Coastal Escapes

Most of these trips are coastal road trips, where a hire car links a string of seaside towns: the French Riviera from Saint-Tropez to Èze, Sardinia, Puglia, the Peloponnese, Vancouver Island and the Lofoten Islands. Two are built around boats instead, sailing from Split to Dubrovnik or island hopping from Ishigaki to Taketomi in Okinawa. Lisbon and Porto, Cartagena and Sydney work as city stays with beach days added, while Madeira, Tasmania and the Osa Peninsula lean towards hiking and wildlife.

Go to the Mediterranean in May, June or September, when the sea is warm and the crowds are thinner. Save Tasmania, Sydney and New Zealand for December to March, and choose Lofoten in summer for the midnight sun or in winter for the northern lights. Allow seven to ten days for a road trip, about a week for the Croatian or Okinawan islands and four or five days for a city pair. For a first visit, the Riviera and Dalmatia are the simplest to plan. Sydney pairs naturally with Tasmania, and Piran sits close enough to Croatia to join Slovenia with Dalmatia.