There are a thousand and one ways in which you can ruin a Mediterranean
holiday, but choosing an island with more tourists than tide marks is
probably the most effective.
Luckily, with nearly 3,000 islands to choose from, it is still possible to
find an island escape that does exactly what it says on the tin.
That’s the good news. The inconvenient news is that an island tourists have
yet to descend on is usually one with no tour operator helping you to get
there. That’s where we come in. We’ve scoured the ferry timetables, searched
the villa agencies and sourced all the flight prices. Where possible, we’ve
included a UK operator price, but for one or two islands, you’re entirely on
your own — and that’s just the way you’ll like it.
All flight and tour prices, unless otherwise stated, are per person, based
on two people sharing, this summer. Flights are from London. Contact the
operator for regional departures.
TILOS, Greece
If you like your islands time-warp traditional, then Tilos — human population
300, goat population 3,000 — is your place. There are only three hotels
here, and villa-rental websites are doing well if their property count gets
beyond two, so you’ll need to book early, especially now that a high-speed
catamaran links the island to Rhodes. Fifteen miles from the Turkish coast,
Tilos has three villages: Livadia, where all the action is (puppies
wrestling in the square, old boys chatting in the shade); Megalo Chorio,
overlooked by seven crusader castles; and Micro Chorio, abandoned except in
summer, when a Muzak bar doubles as Tilos’s answer to nightlife. The only
island in Greece with a ban on hunting, Tilos is one of the best places to
view the spring and autumn bird migrations.
Expect to see: Athenians and Tilos émigrés living the
American dream, back to flaunt their wealth.
Where to stay: Laskarina (01444 880353, www.laskarina.co.uk)
has the widest range of accommodation, with eight apartments (from £480pp
per week), four studios (from £515 per week) and the 23-bedroom Hotel Irini
(from £595pp, B&B, per week), five minutes’ walk from Livadia
beach. Prices include Monarch flights from Gatwick to Rhodes.
Getting there: Fly Thomas Cook (www.flythomascook.com)
has flights from Gatwick to Rhodes from £100 in June. Ferries from Rhodes to
Tilos cost £16 return (00 30 28103 46185, www.ferries.gr;
3 1/2 hours); the hovercraft (11/2 hours) is £23 return.
More information: www.tilosholiday.gr
has useful links to accommodation and sightseeing information.
AMORGOS, Greece
Marooned at the eastern tip of the Cyclades, Amorgos has no airport, and is
reached from Athens only after at least eight hours — often longer — on a
ferry slog that takes in most of the Cyclades and deters all but the most
committed castaways.
It’s not entirely unknown (Luc Besson filmed The Big Blue here), but with the
nearest airport more than three hours away on Naxos, Amorgos is not prime
package-holiday material.
Their loss, your gain: this is a seriously beautiful place. Yes, the beaches
— particularly at the northern port of Aegiali — are gratifyingly white, and
the sea is clear and blue, but if there’s one thing you’ll want to pack
alongside the bikini, it’s decent walking shoes. Dominated along its 18-mile
length by gnarly, magical mountains that hide ancient, whitewashed villages,
this is fabulous walking country, with the best of the island — including
Hozoviotissa monastery, wedged into a cliff-face that plummets 1,000ft into
the Aegean — yielding itself only after a proper hike.
Expect to see: backpackers and Bessonites.
Where to stay: with magnificent views over Aegiali bay, the
three-star Aegialis Hotel (00 30 22850 73393, www.amorgos-aegialis.com)
has doubles from £59, B&B.
Getting there: Olympic Airlines (0870 606 0460, www.olympicairlines.com)
has flights from Heathrow via Athens to Naxos; from £274. Ferries to Aegiali
(or the main port, Katapola) start at £14.50 return from Naxos (00 30 28103
46185, www.ferries.gr). Hidden Greece
(020 8758 4707, www.hidden-greece.co.uk) has seven nights, B&B, at Hotel
Vigla in Aegiali for £460pp, including flights with Olympic Airlines from
Heathrow to Naxos via Athens.
More information: www.greeka.com
and www.amorgos.net are both good
sources of accommodation listings and general information.
FOLEGANDROS, Greece
Fifty miles west of Amorgos, at the western edge of the Cyclades chain,
Folegandros is big enough to have one or two gorgeous hotels, and caïques to
ferry you to idyllic sandy coves, but small enough that UK operators have
yet to take it up. Less than 10 miles long, the island also has, in its
clifftop capital, Chora, a prototype Greek village: alleyways lined with
bougainvillea and hibiscus, and a town square that drops 700ft to the sea.
No bank, no cashpoint, no car hire, no nightlife — come now, it can’t
possibly last.
Expect to see: Athenians in high season, but come in June or
September and it’ll be you and a backpacker or two.
Where to stay: the Odysseus Hotel (00 30 21034 23545; open
April to October) has a fantastic clifftop setting in Chora, with bright,
stylish sea-view doubles from £46, B&B. For more options, visit www.greekislands.com.
Getting there: Olympic Airlines (0870 606 0460, www.olympicairlines.com)
has flights from Heathrow to Santorini via Athens; from £230. The ferry from
Santorini costs £9 return and takes three hours (00 30 28103 46185, www.ferries.gr).
More information: not much — try www.indigoguide.com.
PONZA, Italy
Thirty miles off the coast of Italy, between Naples and Rome, Ponza is the
largest of the Pontine Islands, but we’re still talking less than five miles
from tip to tip. And what a five miles it is, indented at every turn by
steep, volcanic cliffs that plummet into the clearest, bluest sea.
Swim-through arches litter the coast and impossibly romantic coves abound,
most reachable only by foot, some only by boat.
Then there are Ponza’s three towns: chaotic affairs, they cascade in shades
of faded red and blue towards the sea, each with magical, buzzing main
squares that are as fun to hang out on as the beach.
Expect to see: Romans and Neapolitans, but that’s about it.
Where to stay: the whitewashed Grand Hotel Santa Domitilla
(00 39 0771 809951, www.santadomitilla.com)
in Ponza town has stylish, vaulted doubles from £180, B&B — but our
favourite, Piccolo Hotel Luisa (00 39-0771 80128, www.piccolohoteluisa.it),
is twice as discreet at half the price.
Getting there: Vetor Aliscafi (06 984 5083, www.vetor.it)
has hydrofoils from Formia and Anzio: 70 minutes; £30 return; Snap (0773
727671, www.snapnavigazione.it)
has ferries from Terracina: 2½ hours; £14 return, £35 per car. EasyJet
(www.easyjet.co.uk) has flights to Rome Ciampino from £58, and a week’s car
hire from £170. CV Travel (020 7384 5897, www.cvtravel.co.uk)
is the only UK operator to Ponza, with just one villa, the lovely Casa
Fontana (seven nights from £2,310; sleeps eight). It can also arrange
flights and transfers; from £285.
More information: www.ponza.com
for hotels, apartments and ferry options.
MADDALENA ISLANDS, Italy
EasyJet flies to Olbia, 30 miles from La Maddalena on Sardinia’s Costa
Smeralda, but the 45-minute drive and 15-minute ferry hop mean
that you’re as likely to bump into a full English breakfast here as you would
be in the Gobi desert.
Seven main islands make up this fabulously undeveloped chain, washed by the
cobalt shallows of the Tyrrhenian Sea, but the entire archipelago is now a
national park, so accommodation is limited. There is a Club Med village
on Caprera and a Valtur resort on Santo Stefano, but to make the most of the
islands, base yourself on La Maddalena, the only one with an actual town,
and explore the others by boat.
Expect to see: well-heeled sailors and Roman millionaires
visiting holiday homes.
Where to stay: Hotel Miralonga (00 39 0789 722563, www.miralonga.it)
has sea-view doubles from £82, B&B. Or www.holiday-rentals.com
has the three-bed Villa Trinita from £700 per week. Piero Pirosu from
Tourist Destination (07961 329960 in the UK) can arrange accommodation.
Getting there: EasyJet (www.easyjet.co.uk)
has flights from Gatwick to Olbia from £77, and car hire from £170 per week.
Saremar (00 39 0789 735298, www.saremar.it)
runs ferries from Palau to La Maddalena; from £1.20 (cars £3). Just Sardinia
(01202 484858, www.justsardinia.co.uk)
has seven nights, B&B, at Hotel Miralonga from £595, including car hire,
ferries and flights with Jet2 from Gatwick to Olbia.
More information: www.lamaddalena.com
is a little chaotic, but gives a lot of useful information.
PANTELLERIA, Italy
Thirty miles from the coast of Africa and a six-hour ferry hop from Sicily,
Pantelleria is almost disconcertingly quiet. Air One — Italy’s answer to
EasyJet — is introducing direct flights from Rome and Milan in June, but the
island, which is buffeted by wind and more famous for thermal springs and
mud baths than white sand and beach bars, is unlikely be overrun by lilos
any time soon.
What does overrun its 32 rocky, forested square miles is volcanic activity,
bursting out in fumaroles all over the island, even creating a natural cave
sauna at Siba. The beaches aren’t wonderful, but the mountains — rising to
more than 2,700ft, with views to Tunisia — certainly are. And snorkelling in
cobalt shallows littered with 16th-century amphorae is a must: you’re even
likely to turn up the odd dolphin pod, parrotfish and rare Mediterranean
monk seal.
Expect to see: Sting and Julia Roberts are fans, Gérard
Depardieu and Giorgio Armani have houses here, and Madonna was “papped”
mud-bathing in the Bagno dell’Acqua.
Where to stay: Pantelleria Dream (00 39 348 142 8445, www.pantelleriadream.com)
has a spectacular infinity pool overlooking the Sicilian Channel, with
elegant sea-view suites from £152, B&B.
Getting there: British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com)
has flights from Heathrow to Rome (Fiumicino) from £108. From there, Air One
(00 39 06 4888 0069, www.flyairone.it)
will fly to Pantelleria, from June 3, from £162.
More information: www.pantelleria.co.uk
has good tourist information and links to accommodation.
SOVALYE, Turkey
Pronounced “chevalier”, after the renegade knights-turned-pirates who hid
here in the Middle Ages, Sovalye is the only inhabited island of the Twelve
Islands chain in the Gulf of Fethiye — and, being closest to the harbour, is
ignored by the main tour-boat operators.
It has no cars, no roads, just a shady cross-island footpath past sandy
beaches and shingle bays. Best way to explore? By canoe or snorkel, floating
above spectacular sunken mosaics and other Lycian remains.
As for nightlife, there is a tiny beach bar at the northwest tip of the
island, but as there are never more than 22 guests on the island at any one
time, entertainment of the non-stargazing variety requires a 10-minute boat
ride to Fethiye.
Expect to see: nobody, nothing — rooms look out over the
Lycian coastline, away from the bright lights of Fethiye.
Where to stay: there’s only one hotel on the island — the
newly redesigned Ece resort, with a horizon pool and 11 exquisite rooms,
each with floor-to-ceiling picture windows staring out across the gulf.
Bookings are only possible through Exclusive Escapes (020 8605 3500,
www.hiddenturkey.co.uk), which has seven nights, B&B, for £500pp,
including all watersports, flights with British Midland from Gatwick to
Dalaman and transfers.
Getting there: if you want a day trip from Fethiye, you’ll
have to haggle with the boat owners in the harbour. Try to stick at £20.
More information: www.sovalyeisland.com
— although the hotel information pre-dates the recent redesign.
COMINO, Malta
A one-hotel island (open April to October), Comino has just eight permanent
residents. Adrift in the channel between Malta and Gozo, with an area of
less than one square mile, Comino is not overburdened with sights. Tick off
the 14th-century chapel on your first morning, then head for
the main attraction: the sea. Dappled in mosaics of crystal-clear turquoise
and green, this cave-strewn coastline offers just about the best
snorkelling, kayaking and diving in the Mediterranean.
Expect to see: clued-up divers
.
Where to stay: the Comino Hotel (00 356 2152 9821, www.cominohotel.com)
— functionally modern, but with a position overlooking two sandy beaches
that just about makes up for the decor. Doubles cost £76, half-board;
open-water Padi diving courses (ages 10+) from the hotel are £235.
Getting there: Thomsonfly (www.thomsonfly.com)
has flights to Malta from 11 UK airports, including Gatwick and Manchester,
from £89. From Malta, the Comino Hotel offers transfers for £27.50pp.
Belleair Holidays (020 8785 3266, www.belleair.co.uk)
has seven nights at the Comino for £394, half-board, including flights from
Gatwick with Air Malta and transfers.
More information: www.visitmalta.com
is the best of a poor bunch.
LOPUD, Croatia
Croatia isn’t short of a barely visited island or two — yet, ironically, one
of its most magical lies less than 10 miles northwest of Dubrovnik.
With no cars, and hand-pulled carts constituting the local taxi service,
Lopud — population 220 — may be less than an hour away from the mainland,
but you’ll need to put your watch back a few hundred years.
Unusually for Croatia, Lopud’s beaches are fabulously sandy, especially Sunj,
which has a gently shelving white apron and aquamarine shallows ideal for
young families.
Lopud measures less than two miles across, so action away from the beach is
limited to the odd inland church exploration and kayaking trips along the
coast.
Expect to see: fat cats from Dubrovnik.
Where to stay: Villa Vilina (00 385 20 759333, www.villa-vilina.hr)
is an elegantly converted Franciscan monastery with three suites and 14
doubles; £104, B&B.
Getting there: Trailfinders (0845 050 5940, www.trailfinders.com)
has flights with British Airways from Gatwick to Dubrovnik from £134. There
are four ferries daily in summer from Dubrovnik to Lopud, costing £1.20 each
way. Simply Travel (0870 405 5005, www.simplytravel.co.uk)
has seven nights at the two-bedroom Villa Bogdanovic for £1,502, based on
four sharing and including flights with Thomsonfly from Gatwick to Dubrovnik
and transfers.
More information: www.lopud.nl/lopud
has good tourist information and links to hotels, apartments and ferries.
SUSAK, Croatia
With travel links that should carry a migraine warning, and just a handful of
rental apartments, Susak is so far off the tourist radar that even
specialist Croatia tour operators don’t touch it.
It would be hard to overstate what an oversight this is, as Susak — made up of
sand, with a beach-fringed look you won’t otherwise find this side of the
Maldives — is one of the most remarkable islands in the Mediterranean, even
having a dialect that most Croatians would fail to understand. No cars, no
roads, no nightclubs, just a seven-mile network of sandy tracks across the
island, two villages, a couple of churches and four small restaurants to
ease you from your sandy vigil.
Expect to see: Hoboken millionaires — 90% of “Sujcanis”
emigrated to New Jersey last century.
Where to stay: Frankie Skrivanic (00 385 91 596 3865, www.susak18.com)
has four modest apartments to rent; £26 per night for two.
Getting there: from June 30, you can fly with EasyJet (www.easyjet.co.uk)
from Luton to Rijeka from £61.98. Travel on by hydrofoil to Susak with
Jadrolinija (00 385 51 666111, www.jadrolinija.hr;
daily except Thursdays; 3 hours; £4). For now, you have to fly to Pula,
drive 30 miles to Brestova, get the ferry to Cres, drive 60 miles to Mali
Losinj and get another ferry to Susak. Alternatively, “do” Susak as a day
trip from Mali Losinj, where a week with Holiday Options (0870 013 0450, www.holidayoptions.co.uk
) costs £550pp, B&B, including car hire, ferries and flights with
Croatia Airlines from Gatwick to Pula.
More information: www.susak18.com
is as good as it gets.
