There is a Greece that exists beyond the Instagram photographs. Beyond the cruise ships queuing at Santorini's caldera. Beyond the beach clubs of Mykonos and the package-holiday resorts of Kos. It is a Greece of empty harbours, honest tavernas, extraordinary swimming and a pace of life that feels genuinely, unhurriedly Greek.
We have been finding it for our clients for 25 years.
These are the ten islands we are quietly recommending right now — places that the Greek National Tourism Organisation itself is beginning to highlight as alternatives to the better-known destinations, and places that we believe will not stay undiscovered for long.
1. Halki
Halki is the smallest inhabited island in the Dodecanese, and it may be the most perfect. No cars. No mopeds. One village — Emborio — of neoclassical mansions in faded pastels, arranged around a harbour of extraordinary beauty.
The island was largely abandoned in the early twentieth century when its sponge-fishing industry collapsed, and many of its houses were only restored in the 1980s and 1990s. The result is a place that feels both ancient and immaculate — a working village that has somehow also become a work of art.
Days here are simple: swim, eat, read, repeat. The tavernas are excellent. The walking is superb — the path to the abandoned hilltop village of Chorio, past a ruined castle and a Byzantine church, is one of our favourite walks in all of Greece.
Best for: Couples seeking genuine seclusion. Those who have been to Greece before and want to go deeper.
2. Leipsoi
Between Patmos and Leros in the Dodecanese, Leipsoi is a tiny island that most Greek island travellers have never heard of. It has a permanent population of around 700, one village, and some of the clearest water in the Aegean.
The island has a gentle, almost dreamlike quality. The beaches — Lendou, Katsadia, Papandria — are small and uncrowded. The tavernas serve whatever was caught that morning. The evenings are quiet in the best possible way.
Leipsoi is also a wonderful base for day trips to Patmos (the island of the Apocalypse, with its extraordinary monastery) and Leros. But most of our clients find they do not want to leave.
Best for: Those seeking complete escape. Travellers who want Greece without performance.
3. Symi
Symi is perhaps the most beautiful harbour in Greece. The neoclassical mansions — painted in ochre, terracotta, gold and rose — rise steeply from the water in tiers, creating a townscape of almost theatrical beauty. And yet Symi remains, remarkably, relatively undiscovered.
The island is just an hour by fast ferry from Rhodes, which means it receives day-trippers in the morning. But they leave by mid-afternoon, and Symi reverts to its natural state: quiet, beautiful, and entirely itself.
The swimming at Agios Georgios and Nanou Bay is exceptional. The monastery of Panormitis, at the island's southern tip, is one of the most important religious sites in the Dodecanese. And the food — particularly the fresh fish at the harbour tavernas — is outstanding.
Best for: Those who want authenticity without sacrifice. Couples who appreciate beauty in architecture as much as landscape.
4. Karpathos
Karpathos is the second-largest island in the Dodecanese and one of the least visited. It sits between Rhodes and Crete, and it has a wildness — in its landscape, its culture, its weather — that sets it apart from almost everywhere else in Greece.
The northern village of Olympos is unlike anywhere else in the country. Women still wear traditional dress as everyday clothing. The dialect is closer to ancient Greek than modern. The village clings to a mountain ridge, accessible only by boat or a long mountain road, and it feels genuinely, magnificently remote.
The beaches in the south — Apella, Kyra Panagia, Ahata — are among the finest in Greece: long, sandy, backed by mountains, and almost entirely uncrowded. Karpathos is also one of the world's premier windsurfing destinations, with the Meltemi wind creating perfect conditions at Afiarti.
Best for: Adventurous travellers. Those interested in living Greek culture and tradition. Windsurfers.
5. Ithaca
Ithaca is the island of Odysseus — the destination that gave the world the word for a journey's end. It is a small, mountainous Ionian island of extraordinary beauty, with deep bays, dense olive groves, and a quiet dignity that feels entirely appropriate for a place of such mythological weight.
The Greek National Tourism Organisation has specifically highlighted Ithaca as an alternative to the better-known Ionian islands, and we agree entirely. The island has excellent tavernas, beautiful swimming at Filiatro and Gidaki beaches, and a capital — Vathy — that is one of the most elegant small towns in Greece.
Ithaca pairs beautifully with Kefalonia (a short ferry ride away) for a two-island Ionian itinerary of real depth.
Best for: Culturally curious travellers. Those who want beauty without crowds. Lovers of mythology and literature.
6. Alonnisos
Alonnisos is the least visited of the Sporades, and it is also the most unspoiled. The island sits at the heart of the National Marine Park of Alonnisos — the largest marine protected area in Europe — and its waters are home to the Mediterranean monk seal, one of the world's rarest marine mammals.
The old village of Alonnisos Town (Chora), rebuilt after a 1965 earthquake, is a beautiful maze of whitewashed lanes and bougainvillea. The island's beaches — Chrisi Milia, Leftos Gialos, Agios Dimitrios — are pristine and uncrowded. The snorkelling and diving are exceptional.
Alonnisos is also a wonderful base for boat trips to the uninhabited islands of the marine park — Peristera, Kyra Panagia, Gioura — where the swimming is extraordinary and the sense of discovery is real.
Best for: Nature lovers. Divers and snorkellers. Those who want Greece without the tourist infrastructure.
7. Tilos
Tilos is a small Dodecanese island between Rhodes and Kos that has made sustainability its identity. It was the first island in the Mediterranean to run entirely on renewable energy, and it has a commitment to environmental protection that shapes everything from its land management to its tourism.
The island is beautiful in a quiet, unhurried way. The main village of Livadia is a simple harbour settlement with good tavernas and a relaxed atmosphere. The medieval castle of Megalo Chorio, perched above the island's second village, is worth the climb. The beaches — Eristos, Plaka, Lethra — are uncrowded and excellent.
Tilos is for those who want to feel good about where they are going as well as how it looks.
Best for: Eco-conscious travellers. Those seeking peace and simplicity. Birdwatchers (the island is on a major migration route).
8. Astypalaia
Astypalaia is shaped like a butterfly — two wings of land connected by a narrow isthmus — and it is one of the most visually distinctive islands in Greece. The Venetian castle above the main town, the windmills, the whitewashed Cycladic architecture (unusual for a Dodecanese island): Astypalaia has a beauty that is entirely its own.
The island is remote — it sits roughly equidistant between the Cyclades and the Dodecanese — and this remoteness has preserved it. The beaches are excellent: Livadi, Agios Konstantinos, Vatses. The food is good. The pace is slow.
Astypalaia has recently attracted attention as a pilot site for sustainable tourism, with electric vehicles and renewable energy initiatives. It is becoming better known, but it is not yet crowded.
Best for: Those who want somewhere genuinely different. Travellers who appreciate architectural beauty. Early adopters.
9. Kea
Kea is the closest of the Cyclades to Athens — just 90 minutes by ferry from Lavrio — and yet it remains almost entirely unknown to international visitors. The island has a strong domestic tourism tradition (Athenians have been coming here for decades) but very few foreign visitors, which gives it an authenticity that is increasingly rare in the Cyclades.
The main town, Ioulis, is one of the most beautiful Cycladic villages in Greece: a maze of marble-paved lanes, neoclassical mansions and a famous ancient stone lion carved into the hillside. The beaches — Koundouros, Pisses, Otzias — are excellent. The hiking is superb.
Kea is also a wonderful destination for those who want to combine a Greek island with a day or two in Athens. The proximity makes it easy.
Best for: Those who want the Cyclades without the crowds. Hikers. Travellers combining Athens with an island.
10. Koufonisia
We have written about Koufonisia before, and we make no apology for including it again here. It is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful small islands in Greece — a tiny Cycladic gem with water so turquoise it looks artificially coloured, beaches of fine white sand, and a village of such charm that clients regularly tell us it was the highlight of their entire holiday.
Koufonisia is becoming better known — it appeared in several major travel publications last year — but it remains, for now, genuinely unspoiled. The island has no large hotels, no beach clubs, no nightlife. What it has is extraordinary swimming, excellent fresh fish, and a beauty that is entirely natural.
Go soon.
Best for: Beach lovers. Those seeking Cycladic beauty without Mykonos prices. Couples and small groups.
A note on timing
All ten of these islands are best visited in June, early July or September. August brings more visitors even to the quieter islands, and the heat can be intense. The shoulder months offer the best combination of warm weather, calm seas, and the sense of having found somewhere that is still, genuinely, yours.
If you would like to build an itinerary around any of these destinations — or combine two or three of them into a single journey — we would love to help. This is exactly the kind of holiday we do best.
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Written by
The Greeko Team
Greeko has been crafting bespoke Greek holidays for over 25 years. Every article is written from genuine first-hand knowledge of the islands, the culture, and the experiences that make Greece extraordinary.
