TOP EXPERIENCE
Greek Islands, Greece
The Greek Islands ignite the imagination and satisfy the soul with a history laced in mythical tales and told through ancient, sun-bleached ruins. Modern tales centre on beaches and lazy days.
Great For…
yDon’t Miss
Summer nights at waterfront cafes listening boat chains clanking and people laughing.
8Need to Know
Ferries link many islands with Pireaus, the port near Athens. Larger islands have flights to Athens.
5Take a Break
Wiggle your toes in the sand while enjoying a chilled beverage at a beachside cafe.
oTop Tip
In summer, book ferries and lodging early to get your top choices.
Greece’s myriad islands dot the Ionian and Aegean Seas. No matter your tastes you’ll find an island to match them. One of the world’s great pleasures is an island-hopping adventure across these fabled lands surrounded by azure-blue water.
Santorini
The multicoloured cliffs, soaring above a sea-drowned caldera, are amazing indeed. The main towns of Fira and Oia – a snow-drift of white Cycladic houses that line the cliff tops and spill like icy cornices down the terraced rock – will take your breath away. And then there are the sunsets – the glorious sunsets – and the island’s fascinating history, best revealed at the Minoan site of Akrotiri.
Rhodes
Rhodes (ro-dos) abounds in beaches, wooded valleys and ancient history. Whether you arrive in search of buzzing nightlife, languid sun worshipping, diving in crystal-clear waters or to embark on a culture-vulture journey through past civilisations, it’s all here. The atmospheric Old Town of Rhodes is a maze of cobbled streets that will spirit you back to the days of the Byzantine Empire and beyond.
Crete
Greece’s largest island, Crete is a tapestry of splendid beaches, ancient treasures, and landscapes encompassing vibrant cities and dreamy villages. The food is superb – indulge in straight-from-the-ocean seafood, soft, tangy cheese, hand-spun filo and some of the world’s best virgin olive oil.
Mykonos
Mykonos is the great glamour island of Greece and flaunts its sizzling St-Tropez-meets-Ibiza style and party-hard reputation. The high-season mix of hedonistic holidaymakers, cruise-ship crowds and posturing fashionistas throngs Mykonos Town, a traditional whitewashed Cycladic maze.
Corfu
Corfu welcomes weary travellers with its lush scenery, bountiful produce and pristine beaches. Corfu is large enough to make it possible to escape the crowds. Venture across cypress-studded hills to find vertiginous villages in the fertile interior, and sandy coves lapped by cobalt-blue waters.
Lesvos
Greece’s third-largest island, Lesvos is uncrowded and marked by long sweeps of rugged, desert-like western plains that give way to sandy beaches and salt marshes in the centre. To the east are thickly forested mountains and dense olive groves. Find your favorite flavour of serenity.
Tinos
Tinos is a wonderland of natural beauty, dotted with more than 40 marble-ornamented villages found in hidden bays, on terraced hillsides and atop misty mountains. Also scattered across the brindled countryside are countless ornate dovecotes, a legacy of the Venetians. The food, made from local produce (cheeses, sausage, tomatoes and wild artichokes), is some of the best you’ll find in Greece.
Naxos
Naxos packs a lot of bang for its buck. Its main city of Hora (known also as Naxos) has a gorgeous waterfront and a web of steep cobbled alleys below its hilltop kastro, all filled with the hubbub of tourism and shopping. You needn’t travel far, though, to find isolated beaches, atmospheric mountain villages and ancient sites.