Islands Beyond the Tourist Hotspots
Smaller islands the boats don't reach in numbers
Alonissos in the Sporades
Alonissos is the third Sporades island after Skiathos and Skopelos and the quietest of the three. Most of it is a marine national park, the largest in Europe, set up to protect the monk seal. Patitiri is the small harbour town, Chora the old hilltop village.
Boat days through the park reach uninhabited islets where you swim off the boat in water that has the clarity of glass.
Formentera over Ibiza
Formentera is the small island a 30-minute ferry south of Ibiza. White sand, clear water, very limited building heights, and no commercial flights. In August it gets busy. In May, June, or September, it's the Mediterranean as it used to look. Rent bicycles, eat at a chiringuito, swim at Illetes.
Pantelleria
Pantelleria is a black volcanic island closer to Tunisia than to Sicily. No beaches in the usual sense, just rocks and natural pools. Vineyards on terraces produce the passito sweet wine. Dammusi (traditional stone houses) are the accommodation. Stay a week, swim, drive the perimeter road, eat couscous.
Lastovo and the outer Croatian islands
Lastovo, south of Korčula, is a Croatian island designated a nature park. Two ferries a day from Split. Empty, forested, with a chimney-spangled main village and a coast of small coves. It's what Hvar was 30 years ago.
Suggested itinerary
- Sporades week: Skopelos and Alonissos, ferry-hop, end with a marine park boat day.
Local highlights
- Alonissos's marine park
- Formentera's Migjorn beach (out of August)
- Sazan island near Vlorë
- Pantelleria's volcanic landscape
- Linosa for a slower Pelagie experience
Nearby destinations
Other places worth combining with this trip: Skopelos, Linosa, Gozo, Lastovo.
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