Everyone wants a stretch of sand to call their own. Is it really too much to ask? No, of course not. But if you want to find paradise without the crowds you’re going to need to beach clever - and that means heading for sands less trodden. The good news, there are still plenty of places where you’ll find peace and perhaps just one or two other people.

And you don’t have to travel too far to find them. Beautiful beaches, still relatively undiscovered, lie within a short haul European hop. Go further afield and you’ll get palm trees too – even in the Caribbean and Mexico you can have the sands to yourself, if you know where to look.

We’ve picked ten great places to roll out your towel and say aaaah.

Escape to your own private slice of paradise with our pick of the world's most magical hidden beaches