Help clients get a beach break even on a budget, says Katie McGonagle
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Britain’s economy is finally on the road to recovery – wages have just started to outstrip inflation, public finances are in better health, and unemployment is falling.
Despite all these positive signs, it takes a while for us to feel the effects, meaning most of us are still feeling the pinch, especially when it comes to planning our annual summer holiday.
But there’s no need to go raiding the kids’ piggy banks just yet; an array of budget-friendly breaks lie just a short-haul hop away in Greece and Cyprus – meaning canny agents can help clients stretch their precious cash that bit further.
All prices are for seven nights, and include flights and transfers.
BEST FOR… ROMANCE
Thought Santorini was just for those with budgets as sweeping as its vast caldera views?
Not necessarily. Follow Sunvil Holidays’ advice to avoid peak season and enjoy those caldera views from bars and restaurants rather than paying a premium to see them from the hotel window, and clients could bag bargains such as £664 for bed-and-breakfast at Kalimera Hotel in May or late September.
Sister brand Planet Holidays has introduced several value options on Santorini – largely because its weddings business must accommodate guests with lower budgets – including three-star Dimitris Studios and Blue Sea Hotel & Studios, and two-star-plus Limnes Villas and Alexandra Hotel Apartments. Self-catering stays at Limnes Villas start at £700 departing September 10.
Five-star luxury isn’t necessarily out of reach though: with a gym, hot tub, sauna and sun deck, Astro Palace in quiet Firostefani is luxurious, but time it right and it needn’t come with a price tag to match. Islands of Greece offers a stay with Gatwick flights departing May 10 from £635. Adult-only romantic retreat Proteas Blu in Samos has stays from £619 from the same operator, in May.
Equally stylish is the five-star Angela Suites Boutique Hotel in Crete – think outdoor Jacuzzi and cocktails by the pool – yet with May 6 prices starting at £369 with Jet2holidays from Leeds Bradford, guests won’t have to have a huge bank balance to settle their bill.
Over in Cyprus, help couples make time for each other at adult-only boutique Library Hotel in the traditional village of Kalavassos. This tiny resort has more spa treatments than it has rooms – there are just 11, each named after famous writers such as Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe and Franz Kafka. Stays start at just £559 for B&B and car hire with Sunvil.
BEST FOR… NIGHTLIFE
Saving money for booze and bars is as good a reason as any for needing good-value accommodation.
Bustling Corfu is top of the pack, according to Olympic Holidays commercial director Photis Lambrianides. He says: “Kavos in Corfu is a good choice for those who like a lively night of clubbing and bar-hopping. Agents can certainly recommend it to young people on their first boys’ or girls’ holiday as it’s smaller than most hardcore party resorts such as Malia or Faliraki, but it is genuinely friendly and offers great value.”
Just a minute’s walk from the Kavos strip – yet quiet enough to offer respite from a hangover – are Olive Grove Trees Apartments, exclusive to Olympic Holidays with self-catering from £315 in July.
Self-catering studios in Kavos are also a new addition for Cosmos, such as two-star Island Beach Resort (from £349 based on three sharing).
Europe’s top party destinations are featured in Jet2holidays’ new On Tour collection, offering guests the chance to sunbathe by day and party by night in properties such as the three-star Kastro Apartments in Malia, Crete, from only £229 self-catering in May.
Cyprus is less renowned for its nightlife, although Ayia Napa gives most Greek resorts a run for their money. There, Cosmos suggests Napa Plaza hotel (pictured below), which offers a calm retreat after a hard night’s partying (from £495 B&B).
BEST FOR… FAMILIES
Parents make the most dedicated bargain-hunters for good reason – multiply every ice cream or entrance ticket by four and costs soon mount up, which is why all-inclusive stays are so popular.
Some packages include more than others though: Olympic Holidays highlights Lyttos Beach Hotel in Crete whose 150-acre grounds has four pools, water slides, 12 tennis courts, mini football pitch, basketball and an animation team leading daily activities – plus access to a sandy beach (from £3,069 ex-Manchester for four sharing a family room in the summer).
Three-star Corfu Panorama in Sidari also boasts all-day entertainment plus a splash pool, playground and a minibus around its grounds for when tired little legs can’t go any further. A week’s all-inclusive starts from £1,289 for a family of three departing May 23, with Airtours.
School-age kids, meanwhile, will thrive at Marelen Hotel in Kalamaki, Zante, with its free all-day entertainment and kids’ club for ages three to 11 (from £1,135 B&B for three departing May 26, also Airtours).
Families who want time with each other minus the distractions of everyday life might prefer the freedom of a villa, many of which boast private pools or extra space to run around. CV Villas’ biggest range of properties is in Corfu, with half-price rental on selected villas in May including Villa Lithari near Kassiopi (now £895 based on six sharing). Plus its product team can recommend excursions that won’t break the bank, including Corfu Town’s Museum of Asian Arts (€3), a drive through mountain villages Old Perithia or Gastouri, or a walk along its scenic coastal paths.
When it comes to free activities, Larnaca in Cyprus is hard to beat, with free twice-weekly cultural walks, six museums and local landmarks, such as St Lazarus Church and Larnaca Castle to keep visitors amused. Four-star Palm Beach Hotel & Bungalows, which has upgraded its kids’ facilities and runs clubs for kids aged four to 12, starts at £550 with Jet2holidays based on three sharing and including breakfast from May 25.
Having also undergone recent refurbishment, Akti Beach Village Resort in Coral Bay, Paphos, combines great sunset views with studios sleeping up to four and apartments up to five. It is featured by Planet Holidays, alongside three-star Cavo Maris in Protaras, which the operator highlights for its “great food, exceptional value-for-money, and family-friendly all-inclusive option” (from £3,400 for a family of four during May half-term).
BEST FOR… ACTIVITY
Brits don’t get much chance to splash about in the sun on our own shores, so holidays are the perfect time to try new things, including diving.
Larnaca is holding a week of activities dedicated to wreck dive site the Zenobia from June 23-30, with photo contests, an exhibition of items from the shipwreck, and discounted courses on diving and marine life (zenobiaweek.com).
Activities abound in Limassol too, with busy beaches such as Pissouri Beach offering competitive pricing for whatever watersport takes your fancy, although it boasts a few quiet bays for coastal strolls too. But secluded spot Latchi is an even quieter retreat to try diving or sailing, courtesy of Latchi Watersports centre, or hire bikes from two-star Souli Hotel, where B&B starts at £454 with car hire from Sunvil.
Over in Greece, the spacious Lido Apartments in Tolon on the Peloponnese are an excellent choice for active families: not only does the property have a pool of bikes and canoes for guests to use at leisure, it offers a Family Fun Day package for £38 per adult and £33 per child, including an hour each of windsurfing, dinghy sailing, motorboating, snorkelling and a banana ride, plus lunch at a water-side taverna. A self-catering one-bedroom apartment costs £554 with Sunvil based on four sharing, from May 25.
Tranquil Alonissos might not spring to mind for active escapes, but according to Islands of Greece, its excellent marine national park and range of sea kayaking and snorkelling makes it one of the Aegean Sea’s hottest diving destinations, where stays start from £699 based on two sharing in early June, with ferry crossings.
