There’s a peculiar romance about beachside resorts out of season. Of course, lying on a beach soaking up the sun before plunging into the warm waves, then having a delicious al fresco meal at a beachside cafe is awesome. But the part of me that likes taking long bus journeys to industrial cities also loves the bleak romance of an out of season resort.
I often travel out of season, not just because it’s cheaper (though it is) but because away from the crowds and the dazzling sun, you get to see how the locals live and spot intriguing details about the destination.
There are frustrations too — those great summer restaurants may be closed as there aren’t enough guests, so might the museums and other attractions, and not all the buses and train may be running. If it’s a warm country with short sharp winters, be prepared for rooms designed to keep cool rather than warm and a complete lack of central heating.
Now the winter’s arrived, I was inspired to put together a collection of views of beach resort destinations in Central Asia and Eastern Europe that I visited in the off season.
Durres, Albania
Durres attracts thousands of tourists in the summer, but in late November the beach was strewn with debris from the nearby palm tees (our hotel receptionist told us the beach was “not working”) and a stiff wind buffeted the seafront promenade. There’s the huge Roman amphitheatre and other sights to see in winter — though we timed our visit to the amphitheatre late in the day and ended up stumbling about in the dark.
Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan
The main resort on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul, Cholpon-Ata throngs with visitors from other parts of Kyrgyzstan and further a field during the summer months. It was a major destination during the Soviet era, with tourists flying in from all over the USSR to spend time on the beaches and in the nearby sanatoria. I first visited back in 2003, just as the autumn chill had started, but it was a later visit that really stuck in my mind. I was the only person wandering among the wild horses grazing on the lakeside, and when I returned to my (unheated) guesthouse chilled to the bone I promptly put all my clothes on at once and stayed in bed for the rest of the evening — much to the surprise of the owner. The next morning the entire resort was thickly blanketed in snow.
Lake Balkhash, Kazakhstan
Balkhash manages to be both an industrial town, the site of one of Kazakhstan’s main smelters, and a lakeside resort on the shore of the lake of the same name. There was no bathing when I arrived in December, as the temperature had dropped to -18C and the lake was frozen solid. Lake Balkhash is the 15th largest lake in the world and in summer it’s popular with Kazakhstanis from Almaty and other cities who holiday by its turquoise waters.
Zadar, Croatia
Zadar is a fascinating historical city that has plenty to offer all year round. However, we opted to stay in the seaside suburb of Borik, a popular place in summer but extremely quiet in autumn. The funfair was closed, as was the local tourist office and a lot of the shops and restaurants — though there were some brave souls diving off the concrete promenades into the chilly sea.
Mangalia, Romania
Living in Bucharest, we visited Mangalia on the Black Sea coast several times. It’s one of the warmest towns in Romania and combines a historic centre with seaside resorts (buzzing in summer, mostly closed in winter) and a major port and shipyard. I snapped this picture in early spring, long before tourists arrived en masse to chill out under the umbrellas on this beach.
Read more posts about visits to beach resorts
8 fun city beaches along the Adriatic and Ionian coasts
Albania
Durres, an old port city full of surprises
Corfu and Saranda: close but long divided
Croatia
Living history in Zadar, Croatia’s oldest city
Magical autumn in off-season Sibenik
Why Split is my favourite place in Croatia
10 fabulous things to do in Rijeka out of season
Kazakhstan
Aktau, between the desert and the sea
Kyrgyzstan
Slovenia
Koper, Slovenia’s one-time island city
Steppe in Style 
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