My husband and I want a last blast of Mediterranean sun – one week at the end of September. The Balearics are top of our wish-list, but are we too late for warm weather, and can we still find a nice quiet villa with pool away from the busy resorts? - Margaret Joseph, Sussex

The good news is that the tail end of September is not just a good time to hit the Balearics – it’s the best. Prices drop dramatically after mid-September (with villas available at half their high-peak price), sea temperatures are at their yearlong high, and the sun is warm enough for all-day sessions by the pool, but not so warm you’ll have to drag your migraine indoors at midday.

If it’s peace Margaret needs, then Menorca would be my top tip. OK, it’s not as undeveloped as Formentera, but its towns are more interesting, its hillsides are lusher and more welcoming, and its south coast is strewn with winding forest tracks leading to unspoilt, pristine white beaches such as Cala Mitjana that wouldn’t look out of place in the Caribbean.

It’s a struggle to find a one-bedroom villa anywhere in the Balearics, but Meonvillas has seven nights at the two-bedroom Casa Carlos close to magical, medieval Ciutadella for only £539 (£1,149 in high-season), with flights from Gatwick with First Choice from £139 and car-hire, £135.

For somewhere with a bit more of a buzz, the north-east coast of Majorca – particularly around the fabulous cobbled old town of Pollenca – is a startlingly unspoilt, still quite rural retreat, with quiet cobalt coves at Cala Sant Vicenc, and dizzying cliff-top drives along Formentor peninsula.

Mallorca Farmhouses has about 70 properties around Pollenca, all with pools. The three-bedroom Villa Son Goreta is still available from September 30 at £625 for the week, including car-hire. Flights from Gatwick to Palma with Excel Airways cost from about £105.

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