Seven uncrowded, late August escapes – at affordable prices

August bank holiday weekend is the final hurrah before the new school term starts and the last bank holiday before Christmas in England and Wales (or St Andrew’s Day – on 30 November – in Scotland). This year, data from aviation analytics company Cirium suggests that the Friday (28 August) will be the busiest day for departures from UK airports of the summer, with 3,321 flights scheduled. With research from Advantage Travel Partnership suggesting that more people are also booking last-minute trips than ever before – perhaps due to uncertainty about flights and heat across Europe – the last weekend of summer is shaping up to be a busy time to travel. The good news is that it’s still possible to find a quiet spot on the continent at the end of August, especially if you swerve the most popular summer flight destinations – identified by Cirium and Advantage as Dublin, Amsterdam, Palma, Alicante, Malaga, the Canaries, and Greece. Make tracks to places where schools have already begun the new term or to less-populated regions, and you can enjoy the swan song of summer in peace. Here are seven places that should hit the spot. Mirepoix in Ariège, southern France, and the border with Spain (Photo: Charles Ripon – Ariège Pyrenees Tourisme ) Ariège, France Nuzzling up to the border of Spain in southern France, Ariège is one of the country’s least populated departments: 40 per cent is blanketed by the Regional Natural Park of the Pyrenees Ariégeoises, where more than 3,100 miles of hiking trails connect waterfalls, canyoning spots, caves, castles and lookout points. In late August, temperatures are likely to have mellowed to the high 20°Cs according to long range forecasts. Department capital Foix has a petite population of less than 10,000 people – compared with 514,000-plus in nearby Toulouse. Sights include a rock-top castle and a medieval centre of timber-fronted houses and spirograph streets. Ariège also lays claim to one of France’s official Les Plus Beaux Villages. Wrapped up in ramparts, Camon is known as the “Little Carcassonne”, but without the crowds of its touristy neighbour. Mirepoix is another must-see, with its covered wooden walkways and sharp-spired Cathédrale Saint-Maurice. Flights from Stansted to nearby Toulouse are available from £127 return with Ryanair over the last weekend in August. A stay at the 19th-century farmhouse hotel Le Jardin, in Rieucros, halfway between Foix and Camon, costs £89. The Oslo ferry from the island Hovedøya (Photo: VisitOSLO/Sabine Zoller) Oslofjord, Norway Carving its way into the south-east coast of Norway for 75 miles until it reaches the southern edge of the capital, the Oslofjord inlet is flecked with islets all geared up for island-hopping. The closest to Oslo’s Aker Brygge ferry terminal is Hovedøya, with a 40-acre forest, twin beaches and the ruins of a 12th-century abbey. Next up is Lindøya, where visitors will find swimming jetties and 300 primary-coloured cottages. Then it’s Nakholmen, swaddled in a nature reserve, and Bleikøya, known for its black-headed gull nesting site. Beyond these islands, there’s Gressholmen, Heggholmen and Rambergøya, all connected by walkable causeways and home to Oslofjord’s oldest lighthouse. A little further still lies Langøyene, with its sandy beach and coastal hiking trails. Late August temperatures are likely to reach 20°C. In Norway, schools reconvene in mid-August, leaving holiday spots much quieter. Accommodation is limited on the islands – visitors can apply to the Urban Environment Agency to camp for up to two nights on Langøyene. Alternatively, stay in the city and ride the ferries for day trips. Tui offers three nights at the Home Hotel Gabelshus, a 15-minute walk from Akker Brygge, from £474pp, including flights departing Gatwick on 28 August. Bordighera in Liguria (Photo: Artur Dancs/Getty/iStockphoto) Riviera di Ponente, Italy Spilling across Italy’s north-west coast, between Genoa and the French border, the Riviera di Ponente rivals both its neighbours, the Cinque Terre and French Riviera, but with lighter crowds. Visit Sanremo for its yacht-dotted marina and Monégasque-style casino. Spend time in Finale Ligure to see the caruggi (tightly winding lanes of the old town). Stay in Bordighera to take in its belle époque villas and array of gardens and don’t miss the walled city of Albenga – dubbed the “City of a Hundred Spires” for the steeples that spike the skyline. To get away from everything, venture away from the coast to the Val Nervia – known as the “Little Dolomites” – just north of Bordighera, where temperatures could reach 25°C. Or tackle a section of the 273-mile Alta Via dei Monti Liguri trail, which tendrils through forests, olive groves and vineyards. Ryanair has return flights from Stansted to Genoa from £138 over the last weekend of August. A night at two-bedroom, stone-walled villa Piccolo Angolo di Paradiso in Taggia – 20 minutes from Sanremo – is available from £88. The Church of Saint Anthony in Evora (Photo: Orietta Gaspari/Getty/iStock Unreleased/Orietta Gaspari) Alentejo, Portugal The Alentejo region takes up more than a third of Portugal, yet it remains relatively off-radar. Stretching south of Lisbon to the Algarve, it offers both coastal and countryside getaways. For a beach break, head to the wild Atlantic coast that flows between Sines and Zambujeira do Mar (Flixbus runs buses from Lisbon to Sines from £4.99 one way, two hours). The sandy stretches here are cliff-backed and layered with cork-coloured sand, with late August highs of around 28°C. To experience Alentejo’s underexplored hinterland, make your way to the area that surrounds the region’s Unesco-listed capital Evora – a European Capital of Culture for 2027 (direct trains from Lisbon take 90 minutes). The city’s satellite sights include the Baroque Santuário de Nossa Senhora d’Aires sanctuary and vast Alqueva Lake, with its 970 miles of shoreline and dark sky reserve. Thursday-to-Tuesday flights from Stansted to Lisbon are available from £174 with Ryanair. A stay at Sines Sea View Business & Leisure Hotel costs from €130 (£111) a night. Near Evora, the contemporary Moagem industrial lodge hotel has rooms from £130 a night. Havnebadet Harbour Bath in Aarhus (Photo: Roar Paaske/ Visit Aarhus) Aarhus and the Odder Coast, Denmark Tourist resorts empty out in early August in Denmark, as the new school year begins on the 10th. In Aarhus, on the east coast of Jutland, the Havnebadet Harbour Bath with its 50-metre pool and floating sunbathing pontoons is one of the top places to spend a balmy day (late August temperatures tend to peak in the high teens). As are the 53-acre Botanical Garden and the Tivoli Friheden amusement park, which has 40 rides, combining coasters with vintage style carousels and Ferris wheel. To both the north and south of the centre, visitors are treated to a string of Danish pastry-coloured beaches and lidos. Northern Den Permanente is organised with changing rooms and toilets, but also one of the most popular. For less footfall, try the stretch of coast that trickles from the south ofMoesgård beach to Mariendal and beyond to Hou (accessible by bus from Aarhus). Ryanair has flights from Stansted to Aarhus for £67 return. At Hou Søsportcenter, a six-person holiday cabin, costs £570 a week. Graz, Austria Vienna hosted 20 million overnight stays in 2025, but Austria’s second city, Graz, recorded just two million. In the rolling, green south-east of the country, the city’s Old Town is part of a Unesco World Heritage Site and highlights include a glass elevator and the main Hauptplatz square, where the seating areas of restaurants spill out onto the cobbles – perfect with late August highs of 22°C. This is also the prime time for exploring the vineyards that corral the city. There are more than 80, offering tours, tastings and brettljause platters of cold meats and cheeses on scenic al fresco terraces. Weingut Buschenschank Pichler-Schober is a local favourite. Also nearby, and ideal for good weather days, are Schwarzsee leisure lake, with its paddleboards, pedal boats and aquapark; Schöckl mountain, where there’s a summer toboggan run; and Salzstiegl mountain adventure park – if you’re feeling brave try the downhill monster scooter trail. British Airways has flights to Graz from £209 return and there are plenty of affordable accommodation options around – a&o Graz Hauptbahnhof offers rooms from £84. Stugbaat, floating cottages and sauna in Dalsland (Photo: Laurence OGIELA/westsweden.com) Dalsland, West Sweden With schools returning in mid-August, crowds will have dispersed at Swedish holiday resorts by the end of the month. As one of its least populated provinces, Dalsland – a two-hour, 20-minute drive from Gothenburg – promises even more of an escape. Temperatures could still get up to 20°C, too. Lakes, forests and nature reserves cloak the countryside here, scored with miles of cycling, horse-riding, and hiking trails. More than a quarter of the region is covered by water, so canoeing is another principal pastime, especially along the waterways of the Dalsland Canal. With water being such a feature of the landscape it makes sense to stay on it. Close to the town of Bengtsfors, you can hire a floating cabin and move it around Lelång Lake by motorboat. A night’s stay costs £202 for four. Ryanair has flights from Stansted to Gothenburg from £81 return over the bank holiday weekend (Thursday to Tuesday).