Best family sun for October half-term 2027

October half-term is the quiet gem of the family calendar: the crowds have gone, the prices have softened, and large parts of the Mediterranean are still warm enough to swim. The catch is that the map has shrunk since summer, so you need to know which coasts still deliver in late October. Here are eight that do for 2027, scored and mapped.

Where the sea is still warm in late October

• Rhodes, Cyprus and southern Turkey hold their heat longest in the Med, with sea temperatures still comfortable into late October.
• The Canary Islands step in as the reliable fallback, warm all year.
• Crete and Malta are usually good for the earlier part of the break.

What to look for

• A heated pool for the cooler evenings, even where the sea is warm.
• A free kids club still in full swing, since some resorts wind down after summer.
• Value, because October is one of the best-priced warm weeks of the year.

Booking 2027

October half-term is popular precisely because it is warm, quiet and cheaper, so the best resorts still book up. Hold a refundable room now and compare on the map. The eight below are scored on rooms, kids club, food and beach.