Travel experts have shared their insights into the best holiday destinations for sun-seeking Brits as UK weather continues to nosedive in the coming months. While reports of a late-September ‘Indian Summer’ could see a last-ditch burst of warmth hit parts of the country, temperatures and conditions are unlikely to continue or improve afterwards. Tourists can’t expect to find hot and settled conditions in every trip contender, however, with longer daylight hours and warmer late-season weather among the top criteria for an autumn break.
Experts at lastminute.com have mapped out the most popular destinations among those escaping the grey skies of Britain in a ‘holiday banana’ design, spanning Europe and North Africa. The highly sought after spots include cities like Marrakech, where the mercury hovers around 35C in October, the Portuguese Algarve and Antalya in Turkey.
Majorca is also among the top contenders for an autumn holiday, alongside Malta – both known for their beautiful sandy beaches, with the later also renowned for its historic coves and cultural prowess.
The map, also curving over Tenerife, Barcelona, Rome and Crete, comprises almost 40% of total post-summer bookings, according to lastminute.com.
The travel and leisure retailer was inspired to create the graphic by the viral ‘London banana’ map, showing the best places to live in the capital.
“Whilst the ‘London banana’ showcases the best parts of the city to live, our data shows Londoners would rather be soaking up the sun abroad,” Zoe Fidler, head of brand for lastminute.com said.
“Our holiday banana reflects the UK’s favourite escapes and the best bit is you can book them at the last minute and still get a great value deal.
“At lastminute.com, we make it easy and affordable to get away from grey UK skies and the back to school rush – with our great value curated holiday packages, so it’s never too late to grab some sunshine.”
The current spell of drizzly and uninspiring weather bearing down across the country makes it hard to believe that a so-called ‘Indian Summer’, a late period of hot weather, is on the way. After reaching record highs earlier this year, the UK is now preparing for gales of over 50mph, with weather warnings in place across England and Wales.
Forecasts suggest that temperatures could soar back up to the mid 20s in a matter of days, however, with areas including the Midlands and southwest regions set for 25C highs from September 20.