When to go

December in Turkey turns on two dates: the middle of the month, after which the snow on the slopes is the real thing, and the last days of the year, when hotels switch to New Year pricing. Here is what each window is good for, and what a week costs in PLN.

The key to Malta is that the sea lags the air by two months, so spring looks like a beach holiday but isn't, and autumn stays swimmable into November. A full season-by-season guide - spring, summer, autumn, winter - with the standout months, costs in PLN and Schengen entry rules.

A region-by-region look at what September really delivers on the Albanian coast -sea temperatures, transfer times from Tirana, visa rules by nationality, and where the month is worth booking.

A resort-by-resort breakdown of what actually changes on the Montenegrin coast in September — sea temperature, prices, crowds — plus the flight detail most guides skip: the airport closest to your hotel usually isn't the one with a direct flight from Warsaw.

A week-by-week look at Malta in September — how much the weather actually shifts between the 1st and the 30th, what the island's biggest home-grown celebration adds to the trip, and whether it beats booking August or October instead.

Air stays close to 25°C on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast through most of September, but the sea cools fast after the first two weeks - here's which resorts still work for swimming and which suit a quieter, cheaper break instead.

A month-by-month breakdown of Madeira's weather, sea temperature and rain patterns - matched to what you actually want to do: swim, hike, watch whales or escape a Polish winter.