct flights from Manchester, Stansted and Birmingham to Samos – making it only the second airline to fly there direct from the UK. This is a Greek island without boozy youths on first holidays or hype-seekers in search of snaps for social media.
Instead, there’s the opportunity to hike the island’s green forest towards the Potami Waterfalls, take long lunches in shady tavernas by sandy beaches (try the one at Psili Ammos for just-caught fish and the freshest salads) and wander the Unesco-listed remains of the ancient fortified town of Pythagoreion, a reminder of the island’s ancient power.
Adults-only Casa Cook Samos has doubles from €258 (around £223), B&B. Jet2 flies to Samos from around £100 return.
Northern Albania
Resorts are springing up like weeds on Albania’s coast, a sign that this once exotic holiday spot has hit the big time. The country’s mountainous interior, however, remains largely off the holidaymaker map despite there being so much to see, from monuments of its Communist past to remote villages. It’s when you get to the north of the country that things get really exciting. In Valbonë, Alpine pastures segue to empty trails, while the lively seaside city of Shkodër – inhabited since the Bronze Age – reveals pretty promenades and a 2,500-year-old castle.
Ffestiniog Travel’s 14-night Albanian Odyssey costs from £3,600pp, B&B, including flights and 12 dinners.
Galicia, Spain
For those famous Spanish beaches with added history and a wilder side, this sleepy region is gaining traction according to Explore’s programme manager, Tom Wilkinson. “It’s rich in biodiversity, with species including the free-roaming Galician pony, hares, wild boar, foxes and roe deer,” he explains.
“Pontevedra, the historic capital of the province of Galicia, is one of the most beautiful cities along the Camino Portuguese, too. Built on a Roman foundation, the city’s Ponte Sampaio Bridge crosses the estuary of the Verdugo River and was the scene of a historic battle to liberate Spain from French occupation in 1809 during the War of Independence.”
It’s not all sightseeing, though. The Atlantic pounds the spectacular beaches of the Rías Baixas, including the four-mile stretch at Carnota and the empty sand near Muros, where the water is as clear as gin.
Explore’s seven-night Walking The Portuguese Camino trip includes time in both Galicia and the neighbouring region of Portugal and costs from £1,355pp, B&B. Vueling flies from Gatwick to Santiago from around £120 return.
Alentejo, Portugal
Comporta – Alentejo’s best-known beach town – hit the big time long ago, but tourists seem reluctant to go beyond it. That’s a shame because “it is the country’s largest region, but one of its least populated,” says Ana Stilewel of Octant Évora, a hotel an hour inland. “The appeal lies in wide-open plains, vineyards, olive groves, cork landscapes and historic towns that still feel relatively undiscovered”.
Évora itself will be 2027’s European Capital of Culture, thanks to its Roman ruins, medieval squares and massive cathedral. Meanwhile, beyond Comporta, there’s plenty of untouched coastline to explore. “Melides, Porto Covo and Vila Nova de Milfontes all feel more low-key than Portugal’s busier beach destinations,” says Stilewel.
Doubles at Octant Évora cost from £170, B&B. Easyjet flies from Luton to Lisbon, from around £200.