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As I write, sunshine is pouring through the window of my London office. But how long will it last? Every year we British hope for a long hot summer, with weeks of high temperatures and clear days, and more or less every year we are disappointed. We are among the world’s busiest travellers over the summer, and no wonder. For too long we have suffered cold and wet summer holidays, with blustery west winds bringing squalls of rain and cold wind in off the Atlantic ocean, with just a few days of really hot sunshine (usually when you’re stuck at work). No wonder the British yearn for a change of climate, and head off to the Med. One favourite summer destination for the discerning is the tiny Greek island of Paxos. Tucked away in the Ionian Sea, an hour’s hydrofoil journey from better known Corfu, Paxos is like a larger version of one of the Scilly Isles transported south. But the winds that blow over Paxos’s pristine beaches are light sea breezes not Atlantic gales, and the gentle waves that lap over the white pebbles on Paxos are a far cry from those that crash into the rocks of Tresco and St Martin’s. Here on Paxos the temperatures climb quickly from May’s mid-20s celsius (77 fahrenheit) through June’s upper 20s to the lower 30s (88-90 fahrenheit) in the peak season of July and August. For these months the average hours of sunshine per day is between 10 and 12 and you would certainly be unlucky to have more than one day of rain in a fortnight’s holiday in these summer months. Then the end of August traditionally brings a sudden thunderstorm and downpour, after which Paxos settles into its restful September mode: the temperatures less harsh, the sea warmer than ever, with maybe a light sweater required at your regular table at one of the harbour tavernas of Loggos, Lakka or Gaios. Come the end of September the evenings draw in and the season slips to its close, around mid-October. It’s a climate we British dream about. But of course you don’t have to dream: a three-hour flight to Corfu and one hour on the boat can turn the dream of a proper summer into reality. Don’t delay too long, though. Independent Greek holiday companies like Paxos specialist Travel à la carte are reporting brisk early bookings for their Greek island holidays this year, particularly on Paxos. Handily, though, Travel à la carte has five brand new villas with pools which have just become available. Occupying a prime position on the northeast coast, the three Muses villas and two Marmari properties are all on the edge of the village of Loggos and less than ten minutes’ walk to both the local tavernas and the beach. So if you can’t bank on a blazing hot summer in Britain this year, maybe it’s time for a change of climate – and a trip to Paxos. It’s likely to be the right decision.
For
details of Travel à la carte’s
villas and apartments in Paxos, visit
www.travelalacarte.co.uk or
contact
Chris Griffiths (email
chris@travelalacarte.co.uk or tel 0030 26620 31207) or Tony Wells
(email
tony@travelalacarte.co.uk or tel 020 7316 1867).
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