WANT to avoid the summer rush of screaming school children?

With flight prices lower in September and October than during the peak months, an autumn break could be just the ticket.

And how often do you spend an autumn evening bikini-clad in an outdoor jacuzzi admiring the stars?

In the luxurious surroundings of the Gran Hotel Bahia del Duque, one of Tenerife's top hotels, that is exactly what you could find yourself doing.

The hotel is set in its own park, filled with tropical and sub-tropical plants. Everything is designed to make the average holiday-maker stay within the complex for as long as possible from the spectacular balcony views (particularly at sunset) to the menus at the hotel's ten restaurants.

Just five kilometers from the Playa de las Americas, Costa Adeje, where the Bahia del Duque is situated is a relative oasis from the tourist bustle that has sometimes given Tenerife something of a bad name. The shopping in Adeje is perfect discount prices on names familiar to Brits mix with boutique shops within a compact area, friendly to feet worn out from exploring the nearby sights of San Sebastien de la Gomera and Mount Teidi. San Sebastien de la Gomera is a half-hour fast ferry away from the nearby port of Los Cristianos.

The island is well worth the trip, home as it is to a national park created from a protected expanse of rainforest. Tour guides will tell you about the Guanche's (Gomera natives) "whistling language" which, they claim, will allow you to pass a message around the island in 40 minutes. The scene of an impressive number of revolts, treacherous murders and corsair attacks, in the town centre you will find the Torre del Conde (Tower of the Count), where Beatriz de Bobadilla, allegedly once Columbus' lover, barricaded herself during a 15th century revolt. Her husband, the muderous Count of Gomera, had already been assassinated by a local man, who found him seducing his fiancee.

The best way to see Mount Teidi is to hire a guide to drive you up in a landrover. The best guides are not put off by minor matters such as small rock slides or terrible weather, and despite freezing conditions and thick mist we had fun as they recounted the area's legends and encouraged us to imagine the fabulous views which were, sadly, lost to us on that particular day.

Kat Dibbits travelled with GB Airways, the independent franchise carrier which currently operates British Airways services to 30 select locations across South Europe, North Africa and France. Prices from £134.