If you’re just back from a holiday in the Mediterranean, first of all, lucky you and secondly, how’s your wallet?
Figures collected by TravelSupermarket for the BBC reported 2025 holiday prices up by nine to 12 per cent year-on-year across familiar favourites Spain and Greece. The truth is more nuanced of course.
Ibiza in August might have prices as high as the midday sun while other Spanish areas are more realistic, and it’s the same with properties. Search out value and you’ll be surprised at the mark-downs you can find, all with access to the self-same European lifestyle.
Priced out of St Tropez? Try Montenegro
Ah, the jasmine-scented glamour of St Tropez, the quaint Provencal fishing port where locals play boules and market stalls are piled high with artisan cheeses and lavender sachets. Today, the fisherman are long gone, celebrities vie with billionaires for prime yacht bragging rights (we’re looking at you David and Brooklyn Beckham) and properties even with a distant sea-view can carry an eight digit price tag.
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Swap the madness for the beautifully brooding waters of Kotor Bay in Montenegro, two hours flight from London, where the yachts are equally super-sized but property prices are more down to earth. Lustica Bay (https://lusticabay.com/) is an entire town being developed along with the country’s first 18-hole golf course where completed facilities already include a full-service 115-berth marina, five beaches and extensive sporting facilities. Over 1,000 properties have been sold and the latest offering, new this month is Heights, new studio to three-bedroom apartments and penthouses priced from €390,000 (£337,400).
Lustica Bay is an entire town being developed along with Montenegro’s first 18-hole golf course
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“The value proposition at Lustica Bay in the context of the wider European market is really quite compelling,” says Slavica Milić from Lustica Bay. “Compared with similar waterfront development we’re able to offer significantly better value while maintaining the same calibre of amenities.”
New studio to three-bedroom apartments and penthouses priced from €390,000 at Heights
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Priced out of Ibiza? Try Jávea
“It’s a common occurrence for clients who start their property search in Ibiza to end up buying here in Jávea,” says Alexandra Halse, Director at Lucas Fox estate agency in Jávea. “Many prefer being on the mainland rather than an island, especially if they want to be able to drive easily to their home, and everyone appreciates the value here.”
Coastal Jávea in eastern Spain is a two hour ferry ride from Ibiza and one hour by car from both Alicante and Valencia airports. It’s three towns in one says Halse: a fisherman’s port, an Old Town with cobbled streets and a weekly market, and a sandy family-friendly beach.
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“Jávea is authentically Spanish. Wealthy families from Madrid and Valencia have had holiday homes here for generations and there are lovely coves nearby including Playa de la Granadella, regularly considered one of the most beautiful in Spain,” says Halse. “You’ll find Michelin-starred meals or a superb paella and there are plenty of places where a three course midweek menú del día is €15, with wine.”
As property prices in Ibiza reach eye-watering levels (a lovely waterfront four-bedroom house on the supposedly “more affordable” north coast is currently for sale with Knight Frank for €8,500,000), well-sized family houses in Jávea start from €700,000 (£605,600) and holiday homes from €400,000 (£346,000), including pools, says Halse, adding: “Buyers like the Ibiza-style architecture then can find here. For €2 million you can get a seafront property.”
Darren and Katie Houghton in Jávea
Darren Houghton 55, his wife Katie and their son Joe, 10, moved from Hertfordshire to Jávea in 2020. “We’d talked about relocating abroad for years but during the pandemic saw a chance to make a real change and give Joe a different kind of childhood,” says Darren, a business consultant.
“We looked at international schools across Europe and were drawn to Lady Elizabeth School here on the Costa Blanca and when we visited Jávea it just clicked. The lifestyle is simple but rich, beach evenings, outdoor living year-round and a real sense of community that’s been brilliant for us as a family. Joe’s older brothers visit often and it’s one of the few places we’ve all been able to slow down and properly reconnect. The warmth, space and pace of life have given us exactly what we were looking for.”
Priced out of Costa Smerelda? Try Malta
Despite having one of the shortest official summer seasons, the northeast corner of Sardinia, and Costa Smerelda in particular, is one of Europe’s most expensive places to buy property. Trade the millionaire’s budget for something more reasonable with a home in Malta’s Three Cities, Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua. The sun shines for 300 days a year, flight connections are excellent, crime is low and there are attractive residency programmes for UK nationals.
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“Waterfront living is at its best here with front-row views of the Grand Harbour and direct access to one of the most spectacular marinas in the Med,” says Grahame Salt, Director Homes of Quality. “Malta’s Three Cities deliver Mediterranean luxury with history, heart and investment sense and without Porto Cervo’s price tag. Whether it’s a €350,000 two-bedroom apartment or a converted palazzino for €800,000, the value is extraordinary.”
The sun shines in Malta for 300 days a year, flight connections are excellent, crime is low and there are attractive residency programmes for UK nationals
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Priced out of Lake Como? Try the Algarve
Italy’s tax incentives for very wealthy foreigners are proving effective in enticing high-net-worth- individuals to move there, pushing up prices especially in areas close to the business centre of Milan. That includes Lake Como where a large waterside family villa can easily touch €10 million. Replace the lake waters with the Atlantic while keeping all the luxe by heading to towns on Portugal’s sunny southern coast of the Algarve.
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“Vilamoura is fast becoming one of Europe’s most exciting luxury hubs while Carvoeiro and Ferragudo offer buyers heritage charm with a high-end edge’” says Christophe Londot, CEO and Founder of Chestertons affiliate Xtophe Properties. “The lifestyle and long-term value make these markets real contenders.”
In Carvoeiro, renovated sea-view villas typically start from €1 million (£865,000) and compact two-bedroom apartments from €350,000 (£302,800). Vilamoura and Carvoeiro both show strong short-let performance too says Londot, especially through the summer.
An apartment at Quinta Heights in Ferragudo, around 45 minutes’ drive from Vilamoura
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