A dozen little-known but spectacular beaches you can reach with a direct flight from Manchester Airport

Elafonisi, Crete

Fly from Manchester to Chania with Ryanair from £92pp return

Crete is the largest of Greece’s 6,000 islands, and at its western tip is one of the country’s most stunning beaches. Elafonisi Beach is a narrow strip of sand wedged between the tiny island of Elafonisi and the Cretan mainland, wrapped around a shallow lagoon with clear emerald waters. The beach is best known for its pink hue, which comes from the shells scattered along the shoreline. The closest airport to Elafonisi is Chania, with Ryanair, easyJet, TUI and Jet2.com all offering direct flights from Manchester.

Cala Goritze, Sardinia

Fly from Manchester to Olbia with TUI from £90pp return

The island of Sardinia is somewhat separate from the rest of Italy, being closer to Tunisia than to the Italian mainland – and although visitor numbers here are starting to increase, they’re still nowhere near the levels of hotspots like Venice and Tuscany. That means its beaches remain unspoilt and uncrowded – and few are as spectacular as Cala Goritze on Sardinia’s east coast. It is only accessible by boat from the neighbouring town of Santa Maria Navarrese, or via a three-mile hike, but explorers are rewarded with a stunning white sand cove set against a backdrop of towering limestone cliffs and columns.

The Gulf of Orosei is dotted with other similarly breathtaking beaches, caves and rock formations and is just to the south of Olbia, which has direct flights from Manchester with TUI and Jet2.com.

Dune du Pilat, Arcachon

Fly from Manchester to Bordeaux with easyJet from £84pp return

The highest sand dune in Europe, the Dune du Pilat, faces out across the Atlantic from the outskirts of Arcachon, a popular resort town in southwest France that is famous for its seafood. At nearly 350ft high and more than a mile long, it is visible for miles around and its sheer size means it never feels crowded even at the peak of summer – so you can grab a peaceful spot on the slopes of the dune to sunbathe, build sandcastles or take in a blissful sunset. Arcachon is around an hour by train from Bordeaux, which is served by easyJet from Manchester.

Scala dei Turchi, Sicily

Fly from Manchester to Catania with Jet2.com from £188pp return

The Scala dei Turchi, or ‘Turkish Steps’, are considered an iconic natural symbol of their island by Sicilians but are seldom visited by the international tourists that flood into popular resorts on the island’s east coast. These unusual white cliffs descend towards the sea in a series of jagged, sloping platforms resembling a staircase, giving way to golden sands and calm blue waters. The cliffs shelter a small bay that became a notorious haven for Turkish pirates in centuries gone by, hence the name.

The Scala dei Turchi steps are around two hours from Sicily’s main airport, Catania, which has direct links to Manchester with Jet2.com and easyJet.

Praia de Porto Santo, Madeira

Fly from Manchester to Funchal with Ryanair from £56pp return

Most travellers to Madeira don’t go to the hassle of a two-hour ferry trip to reach the tiny neighbouring island of Porto Santo – but the jaw-dropping Porto Santo beach is one of many good reasons why they should. Make an overnight stay of it and enjoy a spectacular, pristine five-mile stretch of golden sand, family run restaurants serving up local seafood, and a golf course designed by legendary Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros. TUI, easyJet, Jet2.com and Ryanair all fly from Manchester to Madeira.

Playa de Las Catedrales, Galicia

Fly from Manchester to Santander with Ryanair from £28pp return

Spain’s sun-soaked southern coastal resorts are heaving every summer – but some of the country’s best beaches can actually be found in the north-western Galicia region. Playa de Las Catedrales, or the ‘Beach of the Cathedrals’, is a particular highlight. Stunning natural rock arches tower over the beach’s expansive, smooth white sands, which are rarely busy, even in summer.

What has kept it pristine is that there are easier beaches to get to for international visitors – but if you hire a car and base yourself in the charming nearby city of A Coruña, you can freely explore what this incredible region has to offer. When flying direct from Manchester to Santander with Ryanair, the onward journey to Galicia takes around three hours by car.

Golden Horn Beach, Croatia 

Fly from Manchester to Split with easyJet from £105pp return

Golden Horn Beach juts into the Adriatic from the southern coast of the Croatian island of Brac, backed by a pine forest and bounded on both sides by shimmering turquoise waters that quickly turn into deeper shades of blue as you swim away from the shore. It’s a popular spot for windsurfers and can be reached on foot with a 20-minute scenic stroll along the coast from the town of Bol – which is connected by a short ferry journey to the mainland city of Split. You can fly to Split with easyJet, TUI and Jet2.com directly from Manchester.

Legzira Beach, Morocco 

Fly from Manchester to Agadir with TUI from £94pp return

Morocco is growing in popularity as a holiday destination for British tourists and Agadir typifies this, with no fewer than four airlines – Jet2.com, TUI, easyJet and Ryanair – serving the Atlantic resort from Manchester.

You won’t have to go far to find some great beaches after arriving in Agadir – and most tourists don’t stray far from the city, which means these beaches are often very busy at the height of summer – but intrepid travellers will find a truly jaw-dropping spot a couple of hours to the south in the sleepy town of Legzira. An almost Martian-like landscape of red sands, dunes and cliffs is punctuated by the colossal sandstone Arch of Legzira, which juts out from the cliffs and splits the beach in two, with the narrow walkway under the arch cut off at high tide. Saharan sands picked up by the wind create stunning other-worldly red and orange sunsets over the ocean.

Plage de Sidi Mahrez, Tunisia

Fly from Manchester to Djerba with easyJet from £157pp return

Many thousands of holidaymakers visit Tunisia from Manchester Airport every year – but the vast majority go to the Hammamet-Sousse region near Tunis, with a string of swish hotels and all-inclusive resorts lining several miles of the shore. A new entrant to the market is the Tunisian island of Djerba, which is now served direct from Manchester by easyJet. Its beaches are among the best in the country and the jewel in its crown is the Plage de Sidi Mahrez, a 10-mile stretch of white sand with a laid back atmosphere where you can enjoy water sports and camel rides.

Shell Beach, Herm

Fly from Manchester to Guernsey with Aurigny from £130pp return

Closer to home, one of the most stunning beaches in the British Isles can be found on the tiny Channel Island of Herm. Shell Beach takes its name from the millions of shell fragments of all shapes, sizes and colours that wash in from the Atlantic. Its beautifully clear water – coupled with a warmer climate than the British mainland – make you feel that you’re somewhere altogether more tropical. The best part is that with nearly a mile of golden sandy shore, it’s never crowded here. You can reach Herm via a 20-minute ferry from St Peter Port, the capital of Guernsey, which has direct flights from Manchester with Aurigny. There are no cars on Herm, which has a population of less than 100 – but Shell Beach is just a 15-minute walk from the ferry terminal, through luscious green meadows and pastures.

Smith Point County Park, Long Island (NY)

Fly from Manchester to New York JFK with AerLingus from £350pp return

A day on the beach might not be the first thing you think of when planning a trip to the Big Apple – but nearby Long Island has some of the finest beaches on the east coast of the US, and in the summer, boasts temperatures that are comparable to the Mediterranean. Probably the most famous is Coney Island Beach, with its thrill rides, boardwalk and plethora of weird and wonderful seafront family attractions, it’s America’s answer to Blackpool – or perhaps that should be the other way around.

For a more sedate experience, though, head a few miles further out from the city to the sprawling Smith Point County Park. A popular spot with families on camping trips, the beach is great for wildlife watching, with nesting seabirds and the occasional pod of dolphins passing by the shore.

You can get to New York JFK from Manchester via direct flights with Virgin Atlantic and Aer Lingus.

Holbox, Mexico

Fly from Manchester to Cancun with TUI from £290pp return

The party hotspot of Cancun, and the string of all-inclusive resorts on the Costa Maya to the south, draws in huge numbers of visitors from across the world, including Manchester – where TUI offers direct year-round flights. But head out of Cancun in a northbound direction and you’ll be richly rewarded with an equally stunning stretch of coast that remains very quiet comparatively.

The small island of Holbox, about 40 miles to the north of Cancun, is a tropical paradise with pristine white sands, a laid-back atmosphere with locally run beach bars and restaurants, and the opportunity to swim with whale sharks in the summer months. Flocks of wild flamingos and pelicans also frequent the shallow lagoon that separates Holbox from the mainland.