Princess Cruises told passengers in April that it was canceling its planned visits to the Greek island of Santorini due to overcrowding, and four cruise ships are already scheduled to arrive on the same day in June, bringing about 17,000 tourists to the island of 15,500 residents.
More than 1,000 islands dot the waters between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea, with coastlines lined with stunning bays. Both countries saw record tourism figures last year, a boon for their fragile economies but also a cause for concern, particularly in the Greek islands, as frenzied development continues to threaten local livelihoods, cultural heritage and ecological balance.
With plenty of whitewashed islands and historic coastal towns that share the same charm as their neighbours, it’s time to look beyond Mykonos and Marmaris to lesser-known spots that might attract more tourists. Here are five destinations that offer a unique Aegean experience without the crowds.
turkey
Urla
When Michelin expanded its Turkey guidebook last year, it highlighted the sleepy Urla region near the port city of Izmir, a hilly region with a rich wine-making tradition dating back 6,000 years.
New wine producers like Hus specialize almost exclusively in locally grown grapes, joining longtime innovators along the Urla Vineyard Route, which winds through rolling fields, olive groves and nine wineries, two of which have beautiful rooms, one of which is at Sarapcilik’s 2 Rooms hotel (from $230).
“Everything here is word of mouth, passed down from generation to generation, season to season,” says Serey Kumbasar, sommelier and co-owner of Vino Locale, an upscale casual restaurant surrounded by vineyards.
In the charming town of Urla itself, cobbled alleyways connect multi-purpose spaces such as Istifci, a design-meets-wine store that opens into a restaurant and hotel, relaxed hangouts such as Philos Coffee and Wine, and family-run establishments that do just one thing and do it extremely well, such as Girit Pastanesi, serving up Bademli Kazandibi, an almond-studded caramel milk pudding.
Ayvalik
Ayvalik, a seaside town 250 miles southwest of Istanbul, was once a center of olive oil production during the Ottoman Empire. Many of the industry’s stone factories are now occupied by workshops specializing in traditional Turkish crafts. Despite the rise in tourism, Ayvalik has retained its “rustic feel” and “the enduring community that lives and produces here,” says Ozlem Eroglu, founder of design store Moi Atli.
For her boutique, Errol works with female artisans to design clothes made from ferretico, a breathable, handwoven fabric made from linen and cotton, as well as crafts such as baskets made from hazelnut bark and woven wooden stools.
The Macaroon district is mostly lively, with a sprawling collection of small olive oil shops, antique markets and boutique hotels. The most modern, Ivy Ayvalik, opened last year in a traditional stone house (from $70), with four compact but comfortable rooms above a neon-lit café and wine bar that’s bustling late into the night.
A three-mile drive from town, Cunda and Ayvalik Islands Nature Park offers hiking trails through rocky coves and rolling hills with sweeping views.
Dacha
With resort-filled Bodrum to the north, nightlife hub Marmaris to the east, and the popular Greek island of Rhodes to the south, it’s surprising that Datca isn’t much known about — until you look at a map. The long, narrow peninsula is connected to the mainland by a thin isthmus (along with a ferry from Bodrum), but that’s somehow enough to keep most tourists away.
Guven Cetinkaya is chef and co-owner of the Ultava House Hotel, which he’s renovated from four traditional village homes and offers amenities like a private rooftop pool terrace (from $170). Cetinkaya says that unlike more touristy areas, most of Datca’s residents have lived there for years; the area’s strict building codes prevent large-scale development.
There’s a waterfront lined with fish restaurants, as well as Eski Datca (Old Town), where stone buildings overflow with bougainvillea. There are just enough little restaurants and cafés to start and end your day, but most visitors spend their time wandering the secluded pebble beaches tucked into the buk (“bends”) that dot the peninsula’s 200-mile coastline (Aquarium Cove is a particular highlight).
Greece
Sifnos
Nearly a third of this western Cyclades island is accessible only by foot, which provides a small window into the island’s storied history. Some paths date back to the Neolithic period, while others were pioneered by gold and silver miners who made Sifnos one of the wealthiest destinations in ancient Greece. “Today, locals still use the paths to reach the terraces and little chapels, and hikers too,” says Phivos Tsaravopoulos, co-founder of the national hiking cooperative Paths of Greece.
The group has organized several self-guided thematic hikes, including a secluded nine-mile trail that circles Sifnos’s highest peak, Mount Profitis Ilias, and passes through a nature reserve known for churches and birdwatching. “This is the only way to experience what it’s like to live on the most unspoiled island in the Cyclades,” Tsaravopulos said, and he hopes the trail will attract more travelers in the off-season when the weather is more suitable for hiking.
Sit back and savour Sifnos cuisine, slow-cooked in olive-wood ovens; the island has maintained a culinary reputation since Greece’s most important chef of all time, Nicholas Tselementes, set up shop here in the early 1900s. Sifnos classics such as rebisada, a baked chickpea stew, can be found in any tavern, while newer eateries such as Cantina lean towards more creative dishes, like smoked beef cheek croquettes topped with eggplant béchamel.
For a stay that rivals Mykonos, try the 18-room Nos Hotel & Villas (from $825), built entirely of stone and marble, with a pool set into the hillside.
Folegandros
About an hour’s ferry ride west from Santorini, Folegandros is a quieter option for a quintessential Greek island getaway. Sparsely developed, it has no airport, poor beach access and few tourist attractions, but that’s its charm. Its newest hotel, Gundari, billed as the island’s first luxury hotel, is set in an 80-acre nature reserve known as home to Eleonora’s falcons (from $640).
Unlike other developments in the Cyclades that have drawn the ire of locals, Gundari hopes to create a different atmosphere on its small footprint. The hotel has its own wastewater treatment system, and all of its stone buildings are made from locally quarried rock. An on-site farm employs traditional farmers, and an after-school program is due to begin soon.
Each room has its own private infinity pool, and the restaurant, run by chef Lefteris Lazarou of Michelin-starred Athens restaurant Varoulko, regularly serves up unpretentious seafood dishes such as octopus carpaccio with broad bean cream and black garlic.
Karavostasis, the main port town, is little more than a fishing village, and the second largest, Ano Meria, has ancient hilltop ruins, traditional farmhouses and an ecomuseum that recreates farm life of the past.
