Greece · 8 min read · Updated 2026-09-16
Greece has around 220 inhabited islands. Fewer than fifteen carry almost all the summer traffic — here is where the other 200 begin.
Santorini and Mykonos absorb the bulk of Greece's summer visitors, and in July and August it shows: cable-car queues, sunset crowds and prices to match. Yet the ferry network reaches dozens of islands where a taverna table is never a problem, and the mainland holds lagoon towns and mountain villages that most itineraries never mention. This guide covers the places that reward a detour, how to actually get to them, and when to go.
Telendos sits ten minutes by small boat from Myrtles on Kalymnos, in the Dodecanese. It broke away from Kalymnos in an earthquake in 554 AD and has stayed tiny ever since — roughly 100 residents, no cars, one waterfront strip of tavernas and a scatter of pebble coves reached on foot.
Climbers know it for the limestone walls above the village; almost nobody else does. Boats run back and forth until late evening, so it works as a day trip or as a two-night stop where the only schedule is the last boat home.
Messolonghi, on the western mainland between Patras and Preveza, is built around a vast shallow lagoon dotted with pelades — wooden stilt huts once used by fishermen and now one of the most photogenic sunsets in Greece. It is a working town rather than a resort, which is precisely the point: prices are Greek, not Aegean.
The lagoon is a Ramsar wetland, so flamingos, herons and avocets are routine sightings. Avgotaracho, the town's salted, wax-sealed grey mullet roe, has PDO status and is served shaved over pasta in local tavernas.
The practical test for a low-crowd island is simple: is it on a main ferry line but not on a cruise or charter route? These clear it.
Greece's mainland is chronically under-visited compared with the islands, and it is where the country feels least packaged.
Two rules cover most of it. First, travel in the shoulder months: June before the 20th, and the whole of September, give you island weather without August's Greek domestic holiday peak. Second, sleep where the day-trippers leave — Symi, Hydra and Aegina all empty out by early evening.
Check ferry schedules on the operators' own sites before booking accommodation; some smaller islands run three connections a week rather than three a day, and a missed link can cost you a whole day.
Telendos, Kimolos, Amorgos, Ikaria, Alonnisos and Symi all stay calm through summer while remaining reachable on regular ferry lines.
For caldera-style drama without the crowds, try Amorgos or Folegandros. For beaches and value, Kimolos or Alonnisos. For a mainland alternative, the Zagori villages in Epirus.
Late May to mid-June and September. The sea is warm, ferries run a full schedule, and both foreign and Greek domestic holiday peaks are avoided.
Reach Kalymnos by ferry from Kos or Piraeus, travel to the village of Myrties, then take the small passenger boat — it crosses in about ten minutes and runs until late evening in summer.
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