With such a soggy start to the season, it feels like summer’s only just arrived. But newsflash, folks: it’s August. Which means if you haven’t yet booked your holiday it’s time to get on it. The good news is we’ve done the hard work for you, sifting through what’s out there to find the very finest trips.
Our last-minute travel guide is choc full of hot deals, fresh ideas and chic new launches that let you make the most of what’s left of summer, in style. Though you’ll have to act quick — availability is limited and prices (while correct at the time of writing) aren’t guaranteed to stay low for long.
The tropical steal
Dreaming of soft sandy shores, turquoise waters — and a cut-price deal? August is quiet in the Maldives, when even the most luxurious properties see plunging room rates. It’s technically wet season, but showers are often short and sharp, and many days can see no rain at all. Turquoise Holidays (turquoiseholidays.co.uk) has a 55% discount at luxe all-inclusive Dhigali Maldives, meaning you’ll pay from just £2,899pp for a whitewashed bungalow on the sands, including flights, transfers and all the piña coladas you can handle.
The wine cruise
Chilled glasses of Riesling, medieval old towns and an on-board swimming pool that transforms into a cinema — Emerald Cruises’ (emeraldcruises.co.uk) 11-day ‘Rhine Castles and Moselle Vineyards’ itinerary has it all. The 9 August departure date, which includes a cycling tour of Utrecht, a visit to Marksburg Castle and vino tastings at historic Schloss Johannisberg, has a last-minute discount of nearly 50%, costing from £1,999pp, including flights, transfers, meals and excursions. Bottoms up!
The restaurant with rooms
Sibling to Michelin-starred London eateries St. Barts and Nest, just-opened Nest Farmhouse (nestfarmhouse.co.uk) in Docking provides yet another reason to decamp to trendy North Norfolk. Expect homegrown produce in simple, stylish plates — steak tartare with fermented chilli dressing or doughnuts with gooseberry jam — plus country-cool bedrooms overlooking the East Anglian wilds. Get 30% off the advertised room rate until 15 September (saving around £60 to £90) when you quote ‘Evening Standard’.
The bucket list adventure
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Act quick and a week from now you could trade the coot-dotted waterways of Hackney Marshes for a proper wetland: the Brazilian Pantanal, home to capybaras, tapirs, anteaters, macaws and one of the highest concentrations of jaguars in the world. A nine-night ‘Land of the Jaguar’ trip with Exodus (exodus.co.uk) departing on 15 August is discounted by £770, costing £4,629pp with meals, transfers and once-in a-lifetime activities in the tropical waterways (but not flights).
The camper van experience
Every decent self-catering cottage in Cornwall was booked up months ago, but who needs four walls when you’ve got four wheels? A camper van hols in England’s favourite summertime county offers flexibility, value and unique thrills (you’ve not lived until you’ve navigated hedge-lined roads in a motorhome). Hire through Camplify (camplify.co.uk) and you’ll get £75 off in August with code ‘TAKE75’; you can self-drive from London or pick up the van on arrival (prices start from around £50 per day). Top Cornish campsites like National Trust’s Highertown near Looe (nationaltrust.org.uk, pitches £23 for up to five people) still have availability too.
The party house
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Know 21 other people who have also failed to make summer holiday plans? Go in together for a last-minute bash at Rainbow House in Lincolnshire, an 11-bedroom party pad with multi-hued LED lighting, hot tub, games room, outdoor children’s play area and home cinema. The longer you stay in August the more you’ll save; last-minute discounts range from £860 on a two-night weekend (from £5,560) up to £1,990 for a week (from £7,960) with The Wow House Company (thewowhousecompany.com).
The brag-worthy family holiday
POV: You’ve been to London Zoo eight times already this summer and are desperate for a new family wildlife experience. Enter, an epic safari in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. August is prime time to visit as flood waters encourage a healthy density of hippos, elephants and birdlife, all of which can be seen by boat or helicopter. Yellow Zebra (yellowzebrasafaris.com) has six nights at luxurious Kwando camps for two adults and two children from £4,389pp, including flights, transfers, meals, drinks and some activities (a last-minute saving of 50%).
The Grecian bolthole
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Scene-y Santorini has sky-high hotel rates in summer, so to get a deal now you need to book somewhere that’s yet to register on the radar. Set on the south-eastern coast five minutes’ walk from the beach and eight kilometres from Fira, Sandblu (sandblu.com) only launched last month so still has good availability. Normally rooms — most of which have private pools – will start from £739 but this month they’re £679, plus upon direct booking you’ll also get a free upgrade, subject to availability.
The active trip
Boots on for a walking break through the Italian Dolomites, a verdant wonderland of soaring mountain peaks, alpine meadows, glacial lakes and rocky plateaus. A 14-night group walking break with Ramble Worldwide (rambleworldwide.co.uk) pitches things just right, combining jaw-droppingly beautiful hikes with ascending gondola rides that cut out the really strenuous bits. There’s a last-minute discount of £190 on the 25 August departure, so you’ll pay £3,289pp including flights, transfers and half-board accommodation.
The Provençal retreat
Rolling hills and cooling surf, lazy sun-drenched lunches and hilltop towns scented with thyme and lavender… Provence sings in summertime. Hôtel Crillon Le Brave (secure-hotel-booking.com), a blond-stone hilltop enclave gazing across to Mont Ventoux and replete with pastel fabrics and parquet flooring, serves up the whole Gallic fantasy on a plate. It’s offering 15% off suites throughout August, saving you around £80 per night — enough to fund a fabulous bottle of rosé (or two) at dinner.
The couples’ hideaway
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The National Trust isn’t just all grand old country houses. The extensive holiday homes portfolio (nationaltrust.org.uk) contains dozens of diminutive — but no less impressive — stays for just two people. Whether you choose Victoria West Gate Lodge (from £593 for two nights), overlooking a 12th-century abbey in North Yorkshire, or tree-cloaked The Chalet At Tan Yr Ogof (from £494 for two nights) by Snowdonia, this month all ‘tiny and romantic cottages’ are available at 10% off.
The family all-inclusive
Following July’s Hurricane Beryl, Jamaica could use some tourist love. Popular north coast resort Ochos Rios is open for business, offering value for a family break. With seven restaurants, seven bars, six pools and kid-friendly activities galore, all-inclusive Beaches Ochos Rios (beaches.co.uk) is a no-brainer for your base. A seven-night discounted stay from 18 August costs from £2,939 per adult and from £1,199 per child up to age 11, including flights and transfers. That’s a saving of more than £2,000 for a family of four.
The wellness weekend
If you’re feeling the need to unplug per the phone-free travel trend, make for Careys Manor Hotel & SenSpa (careysmanor.com) in the New Forest, where a brand new ‘Digital Detox’ (two nights £518pp including breakfast and dinner dining credit) lets you literally lock your phone away in an amnesty box. Instead of scrolling you’ll fill time treading leafy walking trails dotted with New Forest ponies, soaking in the hydrotherapy pools, enjoying a couples’ spa treatment and raiding a hamper of wellbeing goodies (ie kombucha, aromatherapy balm) in your room.
The boating break
Bath gets pretty tourist-clogged in summer, so approach the city from a whole new, much-more-serene angle — that is, the stern of narrowboat, as you glide leisurely up the leafy Kennet and Avon Canal. It’s a 10-hour leisurely journey to the Georgian city from the Drifters (drifters.co.uk) base in Devizes, passing through locks, over aqueducts and (most essentially) via stop-offs at atmospheric pubs. A three-night break on a narrowboat sleeping seven costs £733 from 27 August, a discount of over 50%.
The solo getaway
Just ‘cause you’re travelling alone doesn’t mean you have to compromise on a last-minute break. On the north coast of Bodrum — one of the hottest destinations for summer 2024 — Beyaz Suite Hotel will be your home for a seven-night group tour where you can swim, dine, enjoy a mountain jeep safari and explore a 16th-century castle with other solo travellers. The 2 September departure with Solos Holidays (solosholidays.co.uk) features a discount of 16%, costing from £1,100pp, including flights, transfers, some meals and guiding.
The eco stay
Tread lightly on the landscapes of Lanzarote with an environmentally conscious stay at Finca de Arrieta (lanzaroteretreats.com), a collection of yurts, villas and cottages powered by solar and wind energy. Putter down to La Garita beach, bob about in the pool, pluck treats from the veg patch or meet the resident donkeys and chickens (the latter lay fresh eggs for your brekkie). Stays in August are 20% off, saving you between £150 and £310 depending on room category and length of stay.
The budget beach camp
When cash is tight and the beach is calling, a sand-side campsite ticks the boxes. Eurocamp has last-minute August discounts of upwards of £400 per family stay. For example, Le Beach Garden (eurocamp.co.uk) in Languedoc, next to the Bagnas nature reserve and the golden stretch of Marseillan-Plage, has five nights from 28 August from £631.50 for up to six people in a three-bedroom holiday home.
The dog-friendly stay
If, for you, it’s not a holiday without Fido, only a dog-friendly cottage will do. Holidaycottages.com has loads, including charming Rectory Cottage (holidaycottages.co.uk) near Hastings, sleeping up to eightpeople – and three well-behaved pooches. Unleash and unwind in the private courtyard, then take to the footpaths leading through woodland and along coast in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Beauty. From £1,615 for 7 nights.
