From a secret harbour in Crete to the wild beaches of Portugal, our writers share the summer haunts they can’t wait to return to

Depending on how you look at it, Loutro is either deeply inhospitable or a rare slice of seaside perfection. Backed by Crete’s hulking White Mountains, this tiny harbour – a curve of whitewash-and-blue, lapped by the Libyan Sea – is only reachable by boat or on foot. Getting here takes effort. Once you’ve settled in to its rhythms, though, leaving is harder still.