EXCLUSIVE How to have a cut-price Caribbean holiday, by a travel expert who's visited 75 islands across 28 countries. Here's the ultimate guide to the empty beaches, the best hotels and luxury breaks with an astonishing 60% off

Your best chance to bag a Caribbean bargain is to book a summer holiday. The weather is just as sunny as in the region's traditional high season in the winter – and the beaches just as sublime – but from June to September prices can plummet 60 per cent.
'Expect superb low-season prices and special offers,' says Katie Hill of tour operator Tropic Breeze. 'I love the islands when they are quieter out of high season.'

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Ooh la la! These are France's best beaches to laze on this summer

Times

an hour ago

Times

Ooh la la! These are France's best beaches to laze on this summer

Holiday destinations need sunny beaches to make it big in world tourism. And France, being the top holiday destination in Europe, has a bucketful of the best, evenly distributed across three very distinctive coastlines. The northern coast, facing the UK, has some of the most magnificent stretches of sand, thanks to shallow seas and the wave action from galloping tides. However, the water quality (and temperature) can be mixed, so the emphasis falls more on the tradition and style of the resorts. The story changes further west. Around the jagged coastline of Finistère the water becomes clearer, the beaches smaller and more secretive, snuggled into creeks and coves. Finding them becomes a journey of discovery. Heading south, the Atlantic-facing coastline smooths out by Morbihan, where the beaches start to widen and lengthen. At the Vendée, down by Nantes, the weather is reliably warm, so this is family beach holiday territory par excellence, moderately priced and accessible by car from the UK. Towards the distant southern end of this coast and the Pays Basques, the surf's the thing, with Atlantic rollers grinding to a halt on the beaches of Biarritz. And finally, jumping across the foot of France to the Mediterranean shoreline, the focus changes again. Here the water is calmer, warmer and more luxurious. There's more glamour, more people-watching, and more splashing — of cash. The beaches in the obvious Cote d'Azur hot spots — Antibes, St Tropez — can also be very crowded, with everyone heading for the sea to escape the summer heat. So, wherever you go, there's something here for everyone. For the selection of beaches that follows we have taken water quality gradings from the French government website, which uses four categories: poor, adequate, good and excellent. This article contains affiliate links, which can earn us revenue Water quality: excellentCurved and sheltered by 90m chalk cliffs, Étretat's (pebble) beach is famous for its sea-carved arch at one end, supposedly like an elephant dipping its trunk in the sea. The belle époque resort was popular with artists, including Monet, and remains a retreat for the elite. Where to stay and eatThere's inexpensive local produce in the lovely old wooden market hall, some of whose 19th-century ambiance is served up along with good food across the road in the Taverne des deux Augustins. Stay in Le Donjon Domaine Saint Clair, a glamorous spa property with a sea doubles from £117 ( Take the ferry to Dieppe • 10 of the most beautiful places in France (and how to see them) Water quality: goodWhile Le Touquet and Étretat are partly about socialising with the right kind of people, in Deauville the beach takes centre stage. Particularly down its more budget southwestern end, where extensive shallows make it ideal for families and uncertain swimmers. Where to stay and eatUp by town there's a catwalk boardwalk and fancy-coloured parasols, and this is where the fashionistas strut their stuff before tucking into oysters in the Peniche restaurant, a converted barge, then retiring to the town's neo-Tudor five-star hotel, Le Normandy. Room-only doubles from £341 ( Take the ferry to Caen Water quality: goodThe Normandy beaches are not just about recreation. Gold Beach by Arromanches is where British troops landed in the Second World War, while Omaha and Utah to the west are where the Americans came ashore. So enjoying these fantastic stretches of sand today is a bittersweet experience, as well as being very educational, particularly because Gold Beach has German bunker sites. Where to stay and eatFamilies will appreciate the burgers at Sergent Willys, just opposite the Normandy Landings museum in Arromanches (£11; and all the green space around the converted farm-hotel Ferme de la Rançonnière. Room-only doubles from £79 ( Take the ferry to Caen Water quality: excellentThe Chauseys are granite outcrops 45 minutes by passenger ferry offshore from Granville on Normandy's Cotentin peninsula. The tides here are huge, but Grande Greve is an immaculate, curved, south-facing strand whatever the water level. Day-trippers colonise the sand in summer, but early and late you're likely to have the whole thing to yourself. Where to stay and eatThe islands are famous for lobsters, so try the lobster roll in the only restaurant, Contre Vents et Marées ( and then amble across the path to the island's hotel, with its garden overlooking the anchorage. Half-board doubles from £180 ( Take the ferry to St Malo • 8 of the best beaches in Europe for summer 2025 Water quality: excellentA little beauty of a sheltered beach at the end of a sandy track through overhanging pines, Tahiti beach is something of a local secret. It sits at the end of the Carantec peninsula and looks out across the Bay of Morlaix at the castle on a rock that is Château du Taureau, the French Alcatraz. Where to stay and eatIn Carantec itself, the Michelin-starred restaurant Nicholas Carro makes the most of the 15 oyster farms in the bay (set lunch from £30). His restaurant is part of the Hôtel Carantec, whose stylish, modern rooms are perfect for foodie, beachy, people. Room-only doubles from £82 ( Take the ferry to Roscoff Water quality: excellentThis narrow two-mile spit of white sand sticks out into turquoise waters, with rock pools and water sports. You couldn't really ask for more of a beach, especially as it is south-facing, secreted at the back of a sheltered bay. Sailboats saunter in, attracted by the likes of the medieval walled town of Concarneau over on the bay's eastern shore. Where to stay and eatBut there's no need to budge from Cap Coz, with the brasserie Le Canot right on the beach for crêpes and scallops and the Hôtel de la Pointe ideally placed mid-spit for early morning swims. Room-only doubles from £109 ( Take the ferry to Roscoff Water quality: excellentGauguin spent two years in the tiny village of Le Pouldu, on the softer southern side of Brittany's Finistère, where it is riddled with rias, seafood-rich creeks. The light here has a luminous intensity, the air so clean that it almost squeaks. Kerou is the best of a succession of small, dusky, wave-ribbonned beaches, where kitesurfers harvest the breeze. Where to stay and eatWalk the wildflower-rich GR34 coastal path and you'll reach the Bar des Îles, a London double-decker serving tapas on the beach. Return to the unassuming Hôtel Naéco Le Pouldu, with its dorms and apartments. Room-only doubles from £57 ( Take the ferry to Roscoff Water quality: excellentThe Morbihan section of the Brittany coast is family-friendly, with big, broad, generous beaches ideal for sandcastles. Carnac distinguishes itself amongst them because it is south-facing with silky sand, its hinterland littered with neolithic standing stones, and it is right by the placid, island-rich inland sea of the Gulf of Morbihan. Where to stay and eatAt Carnac, the upmarket beach bar Le Fisher is great for sunset cocktails ( and the beach's main hotel, the Churchill, is a modern spa and pool property, despite the name. Room-only doubles from £100 ( Take the ferry to Roscoff • 10 of the best things to do in France for solo travellers Water quality: excellentYou can't go wrong with the beaches in the Vendée, particularly if you're travelling with young children. This section of Atlantic coastline is effectively an intermittent 90-mile ribbon of fine sand, southerly enough for good weather. It is broadest at St Jean de Monts, backed by pedestrian streets lined with resort-type shops, family attractions and extensive campsites. Where to stay and eatGet your crêpes at La Bolee (from £7.50; and rent a mobile home at all-singing, all-dancing Camping Zagarella. Three nights' self-catering for four from £139 ( Take the ferry to Roscoff Water quality: excellentThe Atlantic coast west of Bordeaux is dune country. Europe's highest, at more than 100m above sea level, is at Pilat, but the best actual beach here is just across the water on the sun-washed hanging finger of land that is Cap Ferret. Here the long Plage des Dunes is pristine and uncommercialised, while the bay of Arcachon inside it has everything you'll need. Where to stay and eatThat includes a restaurant with a view of the Pilat dune, La Cabane du Mimbeau which combines seafood with Bordeaux's wines ( and a boutique hotel, Le Landerenis, with a pool and a bay view. Room-only doubles from £185 ( Fly to Bordeaux • Read our full guide to France Water quality: excellentSurfie culture has made Biarritz cool. Big Atlantic rollers sweep unhindered across the Bay of Biscay and come shuddering to a halt on the town's sands, with dudes with dreads hitching a ride for the last part of their journey. Where to stay and eatHardcore surfers may avoid a family-pleasing town beach like the Miramar, but it's a good place for surf lessons and people-watching, particularly for surf widows, who can adjourn to Milady for great food and cocktails (mains from £10; Or chill in the spa of the sumptuous Regina Experimental on the cliffs above. Room-only doubles from £166 ( Fly to Biarritz Water quality: excellentBlessed are the waters of Hendaye, for they refresh the pilgrims on the Camino en route to Compostela. Straddling the French-Spanish border, this wide, flat beach is simultaneously a learn-to-surf and family destination, while the town itself is a rail hub and old fishing port. Where to stay and eatA former casino on the shore hosts the Hegoa café (mains from £13, should a pilgrim want refreshment overlooking the Twins, Hendaye's distinctive offshore islets. The smart Ibaia hotel sits between the beach and the new marina in the old port. Room-only doubles from £110 ( Fly to Biarritz Water quality: excellentThe cove of L'Ouille sits just north of the pretty port of Collioure on France's southernmost Mediterranean shore. Many of its visitors arrive on foot along the coastal path. The beach is tiny pebbles rather than sand, but sheltering headlands ensure that the water is particularly calm, brilliant for snorkelling. Where to stay and eatCollioure was a favourite for artists such as Matisse, Derain and Picasso, drawn here by the light and the colour. No doubt they would have loved the hippie chic L'Imprevu café on the beach ( and appreciated the rooftop views from the Madeloc hotel too. Room-only doubles from £83 ( Fly to Perpignan or Montpellier Water quality: excellentMuch of France's Mediterranean coastline between Perpignan and Montpellier is a string of sunwashed beaches, backed by large campsites. Many are on a thin rib of sand separated from the mainland by an inland sea of connected lagoons. Palavas-les-Flots sits offshore from Montpellier, at a lagoon intersection, its five miles of sand busy with jet skis, stand-up paddleboarding and beach volleyball. Where to stay and eatThis is a place for serious tanning, with laidback beach cafés such as the Plage Bonaventure offering food and shade ( Keep cool by staying on a converted barge with a plunge pool. B&B doubles from £143 ( Fly to Montpellier Water quality: excellentThe south of France has one of the most intensely visited coasts in the world, but there are some secluded spots. This six-mile strand is on the west-facing cheek of the Camargue, a huge and protected area of marshes, lagoons and meadows. At Espiguette, reached via the small town of Grau du Roi, it seems like the sand goes on for ever. It's a place to find your own half-mile and let your soul hang. But there are facilities, even here. Where to stay and eatThe off-grid restaurant L'Oyat Plage is fashioned out of wood, reed and sailcloth ( And the Miramar, a more substantial café with rooms, is in town but still chilled. Room-only doubles from £101 ( Fly to Montpellier Water quality: excellentThe Calanques is a unique shorescape serrated by deep, cliffy creeks just south of Marseilles, one of which — En Vau — ends in a gem of a (stony) beach that can only be reached by sea or on foot from the small town of Cassis (two hours). It's a protected area and there are no facilities, but the clarity of the water creates a fantastic aquarium for fish, so bring goggles, but beware cliff jumpers. Where to stay and eatYour nearest refreshment is back in Cassis, where the Presquile serves oysters on its sea-view terrace (three courses £44, Here the Mahogany hotel sits above another more accessible beach, the Bestouan. Room-only doubles from £128 ( Fly to Marseilles Water quality: excellentThis is all you'd expect of a beach that is just down the road from St Tropez: iconic good looks with beautiful people, azure water and three miles of silky white sand. Superyachts, beach clubs, beach bars and water sports kiosks aplenty. Pricey, of course, but that comes with the territory. Where to stay and eatEat here, at Byblos (mains from £29, where every shades-wearer could be a star. And in the Ferme Augustin hotel, just up the road, they'll serve breakfast in your room into the early afternoon — how decadent is that! Room-only doubles from £265 ( Fly to Marseilles Water quality: goodAnother big name on the Cote d'Azur. There's a dozen little beaches sequestered around Cap d'Antibes, but the vast majority of visitors head for the heart of the action, on the long curve of the bay by Juan les Pins. The strand here is not very broad, so it can get busy, but that means buzzy too. The nightlife is animated and the horizon is a catwalk for superyachts. Where to stay and eatIf you have the budget, Effet Mer Plage has tables on the beach (mains from £24; and the art deco Juana hotel recreates the glamour of the 1930s. Room-only doubles from £196 ( Fly to Nice Water quality: excellentCap Ferrat is a dangling foot of land east of Nice, caught in the act of kicking a ball at Monte Carlo. Plage Paloma sits on its instep, a well kept slice of small pebbles and coarse sand, down a small flight of steps and shaded by pines. The water here is clean, but it is the outlook that makes Paloma special, with a distant Monaco gleaming like spilt paint on the flank of the Alpes Maritimes region. Where to stay and eatIn the evening, eat in Léo Léa by the St Jean marina just to the north, watching the lights come up (mains from £15; To complete the picture, stay in an Italianate villa, the Brise Marine, walking distance from Paloma. Room-only doubles from £148 ( Fly to Nice Water quality: poorThe water may not be tip top, but France's most fashionable resort between the wars has retained its art deco elegance and appeal, in part because it is so accessible from Paris. Given the water quality, many opt for sand yachting on its undeniably magnificent eight miles of flat sand. Where to stay and eatBack in the day, the likes of Noël Coward and Winston Churchill were Le Touquet regulars, and you can even buy scones in Elizabeth's, a British style tea-room. The imperious Hôtel Barrière Le Westminster is where everyone grand stays. You might see the Macrons, who have a holiday home here. Room-only doubles from £212 ( Take Le Shuttle to Calais Have we missed your favourite beach in France? Share your secret in the comments

Tourist suffers underwater nightmare as her air supply helmet dislodges

Daily Mail

8 hours ago

Daily Mail

Tourist suffers underwater nightmare as her air supply helmet dislodges

An underwater adventure almost turned into a nightmare for a tourist exploring a sunken playground when the helmet providing her air supply was dislodged. A group of travelers at Xcaret Park in Mexico were participating in the Sea Trek experience when one guest lost her bearing and dismantled her crucial breathing apparatus. Footage of the incident has garnered millions of views across the internet with safety warnings and theories about what happened - but a diver who claims to have been on the same trip has shared a new perspective on the incident. Viral footage shows the visitors enjoying the water excursion, with one woman gesturing toward the camera before chaos quickly unfolds behind her. Another woman seen in the background of the video clings to the guiderail when a stingray brushes below her feet below. She's forced into a flip underneath the bar, sending her feet flying into the air as she her helmet comes loose. When she turned her body, her helmet, which contained oxygen needed to immerse in the depths of the supervised area, slips off her head. As she began to panic, the woman writhed in the water until scuba divers quickly responded to bring her to the surface as the other adventurers watched in shock. While one video with nine million views claims the woman 'accidentally flipped upside down due to a strong air stream bubbling up from the sea floor', a woman who claimed to be in the video offered another explanation. The woman said: 'The woman behind me fell due to loss of balance after a stingray passed her feet and she tried lift her legs ups therefore caused her to fall [forwards]. 'She was okay and completely sound afterwards.' Viewers had quickly offered their own thoughts about the unique underwater trip, with many agreeing she may have been spooked by the stingray lurking below. 'Having done this before, it would probably be enough the current is very strong down there' one person said. 'You actually see the girl jumps up into the air a few times to touch a stingray. She jumps too high and her legs go up so she's flipped upside down.' 'She looked at the ray that's when she tilted her head and was turned upside down like a beach ball,' another agreed. 'Definitely need to hold on and follow instructions!' a forth wrote. The excursion is created by Sub Sea Systems and is offered at numerous vacation destinations. Helmet diving is advertised as an easy adventure that anyone ages eight to 96 can participate in without having experience swimming. The helmet is made of polycarbonate materials, which are unbreakable plastics and typically transparent. The helmet is also weighted so that participants can walk underwater. If the helmet falls off, they not only use their oxygen source but won't be weighted to the bottom of the ocean. 'The helmet works similar to an inverted glass– the air remains as long as you don't turn the glass over,' Sub Sea Systems explained on their website. 'This concept, combined with a constant flow of air supply, continuously maintains a fresh turnover of air within the helmet.' Sub Sea Systems said the helmet diving has over a 25-year track record of safe excursions with over three million people participating in the activity. Thrill-seekers can try helmet diving at several locations, including Xcaret Park in Cancun. Xcaret has a water park, amusement park, and eco-archaeological attractions. A training session is first held before participants try for themselves. They are then guided to the seabed and follow a path marked by railings at the bottom of the ocean.

Daily Mail

a day ago

Daily Mail