You will have to search hard to find them on the map, their names will not tell you much.
Unless you are from the region or you are generally looking for it with the alternative destinations of our country.
There are still many to know them all, especially since fashions change every now and then. A decade ago, say, the Small Cyclades (I was rope, I was shaking, Heraklion etc.) remained unknown to the general public, while today Koufonisia remains popular to continue to be ignored.
But we also learned the picturesque Lipsi from the hideout of Giotopoulos! And with them we heard about Arkios, an even more unknown island in this fantastic complex between Patmos and Leros.
As for the beautiful Agathonissi and the neighboring Pharmaconissi, we hear them almost every day from the overflights of the Turks. How many have gone?
In recent years, even the acritic Pserimos has entered the tourist map, as more and more people are looking for these small and virgin paradises of our place.
Where the triptych sun, sea, tranquility is the absolute demand, there lurk many more destinations unexplored by mass tourism in Greece.
It is tiny islands-shelters that force you to return to the basics. Only then can you experience the essential enjoyment of summer vacation.
All you need here is your swimsuit. And this is not always…
Those who insist on repeating that "like her Halkidiki has not "and some learned it from a tribute of the British" Guardian "in 2017. It is the only inhabited island of Halkidiki, including all the magic of the world in just 4,5 square kilometers.
You find it just opposite Tripiti and you take the ferry to reach the absolutely necessary. You will not need much in this virgin paradise of carelessness and relaxation.
With a privileged view of Athonite State, Ammouliani offers impressively many sandy beaches for its size. And even more impressively exotic, with turquoise waters, white beaches, wonderful vegetation and imposing rocks. Its secluded bays are an ideal destination for those who dream of tranquility. And you get everywhere on foot. Ή with… cart.
This emerald drop in the bay of Mount Athos, an old part of the Vatopedi Monastery, crammed between the two legs of Halkidiki, promises life like a stopped clock. And it always keeps its promises, the approximately 500 hospitable locals will ensure this and more.
Η Wicked makes a lot of grief lately, as well as other unknown as recent islands of the complex. Telendos, however, remains one of the last unexplored pearls of the Dodecanese. You find it next to Kalymnos and it is very small, only 4,6 square kilometers.
Here, in the homonymous settlement, you arrive from Myrties of Kalymnos and dive even next to the picturesque port that welcomes you. Telendos remains protected for its rare birds and all movements are done on foot. You will not find a way here, as everything is done or related to the sea.
You will find three deserted and unorganized beaches all in all, undoubtedly impressive, and some taverns with fresh fish. But also incredible thyme honey! The permanent ones do not exceed 2-3 tens. Nothing will bother you here. Clear waters, pristine landscapes and a tranquility to spread like a veil over everything.
Its ornament Pelion remains well hidden even in the mass tourism that now gathers the Mountain of Centaurs. Palio Trikeri, as the locals call it, is the only inhabited island of the Pagasitic Gulf, at the end of southern Pelion.
This is also a true paradise, a pure and unadulterated place waiting for you for a journey through time. Here you will not find wheeled vehicles, despite huge olive groves, which cover almost the entire area. As for its very area, we are talking about 2,5 square kilometers all in all.
The settlement is picturesque, as are its few quiet sandy beaches with lush waters, where all you can hear is the wave. Ate and the wings of the gulls. All transportation is done here on foot or by local boats.
Pelion island aesthetics, combines seafood delicacies with tsipouro on the sea. From the coastal Alogoporos, below Trikeri, you pass opposite by boat. The journey takes not a quarter.
You are greeted by olive trees and some 40 acres of houses. And some taverns by the sea. We are talking about such simplicity. You will need a swimsuit and some clothes. Within 3 hours you have turned it all…
That is what the island and its settlement are called. And it is in fact its largest island Corinthian, kotzam… 2,4 square kilometers are these. It is also the only inhabited part of the small complex of Trizonia, with a few dozen nomads insisting against the current.
A picturesque and sheltered harbor with three beaches all in all. The largest one has a strangely reddish sandy beach, while the others overlook the Peloponnese. In a verdant environment that surrounds them, Trizonia retains its traditional character.
You will not find cars or motorbikes here. The only motor sound comes from the boats and the larger boats of the marina. From Chania of Nafpaktos you come here and you do not have time to arrive, the island is opposite the coast.
The urban legend still insists that the locals said the big "no" to him Onassis, who wanted to buy it and offered land and water to the inhabitants. They replied that paradise was not for sale and the tycoon finally bought Scorpio.
Here you will forget all the sounds of culture and you will get acquainted with the calm and unspoiled nature. But also with its exquisite beauty, the clear and clear blue waters, the lacy beaches and the fresh fish of a few hours…
The Diapontia Islands are the westernmost point of our country, a cluster located to the north Corfu and they are so close to the Italian coast that you can see them with the naked eye when the weather allows. Othonoi is the largest of the three inhabited islands of the complex, a few hundred live here, but they are equally unknown to most, similar to Ereikoussa and Mathraki.
All three of them, however, are a dream, exquisite destinations that are discreetly kept at a distance from the mass tourism of the Ionian. The Otto are green, drowned in the trees, and the aromas of their flowers and herbs accompany you every step of the way.
With an area of about 10 square kilometers, the island offers deserted beaches and plenty of hours for fishing, cycling or exploring on foot. It has an impressive natural relief, turquoise waters and intricate geological formations.
You can reach most of its beaches by boat and Calypso had held Odysseus captive in one of them. The famous beauty of the Ionian is present here in generous doses and spreads to intoxicating beaches, sea caves, beautiful settlements and picturesque walks in the olive groves.
You will not find Aspri Ammos in any tourist guide with its most beautiful beaches Ionian. Simply because no one gets there…
Her Princes' Islands Lefkada some may have heard them because of Onassis's own Scorpio. Or they may have seen them in the background, as they are across from Nidri. Meganisi, as its name tells us, is the largest island of the complex, there between Lefkada and Etoloakarnania.
With an area of 20 square kilometers and about 1.000 permanent residents, it hosts three villages one more beautiful than the other. You only get here from Nidri in about 20 minutes, whichever of the two ports you choose. The legend wants the island as a base for the submarine Papanikolis during the Greek-Italian war.
Today they offer relaxed and quality holidays in Katomeri, Spartochori and Vathi. And while it remains unknown in mass tourism, it has been discovered by boats, putting it on the map of cosmopolitan islands.
Not that it has lost its slow pace or its enchanting beauty. On the contrary. Its pulse can beat louder in Vathi, but Meganisi retains its original character in all its other parts.
Traditional houses, picturesque alleys, incredible natural bays and water colors like the famous alcohol of Lefkada.
The Princes' Islands are part of the Televos Islands, a larger complex between Lefkada and mainland Greece that has a few more islands. The largest and most famous are Kalamos and Kastos, which is the smallest inhabited islet of Ionian Islands, just 6 square kilometers.
You find it on the map just opposite the west coast of Etoloakarnania, outside Mytikas, and you understand it from the lacy of its shores. In fact, if you find yourself on it, olives are the trademark. It has a settlement with stone houses and some fish taverns where its natural port is.
But there are a lot of beaches and they are one more beautiful than the other, some sandy and others with pebbles. Always with turquoise waters, alas. Its inhabitants do not exceed 100 and live by cultivating mainly the land. Again an island without a road network, you turn it all on foot.
Nature plays the first and last word here, a planetary and seductive nature, like a big botanical garden. The neighboring Kalamos is equally beautiful and pristine, but in recent years it has become even more touristic.
The Relics are cosmopolitan today, threatening even Patmos. And so some looked for the neighboring Arkios, who remain smaller and quieter. However, if we are talking about hidden paradises, there is something even more… exclusive: Marathi.
An island lost somewhere in the Dodecanese. Generally and indefinitely. It belongs to the complex of Arkia and remains a virgin paradise of 350 acres. And with a coastline that does not exceed 4 km, you take it all for a walk in some oritsa.
You can see Marathi (or Marathos) from Arki. It is rough, rocky and barren, but it offers amazing colors and an aura of dazzling. It is a proper hermitage of the southern Aegean, forgotten by gods and people.
Two families insist on living here, having both taverns and a few modest and humble accommodations. From the Arkius you come here by boat. And all you can do is swim and swim again on its two beaches. Ate and a walk to the top of the hill to gaze at the sunset.
Things become primitive in Marathi to offer the authentic and the essential. Neither roads nor shops. There is nothing to do. Despite the sea and the sea again…