Which coast in which month

Members ask where to go. The better question is when, because every coast on this site has a fortnight when it is perfect and a month when it is not, and the two are rarely the ones the brochures show.

January to March

The winter belongs to the tropics and the Gulf. The Maldives are in their dry season, the sea flat, the water at thirty degrees, and the prices at their highest. St Barths is at its best after the New Year crowd has left, with February and March the island’s quietest good months. Dubai is what the Mediterranean is in July, with better service. Marbella, alone in Europe, offers a villa with sun on the terrace and green fairways.

April and May

The Mediterranean wakes. Mallorca in April is cycling and almond terraces and a sea still too cold to swim. Lake Como in May has the gardens at their height and the lake warming. The Seychelles have their calmest sea between the two trade winds. Monaco in May is the Grand Prix, which is either the reason to come or the reason to stay away.

June

The best month on the Mediterranean, and we say so every year. The sea has reached 22 degrees, the villas are open and not yet full, the restaurants have their summer staff and their patience. Saint-Tropez, Ibiza, Sardinia and the Amalfi coast are all at their finest and cost half of what they will in August.

July and August

Peak. The sea is warm, the nights are long, and every villa, table and berth is taken by people who booked in January. The Riviera is full, the Costa Smeralda is loud, and the Cyclades have the meltemi, which can blow at force seven for a week. We plan August for members who need August, around school holidays, and we plan it early. For everyone else we suggest June or September and we are usually thanked.

September

The second best month, and the best for the sea, which is at its warmest all month. The crowds thin after the first week, the meltemi drops, the light softens, and the coast is the coast the brochures show. Sardinia, Mykonos, the Adriatic and Portofino are all at their best.

October to December

The Mediterranean closes slowly, from the east. Como and Marbella hold on longest; the Balearics have a second summer in early October. From November the choice is the Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean again, with St Barths reopening and the Maldives’ dry season beginning. Christmas and New Year are their own season, booked a year ahead, priced accordingly, and worth it once.