Tell me about your smaller Greek Islands recommendations

[boys3]

Just that really. Went to Kalymnos last year, absolutely loved it. Where else might be similar for a fly and largely flop type holiday?

• Short ferry if needed, Kalymnos was a very easy ferry transfer from Kos. Not looking to spend more than an hour on a ferry ideally.
• Decent choice of restaurants
• Ideally smaller more boutique type of hotel, its just the two of us - kids all grown up now.
• Not party central, or a cruise ship destination
• Thinking June time if that helps.

All ideas welcome, or indeed where to avoid.

If you’ve got a reasonable budget, Hydra. About an hour’s ferry from Athens, no traffic on the island, lots of restaurants and the main footfall is yacht owners. It’s spenny though, but we loved it.

Skopelos - Fly into Skiathos, ferry from Skiathos Town to Skopolos Town. Lovely seafront with bars and tavernas.

Samos is also worth a visit and I’d also say try Molyvos or Petra on Lesbos. Both of these islands have Jet2 flights now.

Also have a look at Sivota or Finikounda both on the mainland - Parga is great too but may be a bit busy for what you’re looking for.

we got an airbnb on Samos which was lovely. Pythagoreio is a lovely town with loads of nice restaurants along the marina. would happily go back there.

Aegina

I went there on 1989 - loved it

I doubt it’s changed much in that time

Yes Skopelos or if you want even quieter then go one island further to Alonissos.

Paxos (short boat from Corfu) is lovely too - some nice restaurants and harbour towns as popular with sailing crowd but the island itself isn’t too busy.

I want to go to Folegandros one day (boat from Santorini) but it’s a bit longer to get to. Looks gorgeous though.

Milos might suit? Again boat from Santorini, not sure of journey time.

Do you mind sandy vs pebbly beaches?

I went in 1976 (I was 7) and 2024 and still remembered some of it and that hadn’t changed.

Thassos is so beautiful. The ferry from Kavala on the mainland doesn’t take long. I’m sure it’s under an hour.

Thanks for all the replies.

@minipie ideally sandy from a beach perspective. Just had a look at Alonissos, Althea Boutique hotel looks interesting with plenty of restaurants nearby. Plus the ferry options for trips to Skiathos or Skopelos.

@TwistedWonder @blanketsnuggler will have a look at Samos, thanks for the suggestion.

@YourJustOrca had a quick look before posting at Aegina, so will look at that properly as well.

@HelloMyNameIsElderSmurf - what a brilliant user name! Thanks for the Hydra suggestion, another one for me to now check out. Do have some budget limits for this one as a need to keep some back for a big wedding anniversary holiday we already have planned for the autumn. But I'll still enjoy checking Hydra out. 😁

@Egg7 typing and missed your post. Thassos not somewhere I'd heard off (showing my ignorance there) - will have a look, thanks for the suggestion.

Astypalea, Milos or Sifnos.

Batsi on Andros. Ticks all your boxes.

Ferry (Seajet takes just over an hour) from Rafina, Athens which is only about 20 mins from Athens Airport. We stayed at Chryssi Akti Hotel which was lovely although maybe not "boutique" but not massive. Flights and hotel last June/July cost less than £2k for the two of us.

Ah, just saw you’d prefer sandy beaches… but then I think places with no cars are truly magical and maybe worth a few pebbles??

I see someone else has suggested Thassos which is what I was going to mention.

Fly to Mykonos (expensive) and get on the ferry.
You can get off on any island, including Crete.

Happy travels.

@boys3 i’d recommend Folegandros, I went there last year. Beautiful and unspoilt. Best time to visit is late May/very early June or late September to avoid the crowds. It’s 45mins on the ferry from Santorini or 4hrs from Athens (although you’ll see all of the other islands on the way). I stayed at Gundari which was exceptional. Only downside is the cost of taxis on the island. And the faff of getting there. Main town does look like it’s straight off the set of Mamma Mia though.

Symi is absolutely stunning. The beaches are especially beautiful and the harbour is very quaint and picturesque, with fabulous harbour side fish restaurants. Fly to Rhodes and get the ferry to Symi.

Lipsi and Leros are both near to Kalymnos and you can also get to them by ferry from Kos or Rhodes. Both have sandy beaches.

Going south from Rhodes or Kos is Karpathos.

Ios is only an hour from Santorini by ferry and has numerous stunning beaches.

I’d love to know more about Hydra- have always wanted to go there. Where did you stay?

Thanks for all the further responses and suggestions.

I think they all highlight the big issue with the Greek islands - so many wonderful places to choose from. 😀. It’s a good problem to be faced with though.

it’s a bit of a Goldilocks search in some ways. We don’t want super or even particularly busy, but equally not so quiet that there is little choice about where to eat. Definitely not AI - though none have suggested that.

thanks for all the lovely suggestions floated, plenty to think about.

Bizarrely @Netaporter we are quite open to a bit of faff to get there - but just not too much!! Part of the enjoyment of Kalymnos was the getting there as well, having bread and olives in a taverna waiting for the ferry was a lovely start last time round. Though Kos to Kalymnos is probably fairly low on the scale of faffiness.

Tilos and Symi. Both accessible by ferry from Rhodes. Symi has changed a lot since I first went. Full of yachts.

I second Skopelos and Paxos. Both a short ferry trip from an airport and full of character. In fact we're heading back to Skopelos this summer!

I actually enjoyed the faff… except for the fact that there was a cab strike when we landed in Athens which meant getting to the port was a massive challenge with all the luggage we had 😂

This year I did look at Paxos/Paros/Anti-Paros/sinfos /milos but in the end the flight /ferry timings meant we’d have lost a significant amount of time in travelling. We’ve found a new place in Crete with a similar vibe to Gundari so fingers crossed!

Paxos is easy ferry ride from Corfu but doesn’t have the sandy beaches (it has one, the rest are pebble).

Karpathos if you go to the bit of coast north of Pigadia. The southern part of the island is over run with package tourists from other parts of Europe (there are direct flights there from parts of Europe).

If you do choose Milos or Astypalea you can fly there from Athens (as you can with kalymnos).

Alonissos, just a short ferry ride from Skiathos. Lovely.