This summer, we've decided, is all about the ferry: it's cheap, gentle on your carbon footprint, and somehow more exotic than grinding a hire car down a sun-cracked road in 48 degree heat. The wafting sea breeze! The quietude of life on deck! The magic of the destination appearing before your Sean Johns!

Just don't forget your sickbag.

First, some ultra-luxury: fly to Malta and check in at one of the island's only 5-star privately-owned boutique hotels. Xara Palace is in a 17th century building that forms part of the city walls, and was restored in 1995 after years of dilapidation. Make sure you eat at its panoramic rooftop restaurant De Mondion, with views over ancient medina.

If a couple of days at the Xara leaves you a bit skint, ferry straight to Catania, on the south east coast of Sicily, and book a room at BAD (Bed & Breakfast And Design), a tiny but innovative hotel with just three rooms at very reasonable prices. Located in a 19th Century palazzo near the Pescheria (fish market), it's filled with contemporary design, photography and artworks, and there's an exhibition space in the 'relax room'.

You've experienced Catania's fish market, and gobbled some ocean-fresh pesce spada at its La Puglia restaurant, now catch a train (journey time three hours) across the island to Sicily's capital, Palermo. Hop on a ferry to Tunis and, just 20 mins from the capital, lies the Dar Said Hotel, in the nearby 13th Century village of Sidi Bou Said. The garden's packed with ancient cypresses, and you can gawp at the views over Carthage and the Gulf Of Tunis.