Take me there: Comporta, Portugal
Why go?
Comporta is the beach retreat of choice for Lisbon’s fashion and media set, who decamp here at weekends to hang out in chichi fisherman’s cottages just an hour’s drive from the city. Think of it as a Portuguese Whitstable, only with vast sandy beaches instead of small pebbly ones, sun-bleached seafood shacks instead of wind-battered ice cream vans, pink flamingos instead of seagulls and Brazilian models instead of… OK, so it’s nothing like Whitstable. A lack of accommodation has kept Comporta under the radar, but that’s changing, with the arrival last year of a gorgeous new hotel and rumours of a five-star Aman Resort on the horizon.
What to do
There’s nothing to do and that’s the point of Comporta. Life revolves around the beach – pootling from sun lounger to seafood restaurant is about as active as it gets. But if you insist, you can learn to surf (surfincomporta.com), or hire a canoe in the Sado Estuary nature reserve, which is home to dolphins, flamingos and nesting storks.
Where to stay
Sublime Comporta is a cosseting new country retreat on a 17-acre estate, which has 14 minimalist bedrooms – each with polished concrete floors, white linen, bamboo furniture and a private terrace – and an infinity pool (from £139 per night; sublimecomporta.pt).
Where to eat
Dine on clams, salt cod and squid-ink rice while gazing across the dunes to the Atlantic at the ever-popular Sal on Prego beach (restaurantesal.pt).
Insider tip
Jason Martin, a British artist who works in Comporta and is creating a vineyard and garden, recommends horse riding on the beach with José Ribeiro (cavalosnaareia.com). “The horse riding here is phenomenal. You can ride through the rice fields which sit behind the dunes and then on to these Atlantic beaches which are completely deserted. It’s an amazing way to engage with the landscape.”
Give me a break
Home: Stay on a Sussex vineyard A Sussex vineyard has restored its 19th-century farmhouse to offer stylish and great-value B&B accommodation on the South Downs. The Flint Barns at the Rathfinny Estate, which hopes to produce its first sparkling wines in 2017, is offering a mixture of dorms and private rooms to holidaymakers, with prices from £35pp for a bunk bed and £80 for a double (sawdays.co.uk/rathfinny).
Away: Cut-price Tuscany Villa-booking website To Tuscany has cut prices on 100 of its properties in the month of June. Savings of up to 15% are available on apartments and villas. A seven-night stay at the Origano, a pretty one-bedroom stone-built house with a shared pool in the Chianti region, now costs £305 for departures on 6 and 13 June – which represents a saving of £52. Flights are extra (to-tuscany.com).
