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Crete is the biggest and most beautiful of the Greek islands (Getty/iStock)

Q In June 2023 we have a package holiday booked to Sorrento. As a surprise for my husband, I would love to do the following: abandon our planned return flights on 19 June and instead fly east across the Mediterranean to our favourite island, Crete. But flights seem to be thin on the ground and/or very expensive.

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A What a lovely idea to make the most of midsummer and add an extra dimension to your holiday in southern Italy. The opportunity to make more of being in the Mediterranean is one that few people on package holidays take up, but in my opinion it is well worthwhile. For example, a holiday on the Portuguese Algarve could easily extend to a journey through the great cities of Andalucia: Seville, Cordoba, Granada and Malaga using buses and trains.