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Jacqueline Mirtelli, Atout, the France Tourism Development Agency
I would recommend Cap Corse, a 25-mile long peninsula at the northern tip of Corsica. It isn't exactly a tourist area: it's very mountainous, very wild and beautiful but it has wonderful white sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters. There are direct flights from Gatwick to Bastia on Sundays with easyJet and some tour operators go there but I would recommend backpacking around the tiny, sparsely inhabited fishing and mountain villages. Cap Corse stretches from Erbalunga on the east coast to the Désert des Agriates at the bottom of the west, but its heart lies between Brando and Nonza. In the middle, there is a walking trail called the Chemin de Lumière: eight chapels that helped medieval travellers cross the Cape through the mountains.
In Pino, the church of Santa Maria Assunta has exceptional baroque frescoes, and there are lots of private mausoleums: the most famous and spectacular is the tomb of Gustave Eiffel's wife in Nonza. There are very good hostels (auberges) and great local food in every village.
Alternatively, I'd suggest Provence. A few kilometres east of Avignon (to which Eurostar will run a direct service this summer), just next to the Luberon – but less posh – L'Isle sur la Sorgue is a small town famous for its antique shops, art and craft boutiques, waterside cafes and restaurants – and an array of working water wheels.
Haute Corse, Cap Corse, Pino, France. Photograph: Alamy
Fontaine de Vaucluse is built around the biggest spring in France at the foot of the Vaucluse mountains, while Roussillon is famous for its range of ochre-coloured houses. Seventeen shades of red, yellow, orange and pink merge into each other as you wander around the spiralling streets.
This summer I will head to the Giens Peninsula. Ryanair flies to Toulon from Liverpool and Stansted. A lot of people drive straight to Les Iles d'Or but I will stop at the strip of land between salt marshes and a long sandy beach behind the pine forest. From there, I will go early to the Port du Niel to buy fish from the fishermen, visit the wine shop in La Capte, and then enjoy the sunset on Almanarre beach, near the little harbour of La Madrague.
For real qualité de vie, go to the Var and visit its small inland villages like Correns, Collobrières and Salerne. My tip for accommodation: in La Croix Valmer (close to Cap Lardier) there's a great B&B called Le Refuge (lerefuge-cotedazur.fr). Ask for the room on the first floor with the terrasse.
• atout-france.fr
Tom Hall, travel editor, Lonely Planet
Last summer I took my family to Switzerland in search of scenic railways and mountaintop playgrounds. After a jaw-dropping week we found all that and more, camping on the shores of Lake Thun, a short train ride from Interlaken. A trip to Switzerland needn't break the bank – campsites are dotted around Interlaken, for instance, and railpasses make travelling round the country more affordable. Getting out on to the water is a great way to leave the crowds behind.
I've since heard about a rafting trip from Thun to the capital, Bern, that serves up fast-flowing Alpine water, views of the Bernese Alps and the chance of spotting storks, from an inflatable boat or canoe. The 28km paddle takes three to four hours, depending on water levels. Prices start at 80CHF (£56) for a two-person canoe (myswitzerland.com/en/aare-rafting-canoeing.html). Once the boat is dropped off in Bern, you can explore this beautiful capital's medieval architecture and refuel at street cafes.
This summer, we're are heading to northern Spain on the ferry (Brittany Ferries goes from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Bilbao and Santander) for more camping and mountains, with art, tapas and Spanish practice thrown in for good measure. I'm also going to the Western Isles in Scotland for a week's cycling, but that's just me and my sleeping bag – no enthusiastic small boys in tow.
• lonelyplanet.com
Michael Cullen, editor-in-chief, i-escape
My top tip for summer 2013 is the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo, in the south-east Aegean. It's one of the smallest and most remote of Greece's islands – just two miles across, and reached by a tiny plane (or three-hour ferry) from Rhodes, 80 miles away. Or you can cross from Kas in Turkey, with a little planning. That's probably why it's not on many people's radars. There's only one village, Megisti, a picture-perfect horseshoe harbour fronted by pastel-painted houses and bobbing boats, home to the island's 300 inhabitants and, in the brief two-month tourist season, a similar number of adventurous visitors. Paths lead around the coast or up to a hilltop monastery. Don't expect sandy beaches, do expect iridescent turquoise seas (especially in the Blue Grotto sea cave), fresh seafood, and a laid-back, unhurried lifestyle that would seduce even the nerviest banker into blissful lethargy. This is Greece as it should be, not as the papers paint it. Stay at Caretta (i-escape.com/caretta), a collection of budget rooms and studios.
Kastellorizo, Greece. Photograph: Hercules Milas/Alamy
My other discovery this year is La Palma, the most north-westerly of the Canaries, and a world away from neighbouring Tenerife. It's got a fantastic variety of scenery, from black sand beaches to volcanic peaks and huge swathes of pine forest. This, along with westerly sea breezes, keeps it relatively cool in summer (25-30C).
Hikers will be in heaven: there are over 1,000km of marked trails, including a spectacular circuit through the Caldera de Taburiente, ringed by jagged peaks and haloes of cloud. The coast is mostly rocky, with coves and endless banana plantations; the two main towns (Los Llanos and Santa Cruz) conceal rainbow-painted colonial centres with a lazy cafe culture. Apart from a couple of minor resorts around Puerto Naos, there's little development; but that is likely to change with the recent opening of a new airport and direct flights from Gatwick and Manchester, with Thomson. Our advice is to book a small villa: they cost barely more than a hotel room in other parts of Europe. One of our favourites is Casa Los Geranios (i-escape.com/casa-los-geranios) in the south.
• i-escape.com
David Mantero, senior buyer, Stanfords travel bookshop
Looking at our best-sellers, Turkey appears to be hot this summer, but then it has been for a couple of years. On a smaller scale, but certainly trending at the moment, are Naples and the Amalfi coast. I think the Pompeii and Herculaneum exhibition at the British Museum might have brought this destination to people's attention. It is, in fact, a great holiday spot besides the historical sites, with a beautiful seaside and plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities.
We have also seen a surge of interest in Amsterdam. It is the 400th anniversary of Amsterdam's canals this year and there are plenty of celebrations planned for the summer.
Not so well known but worth exploring is Asturias in northern Spain. I genuinely love the area and have always recommended it. In Asturias you can find breathtaking mountain scenery only a few miles from beautiful, unspoilt stretches of beach. It is a great place for hiking, cycling and white-water activities but it also has beautiful historic villages and Oviedo and Gijón, its two major cities, are well worth visiting. Oviedo is calm and beautiful and Gijón is vibrant and fun and in both there are plenty of places to eat great food and drink local cider. Also, the way the economy is in Spain at the moment, it should be possible to get good deals.
I have just come back from Vietnam and it was wonderful. Great food and so inexpensive that you almost save money while travelling.
• stanfords.co.uk
Alexis Josephides, product development manager, Sunvil Holidays
Anyone considering Greece should try the southern Peloponnese on the mainland, rather than an island. This beautiful area is still relatively unknown to non-Greeks, and the rugged landscape and distance from Athens means it has avoided the development and tourist numbers of more established Greek islands. The nearest to a resort here is Stoupa, about a third of the way down the central Mani peninsula. Best reached from Kalamata airport, this pretty village is blessed with lovely sandy beaches and a magnificent mountain backdrop, and although there are plenty of tavernas and cafes, it remains relatively low key. Further south, almost at the foot of the peninsula, the remote and tiny fishing hamlet of Gerolimenas is home to one of Greece's finest boutique hotels – the Kyrimai (kyrimai.gr), converted from a 19th-century warehouse, with sea on two sides. A couple of hours' drive east, the medieval fortress town of Monemvasia is one of Greece's "must-see" attractions, on a thickly fortified rock only reached by a narrow causeway.
I haven't had a summer holiday since 2008 but this year I really want to drive around the Peloponnese.
• sunvil.co.uk
Simon Wrench, commercial manager, Inntravel
I would recommend exploring the Danish Riviera, Zealand, Denmark's largest island. It's where the laid-back, cycle-loving Danish city dwellers go to take it easy, and has gorgeous coastal villages, superb seafood, white-sand beaches and fairytale castles. The Danish Maritime Museum) will open on 29 June in a dry dock in the shadow of Kronborg Castle, the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet and home, in August, to a Shakespeare festival where visitors can watch his plays in an open-air theatre. August and September are the best months to visit when the weather is usually warm and calm. It's flat so good for easy cycling.
Zealand, Denmark. Photograph: Alamy
Well off the tourist trail, southern Moravia, a hidden corner of the Czech Republic, is a beautiful spot, with lots of vineyards, and the "Garden of Europe", one of the largest artificial landscapes in Europe. At the Znojmo Historical Vintage festival (13-14 September), the Czech Republic's largest wine festival, visitors can taste wine, listen to music and watch dancing, fencing and a knights' tournament.
Last year, we had a week of fun walking in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, and were blessed with brilliant blue skies. My three kids loved stopping off at the mountain cafes, swimming in the hotel pools and doing the map reading. This year isn't quite decided, but it's definitely going to combine cycling with sandy beaches.
• inntravel.co.uk
Richard Hammond, founder of greentraveller.co.uk
For those who want a green trip, France is really easily accessible from the UK by train or ferry, so I would recommend a wonderful rail journey south to Nice, and into the heart of the Alpes Maritimes to the little-known Mercantour national park.
I also like the little-visited region of Mayenne, one of France's best-kept secrets, situated where Normandy, Brittany and the Loire meet. There are leisurely family-friendly bike routes, natural pools and treehouses, such as Orion Treehouses, near the fortified village of St Paul de Vence.
Last summer I stayed at one of the National Trust properties on the Stackpole Estate in Pembrokeshire. From there it's a 10-minute walk to beautiful Barafundle Bay (you can also kayak to it, like my wife did one morning), but my favourite part of the holiday was the mile-long walk through the lovely Bosherston Lily Ponds to the large, sandy dune-backed Broad Haven South.
This summer, I'm planning to take the train to west Sweden. I've been to the Weather Islands in the spring, and want to go back in high summer, hire a cabin, swim and eat fresh fish for 10 days.
• greentraveller.co.uk
Alison Couper, director of communications, Hotels.com
Our Corfu searches are up five fold and with hotel prices falling on average by 11%, it's a good-value destination. We've found Barcelona hotel prices have dropped by 4%, making this cultural gem more appealing, too. And perennial good-value favourites Greece and Spain remain popular.
Lesser-known summer destinations, such as Bulgaria, Germany and Poland, are gaining a lot of traction. The Golden Sands beach in Bulgaria, reputed to be one of the best in Europe, is just 16km away from the city of Varna, a town filled with lots of good-value hotels.
While Germany is not a traditional summer destination, Kampen in Sylt, with its white-sand beach and red cliffs, is becoming more popular with Europeans. Sopot in Poland is on the Baltic Sea and while the water is cold, the seaside town has lots going for it.
Last year I took my two small children to Jordan, a fabulous place with so much diversity in a relativity small space. This year we are off camping on Île de Ré off the west coast of France in the summer and going to the Kruger national park in October.
• hotels.com
Bob Atkinson, travel expert, TravelSupermarket.com
Despite the fall in the value of the pound, Spain is still one of the cheapest places to visit in Europe, and some businesses have dropped their prices while the country is affected by the recession. Flying into Malaga is easy, with low-cost flights and cheap pre-book car hire, then I'd head for Andalucía's interior, perhaps to Mijas or Ronda, then Antequera. Heading east towards Nerja, there are good options towards the Sierra Nevada. I'd explore the historic white villages, take a trip around a sherry bodega in Jerez or explore the captivating Mezquita (mosque) in Córdoba, where Islam and Christianity sit side by side in the same complex.
Street cafe in the old town, Mijas, Andalucia, Spain. Photograph: Alamy
Last year I did three big trips, (though not in summer) to North Korea via Beijing, Jordan on an Exodus group trip, and a Caribbean fly cruise. This year I'll do big trips to western Australia in May, to visit friends in Perth and travel up the coast with them to Broome. I'm also doing a two-week adventure trip with Explore, visiting Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica. I do lots of cheap European weekends too: this year I'll visit Stockholm, Budapest, Moscow, Hamburg, Cologne, Lisbon, Belfast and Palma City.
• travelsupermarket.com
Lucy Kane, travel editor, Rough Guides
My top picks for summer 2013 include Tbilisi, the captivating capital of Georgia, which sits at the junction between Europe and Asia. Flights don't yet operate from the UK, but it's a quick and cheap hop from one of its neighbours, like Turkey or Bulgaria. There's warm, sunny weather, attractive art deco architecture, narrow cobbled streets and traditional domed churches. The food and wine scene is fast developing and the nightlife is as buoyant as you wish to make it.
Palma, capital of Mallorca, has long been the classic launchpad for heavy-beat summer parties, but you'd be making a mistake heading straight out of the city. Along with a first-rate modern art gallery – Es Baluard (esbaluard.org/en) – sophisticated restaurants and funky bars with rooftop terraces that holler "sundowner", the city has freshened up, smartened up and is now on our 2013 destination list.
For a rural trip, head for Montenegro. Compared to Croatia, which is teeming with European holidaymakers in peak season, the country is still relatively unknown, underdeveloped and inexpensive. Montenegro's interior is a mass of forest-covered mountains, hiding secluded B&Bs and villas, most within reach of the coast's pretty beaches.
For more peace and quiet, and affordable travelling, take your pick from any Greek island, avoiding the main package resorts like Rhodes. One of our favourites is Tinos, with its lovely beaches and unspoiled villages. Stretch your legs on a great one-hour walk – the Dovecote Trail – which passes beautifully restored dovecote houses and rustic tavernas.
As to my own holidays, after getting married last June, my new husband and I hopped on a jet to Florence for some extremely sweaty sightseeing, followed by a more relaxing stop in rural Tuscany for walks round perfect medieval towns, like lovely Volpaia, red-wine hangovers and over-enthusiastic carb-loading. Then we took the speedy train to Naples, from where we headed eastwards into the hills behind the Amalfi coast. The absolute highlight was climbing Mount Vesuvius and inspecting the havoc it wreaked in AD 79 at Herculaneum.
This year we're set for more walking, wine and medieval villages, but this time in France and the Dordogne. I've just edited the new Rough Guide to the Dordogne and the Lot (out 1 May), and fell in love with the region via the mere medium of words, so it'll be wonderful to see it in real life.
• roughguides.com
Phoebe Smith, editor, Wanderlust travel magazine
This year it's time to check out the Baltics – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Thanks to new frequent flights with Ryanair from Stansted and Manchester to Tallinn, Estonia, taking a little over two-and-a-half hours, this corner of northern Europe is more accessible, yet it has remained under the radar.
Before the crowds discover it, go this July for the "white nights" of summer, when the sun doesn't set until 11pm, giving you nearly 20 hours of daylight to play with. Because of its flat terrain, discovering this often ignored trio of countries by bike is the perfect way to have an adventure. You'll pedal through picture-perfect fishing villages, past medieval turreted towers and traverse Lahemaa, Estonia's first national park (visitestonia.com).
Last year I spent my summer holiday narrowboating in the UK. Well, it was the year to stay in Britain, what with the Olympics and the Jubilee. This year I plan to head much further afield, to Arctic Canada – hopefully to spot polar bears in far-north Quebec.
• wanderlust.co.uk
