It’s the oldest trick in the savvy-travel book. You arrive at a popular destination, grab your own set of wheels, then drive in the opposite direction to everyone else. Et voilà — privacy, seclusion, heaven.

With a bit of forward planning, this tactic can even work for a summer beach break beside the Mediterranean — and we’ve done the forward planning for you. Here are five hand-picked sun spots where a cheap flight and a hire car will take you beyond the package circuit, to places where you’ll find unspoilt scenery, proper locals and a stretch of sand to yourself.

Unless stated, hotel prices are for June

CABO DE GATA, Spain

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Improbably marooned between the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Sol, Cabo de Gata is a hunk of cowboy country by the sea. Instead of orange apartment blocks, its shore is spiked with the rusty cones of burnt-out volcanoes. Instead of amusement parks, there are pirate watchtowers. And you definitely won’t find donkey rides on its 30 miles of marvellous beaches — more likely a lonesome bandido on a clapped-out mule.

Not joking about the cowboys: this is the closest thing to desert in Europe, which is why Leone, Eastwood and Bronson came here to shoot their spaghetti westerns in the 1960s, making use of the jagged ravines, fan-palm oases and whitewashed pueblos. There’s even a bona fide ghost town to visit, around the abandoned gold mine at Rodalquilar.

The cape is only a 40-minute drive from Almeria, but has been saved from development by its startling bird life — including migrating flamingos in spring. Its natural-park status extends a mile out to sea, where Spain’s warmest waters are great for snorkelling.

It’s a rugged kind of seaside holiday, for sure, but that’s why it has remained off the beaten track, largely the preserve of discerning madrileños. Base yourself in villagey Las Negras and ferret out the only-on-foot coves of Cala de los Toros and Playa San Pedro, crinkled away beneath the cliffs. The coast is gorgeous: dune-pimpled, lavender-carpeted and scarred only by the occasional German nudist.

Plan your trip: fly to Almeria with EasyJet (easyjet.com ), from Gatwick; Ryanair (ryanair.com ), from Stansted; or Jet2 (jet2.com ), from Leeds/Bradford. Rent a car with Europcar (europcar.co.uk ); from about £150 for seven days.

For something simple and Spanish, stay at Casa-Cafe la Loma (00 34-950 389831, www.degata.com/laloma ; doubles from £55), an old cortijo farmhouse on the road from Las Negras to the lovely fishing hamlet of Isleta del Moro. In San Jose, try the Cortijo el Sotillo (950 611100, cortijoelsotillo.com ; doubles £78-£100), a contemporary-style ranch that offers riding and hearty cooking.

Inntravel (01653 617906, inntravel.co.uk ) has a week’s self-catering in Las Negras at the Bitacora apart-hotel, a nest of clean-cut doubles with a nice pool; from £520pp, including car hire, but not flights. Nearby, Buceo Las Negras (00 34 950 388217, www.buceolasnegras.com/en ) will sort out diving, kayaking, biking and boat trips.

CAPO VATICANO, Italy

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