I Ranked 18 Greek Islands I Visited From Best to Worst… Santorini Came Last

Now in this video I'm going to do something a little different. Greece attracts at least over 35 million visitors a year and 5 million of those are coming from us Brits. Now over the years I've been lucky enough to visit quite a lot of Greek islands and I've decided to rank every single one that I've been to from the best to the worst. Now there are 18 islands on this list and some of the rankings may even surprise you. Overall let's get into it starting with my number one and working our way down to my least favorite. So starting at number one and honestly this might surprise a few of you. Naxos. Now I know what you're thinking. Naxos? Really? Over some of the more famous islands? Well I have to say yes and here's why. To me it's what Greece used to feel like before Instagram. It's not trying to be anything other than what it is. A proper Greek island with incredible beaches, real villages, some good food and people who actually live there rather than just serving tourists. Now the beaches here are genuinely some of the best I've seen in Greece. Long stretches of sand that don't require you to book some beds three weeks in advance or even pay 15 euros for it. The old town feels authentic in a way that Santorini and Mykonos simply don't anymore. You can wander the back streets, find a shop that's been there for decades and actually feel like you're in Greece rather than just a theme park version of it. So you get far more for your money and it's a kind of island that people who've already done Santorini discover and immediately regret not coming here first and for me that's why it's my number one. Now my next favorite is Kefalonia and this one deserves far more attention than it gets. It's actually the largest island in the Ionian Sea and also the only Greek island with its own national park. That alone tells you something about how different this place is from the rest on this list. Now what hits you immediately is how dramatic the landscape changes depending on which side of the island you're on. One side gives you these incredible golden sandy beaches and turn around and on the other side of the island you've got white pebble beaches with water so clear it almost looks artificial. But here's the thing, it's not just the beaches. The harbors and villages all have this colorful and authentic feel to it that's genuinely hard to find in Greece anymore. I'd say it's relatively quiet compared to the other places on the list. You can actually breathe here. So my advice is don't do Kefalonia as just a day trip. You need at least a week to do it justice. Now Milos might be the most visually dramatic island of all in Greece and definitely one of my favorites. Every beach here looks completely different from the last. You're not traveling between different stretches of sand. You're actually moving between entirely different landscapes. For example, you've got red volcanic rock at Peleochlori. You have fishing boats bobbing in the harbor at Klima and then there's Sarakiniko. This is the one that stops people in their tracks. White volcanic rock carved by centuries of wind and water into these small surreal formations right at the edge of the sea. So it generally does look like it's the surface of the moon. You'll take photos there and people when they're back home won't believe it's Greece. The villages are equally impressive. You have Polonia and my favorite Mandrakia. Small fishing villages where the houses are built right into the cliffs. You also have the hilltop capital Plaka and everything a Greek island town should be. The interesting thing is you do get some strong winds here and that can disrupt ferries and flights but it's not the worst problem to have. So my fourth favorite on this list is Lefkada and this one generally surprises a lot of people. It's technically connected to the Greek mainland by a causeway so you can drive there which already makes it different from every other island in this list. No ferry queues, no schedules, just drive straight in. But don't let that fool you into thinking it's less of an island experience. The west coast beaches are some of the most dramatic in all of Greece, especially Porto Katsiki. Beautiful turquoise water, white cliffs and somehow still manageable crowds compared to what you'll find in the Cyclades. So I think it's in a way that won't last much longer. People are already starting to figure this one out so go before they do. The fifth island is one of the smallest islands on this list and one of the most charming. Paxos. And this dish sits just south of Corfu in the Ionian Sea. It's lush, green, covered in ancient olive groves that have been there for centuries and it feels completely different from the Cyclades. It's less dramatic, more gentle. So the main town of Gaios is generally quite beautiful. It has Venetian architecture, a pretty harbour, some good solid restaurants and just enough buzz in the summer. It also attracts quite a yachting crowd which keeps the quality of food and the accommodation quite high without pushing into the kind of Mykonos prices. The beaches are mostly pebble rather than sand but the water is some of the clearest in Greece. The next location is Antiparos. Now this is quieter, a bit slower and definitely less touristy than its bigger neighbour. It has beautiful whitewashed streets, some solid beaches I would say and I would think that it's quite a genuinely relaxed vibe. But be warned because it's small. It's very small and after a couple of days you might think that you've seen everything and start wondering what's next. So there is limited nightlife and limited options full stop. So I think it's best treated as a one to two night stay or an add-on for the next destination. But it is overall definitely worth it, just don't overstay. Now look, Paros is genuinely beautiful. I want to be very clear about that before I say anything else. Like the old town Paros here, it's absolutely stunning. You just wander and lose track of time. Whitewashed houses, a 6th century cathedral that sits right in the middle of it all. Then you have Naoussa, a small fishing harbour in the north side of the island and that's also worth a stop. The famous beaches are unlike anything else in Greece. You won't find smooth round rock formations that create these natural pools and shelter coves anywhere else in Greece. But the honest truth about Paros is it's been discovered again like the massive European boom in the 80s and 90s with package holidays. Not Santorini levels of discovered but discovered enough to make you feel it in the summer months, the long summer months. So it still deserves its place in this list but just go with realistic expectations which I didn't. If you can go early June or maybe late September. Koufounissia and this island is tiny. You can walk the whole island in an hour. So there's no light life, the restaurants are quite limited and there's almost nothing to do beyond swimming, eating and staring at some of the most turquoise water you've ever seen. And I know what you're thinking, that's kind of exactly the point. The beaches here are world class, crystal clear water, very soft sand and I would say it's kind of uncrowded. This is where the Greeks come on holiday when they want to escape the tourists and that alone tells you something. But be honest with yourself before you book. If you do need some stimulation, activities or even evening entertainment, I don't think Koufounissia is the one for you. It might drive you mad after two days but it is an island to decompress not explore. I would say it's best visited as a short stay from Naxos. Now one of the best islands for a particular type of holiday and is actually different from everything else on the list is Spetses. It's very elegant, pine trees, horse-drawn carriages, no cars in the centre, beautiful boutique hotels and slow lunches by the harbour. Now it does have that old money Greek charm that feels completely in its own. The town is stunning, historic architecture and good restaurants and easy to walk around. I think the beaches are pretty good. I went to Aegean Marina and that was not bad and I was kind of torn between whether I should place this island much higher on the list because it's only a short hydrofoil from Athens and that makes it one of the most accessible escapes on this list. So if you want something raw then this isn't your island but if you do want sophistication and that feel of elegance then Spetses delivers. Now it starts to get a lot harder to rank these islands and the next one is Halki. It's tiny, quiet and almost completely untouched by mass tourism unlike many islands in Europe. So Halki just sits off roads but it does feel completely different. I never felt the crowds or the package holidays or the noise. It was just a pretty harbour village. There's a handful of good restaurants and some decent beaches and the good thing is there's an old medieval castle on the hill right above the village. And the main village is an Emporia. Lots of wonderful seafront cafes. It's quite charming and there's a much slower pace of life there. But the biggest catch is it's quite remote. Ferry connections from roads are quite limited. You don't want to get it on a bad day and you need to plan carefully. But overall it's one of the last places that I think still delivers that bit of authentic Greece. Now this particular island is about as quiet as Greece gets. It's one of the small Cyclades, Heraklion. It's tiny, completely uncommercialized like others and it's definitely the kind of place where the whole island knows when a new boat arrives. The beaches are quite beautiful but I would say completely empty. But to be honest this is what I would say for people who generally want isolation. There's no nightlife, no almost almost no amenities and very limited ferry connections. Especially when I went. But if you need anything else beyond swimming and eating simply then Heraklion will feel like quite a test of patience within 24 hours. But for the right person it's paradise. Green, lively and genuinely stunning. But increasingly a victim of its own popularity. Skiathos. This was painful to put it at number 12. Because the beaches here are some of the best in the Aegean. One in particular, Koukounaries, is rated as one of Greece's finest. The island is covered in pine forests which does give it the completely different look from the whitewashed Cyclades which you've seen already. I think the biggest problem was Skiathos went very package tour heavy. Especially over the recent years and the main town gets crowded. Flights from the UK are plentiful which means it does attract a massive holiday crowd. So I did find the authentic Greek feel a bit distant here. But it's still worth a visit. Let me know what you think. This island is large, quite diverse and I think extremely underrated. But the problem is it lacks the wow factor of the higher ranked islands which I've already mentioned. Samos. Now this island has mountains, villages, beaches, history. It does everything reasonably well. You've got to visit the archaeological site which I think is quite world class. Especially as you have Athens in the country. The mountain villages are quite nice and the beaches are solid. But visually it didn't really hit me the way Milos or Naxos does. It is an okay island. It may make you stop and wonder. Which is why I did visit this particular island. But just not near the top of the list. But give it a go. Now we come to the most remote island on this list and possibly the most authentic. Kasos. Now this sits at the far southeastern end of the Dodecanese. Barely visited. Rarely talked about anywhere. But it is generally difficult to reach and that's why I'm always going to score a lot of things down. Even though when you really think about it the more accessible places maybe the worse it gets. So I guess maybe I don't know what I'm talking about. But if you do happen to make it here you will find traditional village life and almost completely untouched by mass tourism. The difficulty is real. Priory connections are infrequent and limited. There's almost nothing in terms of any kind of infrastructure. So you need to really want to be here. Which makes it maybe even more appealing. I'm wondering why it's in number 14. Of course Rhodes has to be on this list because I'm sure it divides many people more than any other island on this list. On one hand you have the history. Genuinely world-class. The old town is easily one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe. Walking through you have the streets of the knights, the grand master's palace, the ancient harbour. It's impressive in a way that most Greek islands simply can't match. And of course then you have Lindos. A beautiful acropolis overlooking the bay. And on a quiet morning it's one of the best spots in Greece. But it loses a lot of points in terms of the beaches. A lot of them are pebbly rather than soft sand which I really need or expect. But it catches a lot of people off guard and also the development parts of the coast are heavily built up with large resort hotels and you get that heavy package holiday feel. But it is still a solid choice. Not the best for a beach holiday experience but great history. So my last three starts with this. Zakynthos. The scenery on this island alone is genuinely world-class and I want to be completely honest about that up front. Take Navajo beach. The famous shipwreck beach. Easily one of Europe's most photographed spots for a reason. The white cliffs, the beautiful turquoise water and that crazy rusting ship that really doesn't look real. Even the blue caves are just as spectacular. Glowing electric blue water depending on the light. So if you do stay on the north or west coast of the island, spend a day on the water and for some reason you get the chance to avoid the crowds then Zakynthos absolutely delivers. But the problem for me is Laganas. If you've heard anything negative about the island it probably came from there. It's the island's party strip. Now don't get me wrong I've been to many but now with the package holiday crowd it gets a bit too much. Even outside Laganas the summer gets really crowded. Navajo fills with boats by mid-morning so you might not get the chance to really experience everything. Some beds disappear early and of course the boat trips can feel more like floating queues than an actual adventure. So for me the consensus is quite simple. At best you can visit in May or in the middle of September. Stay in the north and skip Laganas. Do that and you'll love Zakynthos. So the controversy continues because from my experience I've got Mykonos second to last. It is genuinely a beautiful island. Cora the main town is everything you can imagine when you picture a Greek island. Whitewashed streets, cobblestone alleyways, little churches with red roofs, the famous windmills overlooking little Venice as well as walking through at the right time of day and it's one of the most photogenic places in all of Greece. There's no argument there. The food is also good. I mean proper Greek food, fresh fish, good souvlaki, tavernas tucked into those little back streets and a lot of locals who come out. But where I feel that Mykonos loses its position is prices. Crazy crazy prices for food and drink. Beaches where every inch of sand has a sun lounger on it with a price tag attached. You can't just lay a towel down. The whole coastline has completely been monetized and the famous beach clubs, I mean can they really justify the prices? Half of them are closed by late September anyway. So for me the truth about Mykonos recently is that it's become too much of a luxury brand more than a Greek island. The style is there, the atmosphere is curated but the soul for me seems to have disappeared. So if you do want a beautiful glamorous expensive Mediterranean experience of course Mykonos delivers. If you want Greece I suggest you just go back to Naxos. Now we come to the one that you've been waiting for. Now I'm not going to pretend that Santorini isn't beautiful. The caldera views alone are simply incredible and the white villages clinging to the cliffs are iconic. Even the sunset over Oia really is unforgettable and standing on the rim of an ancient volcanic crater is really extraordinary. For me Santorini was dominated by Oia and Fira and that's where my frustration comes from. It's become living Instagram sets packed with cruise ship crowds, endless queues, really overpriced restaurants and everyone chasing the exact same photo. So the mistake I made over the years was staying there for too long before exploring the rest of the island. Now in my opinion and my experience I would say the best way to experience Santorini is to base yourself somewhere quieter like Pyrgos, Imerigli or Komarov. Now these villages are often slower, the more relaxed side of the island that's much closer to what I was hoping to find. So is Santorini worth visiting? Absolutely yes once. Go for two or three days, stay away from Oia and Fira, visit in the shoulder season if you can and you'll probably have a much better experience than I did. But Santorini comes last on my list not because it isn't beautiful, because it was the most expensive destination I visited while giving me the least of what I personally love about Greece. So there you have it folks that is my take on the islands that I have visited in Greece over the years. My personal preferences obviously but let me know where you would rank these islands. Also if you've been to an island that I haven't been to yet please recommend it on the comment section below and of course let me know about your experiences. Thanks for watching and I will see you all on the next one.