Greece

Greece is at its best either side of the peak. May and June give warm water and near-empty archaeological sites. September and early October give the warmest sea of the year and half the crowd. July and August are hot, expensive and, in the Cyclades, windy: the meltemi can shut down small-boat transfers for a day or two at a time.

Athens takes any aircraft. From there it is a short hop or a helicopter to the islands, or ninety minutes by road into the Peloponnese, which is where we send members who want space rather than a scene.

Among our preferred hotel partners, Four Seasons Astir Palace occupies a pine peninsula at Vouliagmeni, half an hour from central Athens. Aman's Amanzoe stands above Porto Heli in the Peloponnese with its own beach club below. Mandarin Oriental Costa Navarino is on the Messinian coast in the south-west, and One&Only has opened at Glyfada in Athens.

Ask your advisor about yacht charter out of Athens, out-of-hours access at Delphi and Olympia, and whether the Cyclades or the Peloponnese actually suits your group.