The last-chance summer holidays to book now
Economic and political uncertainty have made delaying booking a summer holiday understandable. And, though pickings are now slim for summer 2025, there are still houses and hotel rooms to be had if you know where to look.
One tour operator told us that Italian villas hadn't sold as well as usual – so, with a bit of research, there are retreats between the olive groves and seaside pads under shady pines to be found.
Summer can also be the best time to head long-haul, because many travellers save these destinations for winter sun.
Elsewhere, think laterally. Avoid the most touristy spots (swapping the best-known Greek islands for a lesser-visited atoll, or a Balearic beach town for Asturias's empty sand, for example) and you might have a better experience too.
Below, we've found 20 of the best holidays still with availability for summer 2025 – from France to Florida and beyond.
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The Guardian
44 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Giro d'Italia winner Simon Yates hails ‘huge moment in my career'
Simon Yates reflected on a 'sweet success' he had been targeting for much of his life after a spectacular and decisive coup in Saturday's final mountain stage ensured he would ride to victory in the Giro d'Italia on Sunday. At 32, the Lancastrian had not been tipped to add to his sole Grand Tour victory, the 2018 Tour of Spain, but in the mammoth stage over the Colle Delle Finestre, he confounded those expectations to win the sport's second most prestigious race, after the Tour de France. 'It's a huge moment in my career, a defining moment maybe,' Yates said after the Giro's closing stage in Rome. 'I don't think anything comes close. I'm just incredibly proud of the whole team over the three weeks. It's a sweet success. 'I've spent a lot of my life targeting this race. There's been a lot of setbacks, and it has been hard to deal with. I'm in disbelief that I have finally managed to pull it off.' Yates, who had been on the verge of winning the 2018 Giro when he endured a dramatic collapse in the pivotal mountain stage, is the third British rider, after Chris Froome and Tao Geoghegan Hart, to win the Italian race. The Lancastrian arrived in Rome wearing all-pink kit with matching pink bike, in honour of the Giro's maglia rosa, and was shepherded safely through the final processional sprint stage to secure final victory. Ahead of him his Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Olav Kooij took the final stage in a sprint, as a beaming Yates celebrated in his wake. 'We couldn't wish for a better final weekend,' Kooij said. 'Yesterday was really amazing for the team and today I had to give everything that was left in the legs.' Yates's Giro-winning attack on the crucial climb of the Finestre, the mountain that had dramatically proved his undoing in 2018, stunned onlookers and exploded the overall standings. On social media Geraint Thomas said: 'What is going on?!', as he watched Saturday's drama between the three key protagonists – Yates, Isaac Del Toro and Richard Carapaz – unfold. Reminded that Yates had far more experience of Grand Tour racing than the 21‑year‑old Del Toro, Thomas, winner of the 2018 Tour de France, was scathing. 'Do you need experience to realise that third place is pulling away and that, if you stop pedalling, he's going to take time out of you? My son Macs would know that, and he's five years old.' Even Yates seemed overwhelmed by the scale of his achievement on the mountain that had once proven his downfall. 'I always had in the back of my mind that maybe I could come here and close the chapter. Maybe not to take the jersey in the race, but at least the stage, to try to show myself the way I know I can do.' He admitted, though, that he 'really did not believe' such a dream scenario was possible. 'I am not really an emotional person, but coming to the finish I couldn't hold back the tears.' Del Toro, who had appeared like Yates in 2018 destined to win the race, hid his disappointment. 'Yates was the most intelligent,' the Mexican said. 'It was good for his team and how they played the tactics.' But Carapaz, Giro champion in 2019, rounded on the Mexican. 'In the end, Del Toro lost the Giro,' the Ecuadorian said. 'He didn't know how to race and in the end the smartest [rider] won.' Juan Manuel Gárate, Carapaz's EF Education EasyPost sports director, sought to justify the lack of any serious pursuit of Yates. 'There came a moment where you had to decide: 'If Yates goes, let him go. If Del Toro doesn't follow, he loses the GC.' To win, you have to play the game. And with that comes the risk of losing.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Inter's Acerbi withdraws from Italy squad citing lack of respect
MUNICH, Germany, June 1 (Reuters) - Inter Milan's veteran defender Francesco Acerbi withdrew from the Italy squad on Sunday, the day after his club's humbling defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, citing a lack of respect from manager Luciano Spalletti. Acerbi has not played for Italy since November 2023, but after his recent exploits with Inter - where he scored an equaliser in their semi-final with Barcelona - Spalletti named him in his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The 37-year-old's announcement comes immediately following Inter's 5-0 loss in Munich on Saturday, but Acerbi, who spoke with Spalletti on Sunday morning, said this had nothing to do with his decision. "I felt that, in light of recent events, the conditions to continue this path peacefully do not exist today," Acerbi said in a social media post. "I don't seek alibis or favours, I demand respect. And if this respect is lacking on the part of those who should lead a group, then I prefer to step aside. "I've always given everything, but I don't stay where I'm no longer really wanted and it's clear that I'm not part of the manager's project." Acerbi did not clarify what this lack of respect referred to. Earlier, Spalletti spoke about the player's decision at a press conference on Sunday, before Acerbi's statement. "For me Acerbi has value, we knew he had some physical problems, he had been operated on, I had given space at the time to other defenders too," the coach said. In March, after Italy exited the Nations League at the quarter-final stage to Germany, when Spalletti was asked by a reporter if he would consider calling up Acerbi, the manager responded with a question of his own. "Do you know how old Acerbi is?" Spalletti asked. Italy begin their World Cup Group I qualifying campaign away to Norway on June 6, before hosting Moldova three days later, having failed to reach the last two tournaments.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Simon Yates finishes safely in peloton to seal victory at Giro d'Italia
Britain's Simon Yates sealed victory in the Giro d'Italia following the final stage from the Vatican City to Rome. Yates took a lead of almost four minutes into stage 21 and finished safely in the peloton as Visma-Lease a Bike team-mate Olav Kooij came out on top in a sprint finish. Yates effectively sealed victory on Saturday's penultimate stage when he exorcised his personal demons on the Colle delle Finestre with a stunning solo attack to claim the race leader's pink jersey. On the mountain where his dreams of victory were shattered by Chris Froome's famous solo breakaway in 2018, Yates turned the tables with a masterclass of his own as his rivals were left to question their own tactics. The 32-year-old Lancastrian rode away from leader Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz on the brutal gradients and the gravel to turn an 81-second deficit and third place into a three minute, 56-second lead over Del Toro. With the final stage a largely-ceremonial affair, which started with the leading riders meeting Pope Leo XIV, only a serious crash would have denied Yates a second Grand Tour victory following his success in the 2018 Vuelta a Espana. He is the third British rider to win the Giro after Froome in 2018 and Tao Geohegan Hart in 2020.
