Three of the best budget sun holiday destinations to skip the Olympics

The summer Olympics is the biggest and most prestigious sporting event in the world and it only happens once every four years. This year the honour befalls to England to host the 2012 Olympic Games, and you would think the whole country would be on their marks, set and ready to tune in and enjoy. But, according to several recent surveys from Abta, Travelzoo and holiday booking websites, bookings for overseas holidays during the games are up, by some considerable margin. In fact according to a survey by Travelzoo, as many as 30% of Britons will be heading abroad to escape the Olympics. The Olympics fall during peak holiday season, from 27 July until 12 August, just after state schools break up for summer holidays. Additionally, the weather this summer has been so bad you can do nothing more than laugh about it, otherwise you might just cry. So rather than people escaping the Olympics, it just seems it’s the opportune moment to escape the UK, something millions of Brits do every year at this time and will continue to do so in the future. The real reason everyone is leaving is to find some sunshine. If you too think your vitamin D levels are running a little low and you’d actually like to reacquaint yourself with the sun this year after all this wind and rain, here are three of the sunniest places to do so on a budget. All of these sun holidays are available from On The Beach, who are specialising in some particularly good deals on cheap holidays to Turkey at the moment. Corfu, Greece Corfu is regarded as one of the most beautiful Greek Islands and it sits in good-looking company. It is endowed with plenty of summer sunshine, but rain during the winter makes sure the island stays green and lush. There are cute fishing coves, ancient archaeological gems and water parks, bike trails and water sport centres suited to families. Lanzarote, Canary Islands From wind-lashed surfing beaches to hidden fish-filled coves, Lanzarote is a thing of beauty and an example of nature at its best. It has well established resorts catering to tourists’ needs, but there is still plenty of authenticity to be found if you hire a car and explore the island at more length.

Algarve, Portugal Wildlife reserves, sandy beaches that stretch beyond the horizon and resorts that simply can’t do enough to cater to families with young children the Algarve is a package destination that delivers above and beyond what you’d expect. Away from the coast and large resorts, there are traditional villages that offer a glimpse into Portugal of old. Find out more about Portugal and the Algarve on the country’s national tourism website.