Greek islands

Vacation and accommodation in Greece is a complete Travel Guide for the Greek islands and Greece. In Vacation-Greece you will find a list of hotels in Greece, studios, apartments and villas for all budgets. Find hotel offers in Greece, see maps and photos of Greece, book flights, ferry tickets, discover Cyclades, explore Crete, book guided tours, ancient theatre and museum tickets (delivered to your home address) and make hotel reservations.

Greek islands have been known worldwide to be of unique beauty and variety, gathering tourists from around the world for decades. The majority of the Greek islands are in the Aegean, forming big island clusters like the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, the North-Eastern Aegean islands and the Sporades islands.

Each island is unique in many aspects (history, landscape) even within the same group of islands. What most of them have in common, however, is the rich historical background and the plethora of monuments and archaeological finds.

Thassos, the northernmost island in Greece, belongs to the Macedonia district and has a distinct architecture and wonderful nature.

Samothraki (Samothrace) for example, belongs to Thrace district and is a mountainous green island in the North Aegean, with many springs and excellent beaches, having its highest peak at approximately 1,610m on Mount Fegari.

Kythnos, on the other hand, like most of its Cyclades sisters, is quite barren and family oriented island with innumerous coves, some of which are accessible by boat only. To get a better understanding of the diversity between islands belonging to the same group (like the Cyclades), one must keep in mind that Mykonos and Santorini are also parts of the same island complex but very different from the rest of them.

The Ionian Islands have rich vegetation, dense forests and impressive beaches. Climate there is quite humid and the sea is calmer than in the Aegean, so they gather many sailing boats during summer.

The Dodecanese Islands have a distinct architecture and a warm climate even during late fall. Tourist season starts as early as April and end late November.

It is only by travelling around the islands and getting to know as many as possible that one may boast that he really knows the Greek islands. However, this will take quite a few years to accomplish and plenty of visits, no matter how enjoyable. So, let's get started ...

Just a quick tour of the Greek islands
Greece is practically surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. At its west the Ionian Sea connects Greece with Italy and Eptanissa (Seven Islands) group are scattered along the Greek coastline.

The Aegean Sea, at its east, includes many groups of islands, including Crete. These are the Cyclades islands, the Sporades islands, the North-eastern Aegean, the Dodecanese islands, Thassos Island, Gavdos island and many small islets.

Direct connection between the groups or even between islands within the same group is not always possible. One has to plan carefully which islands to visit and book ferry tickets in advance, especially during high season. Connection is sometimes possible only through the main ports of Athens City (Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio) or via other islands, hopefully within the same group.

Charter flights from European countries or the US land on some Greek islands; Crete, Rhodes, Paros, Mykonos, Santorini, Skiathos, Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos are only some of them.

The Ionian Islands accept many tourists each year who choose to travel by sailing boat, private or chartered yacht, many of which come from Italy. The Aegean islands also gather sailing boat travelers, especially the Cyclades and the Dodecanese islands.