GREAT BEACHES Most of the beaches along Portugal's west coast are pounded relentlessly by Atlantic Ocean waves and the Altentejo is no exception.
In the Faroes, in "European" waters, thousands of pilot whales die each year, driven from the open Atlantic on to the islands' beaches and butchered.
The cruise is geared towards adventurous outdoorsy types who want to kayak to remote beaches and giant waterfalls, but appreciate a massage when they get back.
Central Goa This region has long, empty beaches, dominated by five-star resorts.
So some smugglers are routing their charges further south, to Egypt, and the beaches of Alexandria and Damietta, or else flying them to Algiers and Tripoli for onward shipment through the central Mediterranean.
But if there is a hub, a clearing house for the complex, cynical and murderous business of trafficking migrants, then it is a place where the state is defunct and society disenchanted, where the border guards are biddable for $400, where the beaches are broad and where the sea lapping the shore stretches north to another far more promising coastline.
There are not 'topless beaches' so much as beaches everywhere where bathers remove swimsuits to get an even tan".
Or how about a two-bed, two-bath villa in the Spanish countryside, not far from the beaches of Murcia: now £89,500 compared to £135,000 in 2006?
While the views, over the lagoon and on to the beaches and mountains beyond, were spectacular, the food was not.
Other options for active visitors include snorkelling – try Deep Bay, where there is a 100-year-old wreck; diving at Cades Reef (jollydive.com); exploring old fortifications such as Fort Berkeley; and taking the ferry to neighbouring Barbuda to see the frigate bird colony, caves and pink-sand beaches.
Calle Sevilla 6, barbadillo.com, tours 11am (English), noon and 1pm (Spanish), €6pp Windsurfing, kite surfing, and surfing, Tarifa The heady combination of strong winds, warm winters and extensive sandy beaches have established Tarifa as a top destination for year-round wet fun.
