Conde Nast Traveler: The 14 best Greek islands for holidays during 2016

The 14 best Greek Islands to visit during 2016 are highlighted by the leading travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller.

CNT even quotes Lord Byron: ‘The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece, eternal summer gilds them yet…’ and comments that the poet “was on to something when he waxed lyrical about the Greek islands. But with more than 200 to choose from, which one is right for you? Here regular island-hopper RACHEL HOWARD shares her favourites:”

HYDRA

Best Greek island for: a long weekend with the art crowd

You know when Dakis Joannou, Greece’s foremost art collector, is on Hydra. His yacht, Guilty, is painted in garish ‘camouflage’ by Jeff Koons. Every summer, Joannou invites big hitters such as Matthew Barney and Maurizio Cattelan to create site-specific installations in the island’s old slaughterhouse. Even the school is commandeered for exhibitions in the summer holidays. Car-free and protected by a preservation order, Hydra has always been an artists’ muse. Leonard Cohen, Brice Marden and Juergen Teller have homes here. Athenian artists take up residence at the SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS, one of the vast, grey, stone mansions overlooking the horseshoe harbour.

Less than two hours from Athens, Hydra fills up with chic Greeks at weekends. Wily cats and weary donkeys patrol the back alleys, but all the action happens along the waterfront. Oh look! There’s Olivia Palermo at THE PIRATE BAR and Chlo? Sevigny shaking her tail feather at HYDRONETTA BEACH BAR. Who cares if there are barely any beaches? You can always find a slab of rock from which to dive into the clearest water in the world. NEXT: CORFU>>

CORFU

Best Greek island for: cosmopolitan cachet and lush landscapes

Corfu is the It Girl of the Ionian. The cosmopolitan capital is a charming clash of Venetian, British and French colonial influences. Evenings kick off with cocktails on the LISTON (a colonnade modelled on Paris’s rue de Rivoli), followed by dinner at CORFU SAILING CLUB, overlooking a floodlit fortress.

With its pastel villages, rolling olive groves and grand manor houses, the rest of the island recalls Tuscany – but with far better beaches. The smart set stay on the north-east coast (nicknamed Kensington-on-Sea) where the Rothschilds like to unwind. It’s wall-to-wall Sloanes and speedboats at AGNI, a tiny fishing village with three rival tavernas (TOULA’S is the best). From here, you can rent a boat and putter to your own cove: perhaps NISSAKI, AGIOS STEFANOS or KERASIA. These idyllic bays still resemble the ‘delectable landscape’ that Lawrence Durrell fell for in the 1930s. Cliff-backed MYRTIOTISSA, which he described as ‘perhaps the loveliest beach in the world’, is worth a detour to the north-west coast. Or venture inland to AMBELONAS, an enchanting winery, restaurant and cooking school that specialises in Corfiot dishes, such as squid with chickpea and turmeric mousse and rose petal jelly. Steer clear of the south, especially KAVOS. Unless you happen to like wet T-shirt contests.

KEFALONIA (CEPHALONIA)

Best Greek island for: Laid-back family holidays

Casting Pen?lope Cruz as a Greek peasant is improbable. Shooting a World War II film on an island flattened by an earthquake in 1953 sounds even crazier. And yet Captain Corelli’s Mandolin put under-the-radar Kefalonia (Cephalonia) in the spotlight in 2001. The dramatic scenery still lives up to the hype: milky-white MYRTOS BEACH, the island’s pin-up; pine-fringed HORGOTA BEACH; and the giddying heights of MOUNT AINOS, a national park where deer and wild horses roam. OUTDOOR KEFALONIA organises four-wheel-drive safaris, if you can’t face the hairpin bends. Surprisingly, the two prettiest seaside villages – ASSOS and FISKARDO – didn’t make the cut. But the yachting set has discovered their photogenic charm. Everyone from John Galliano to Jon Bon Jovi has jumped ashore to taste the seafood pasta at TASSIA in FISKARDO, washed down with local Robola and Muscat wines. The rocky coastline around Fiskardo is deliciously pristine: go snorkelling at tiny DAFNOUDI or EMBLISSI, flanked by slabs of limestone that turn the water electric blue.

SANTORINI

Best for: Honeymooners and first-timers

Cooing American and Japanese honeymooners line up to take selfies as the sun sinks behind Santorini’s flooded volcanic crater. That view may be a romantic clich?, but it still takes your breath away. A volcanic explosion blew out Santorini’s heart 3,500 years ago, leaving black-sand beaches, vertiginous cliffs in psychedelic hues, and swirling rumours about Atlantis in its wake. The eruption also preserved the ancient city of AKROTIRI under layers of ash, and created fertile ground for exceptional Assyrtiko grapes and Vinsanto wines.

Apart from a boat trip to the smouldering crater of NEA KAMENI and hot springs at PALIA KAMENI, there’s not much to do but gaze at the mesmerising views from your suite, dangling on the edge of the caldera. The best hotels are concentrated in OIA, but the inland village of PYRGOS is up-and-coming. Go for a twilight Bellini at Franco’s then dinner at SELENE, a pioneer of new Cycladic cuisine.

SYMI

Best for: Castaway coves and a picture-perfect port

Little Symi has the prettiest port in Greece. As you round the headland, neoclassical mansions in every shade of apricot and peach rise like a mirage from the sea. Built by 19th-century sponge and spice merchants, the whole town is now a national monument. You need strong legs to explore – it’s about 500 steps up to the crumbling acropolis – but you won’t need a car. The only proper road peters out at PANORMITIS MONASTERY, a major pilgrimage site. Ravishing beaches such as AYIOS YORGOS DISALONAS (backed by monumental cliffs) and MARATHOUNDA (where goats will try to filch your picnic) are only accessible by boat or on foot. In the rugged hinterland, more than 100 monasteries are hidden among the pine and cypress forests.

With its laid-back glamour, luminous sea and almost tropical microclimate, Symi is a hit with French and Italian yachties. You’ll find them eating flash-fried baby shrimp, a local specialty, at THOLOS, a sensational taverna where the harbour views almost steal the show.

CRETE

Best for: Antiquities, active adventures and sunshine all year round

Greece’s largest island, Crete has ancient ruins, snow-capped peaks and beaches galore. Sunshine is pretty much guaranteed year round, but spring is especially lovely for rambling and sightseeing. The Minoan palace of KNOSSOS is glorious, despite the steady stream of coach parties (go early: it opens at 8am). The 16km-long SAMARI? GORGE also teems with pilgrims, but there are 50 more canyons to explore, often with only the elusive kri-kri (wild goats) for company.

With the exception of ELOUNDA – a pocket of bling popular with oligarchs – the north-east coast is scarred by over-development. Instead head south, where there are miles of empty sand dunes, sprinkled with SIMPLE yoga retreats such as YOGA ROCKS at TRIOPETRA and YOGA PLUS at AGIOS PAVLOS. Or take a back-to-nature break with WILD FITNESS at MILIA, a 17th-centruy hamlet powered entirely by solar energy. Time slows almost to a standstill in the mountain villages, where locals with formidable whiskers welcome you with shots of raki (Cretan grappa) for breakfast and celebrate saints’ days with a volley of gunshots. Even the road signs are peppered with bullet holes.

NAXOS

Best for: Endless sandy beaches

Naxiots once made considerable fortunes exporting potatoes, cheese, marble and emery. Locals bequeathed undesirable seaside plots – useless for farming – to their laziest offspring. When tourists cottoned on to the island’s scores of fabulous beaches, these wastrels found themselves sitting on gold mines. The west coast of Naxos is fringed with mile upon mile of powdery sands. AGIOS PROKOPIOS and AGIA ANNA delight toddlers and teenagers alike with their shallow waters and beach bars. As you head south, the beaches get wilder: PLAKA, where you can gallop across the dunes on horseback, MIKRI VIGLA for windsurfing and kitesurfing, and crystal-clear KASTRAKI.

Should you tire of frolicking on the shore, three supersized kouros statues are hidden in the hills and there are dozens of drowsy villages to explore. Try kitron, the local citron liqueur, at the VALLINDRAS DISTILLERY in HALKI or sample homemade wine and arseniko cheese under the plane trees in ANO POTAMIA VILLAGE. No wonder Herodotus described Naxos as ‘the happiest of islands’.

TINOS

Best for: Traditional villages and knockout tavernas

Tinos has more than 50 villages, each vying to be fairest of them all. In PYRGOS, famous for its marble craftsmen, sculpted birds and flowers decorate every doorway. In VOLAX, basket weavers squat outside cottages carved from giant boulders, seemingly flung from the heavens by Zeus in a fit of pique. There’s even a village called love, AGAPI, where you can tuck into wild-fennel fritters at the only taverna. Tinos takes its food culture seriously: there are artichoke, caper and honey festivals. Greeks travel for days to eat cuttlefish risotto at THALASSAKI, served on the jetty in ISTERNIA BAY, then watch dusk bleed into the horizon from EXOMERIA BAR.

Tinos is only 15 minutes from Mykonos, so it’s a wonder it isn’t overrun with tourists. The harbour is swarmed on 15 August, however, when Orthodox pilgrims flock here to kiss the icons at PANAGIA EVANGELISTRIA MONASTERY, one of the holiest sites in Greece. Otherwise, the island is miraculously untouched. Solitary chapels and whimsical dovecotes stud thyme-scented hills, dropping to sandy bays whipped by the meltemi wind. There’s a nascent surfer scene on KOLIBITHRA BEACH.

ANDROS

Best for: Eco-adventures with (or without) the kids

Unlike its parched Cycladic neighbours, Andros is refreshingly lush. The ancient Greeks called it Hydroussa (‘watery’) because of its plentiful waterfalls and springs. Marble lions spout ice-cold mineral water at SARIZA and MENITES. Streams signposted by pink ribbons of oleander tumble down valleys criss-crossed with stone bridges and footpaths. (Some 150km of trails have been waymarked; find out more at Andros Routes). Falcons and monk seals duck and dive at blissful, blustery beaches including ZORKOS, VITALI and VORI.

If you’re wondering why this bountiful island (a two-hour ferry ride from Athens) isn’t inundated with tourists, it’s because the local ship-owners prefer to keep it quiet. They fraternise in country estates and neoclassical mansions in HORA. Floating on a slender peninsula, the stately capital is sprinkled with old-fashioned patisseries (Laskaris sells wonderful lemon-blossom preserves) and stylish boutiques (Waikiki Andros has gorgeous embroidered tunics and studded sandals). There’s even a Museum of Contemporary Art, where the line-up might feature Man Ray or Mir?.

SIFNOS

Best for: Big, fat Greek feasts

Sifnos owes its foodie reputation to its most famous descendant, Nicholas Tselementes, who wrote the first Greek cookbook in 1910. Forget souvlaki and moussaka: here, chickpea croquettes and stewed capers are taverna staples. The island is peppered with potteries that produce the earthenware casseroles used for revith?da (baked chickpeas) and mastello (lamb with red wine and dill). Traditional dishes are slow-roasted in a wood-fired oven at TO MERAKI TOU MANOLI, a local institution on sheltered VATHY BAY.

In postcard-pretty ARTEMONAS, all roads lead to THEODOROU, purveyors of nougat wafers and almond sweets since 1933. You can eat in your bikini at OMEGA 3, where locally foraged and fished ingredients are given an exotic twist: baby-calamari tempura, crayfish, saffron, and ouzo risotto. Lobsters are plucked straight from the sea at HERONISSOS, then served with spaghetti on the jetty. It’s just the right balance of low-key luxury and unspoiled authenticity. Rather like Sifnos itself.

ASTYPALEA

Best for: Escaping the crowds

A throwback to a gentler, slower, more elemental way of life, Astypalea is surprisingly easy to get to (daily one-hour flights from Athens). Every gap in the burnished hills frames a different view of HORA, cascading from the Venetian castle to seaside SKALA. The scent of saffron biscuits wafts through the whitewashed lanes. Tucked beneath the battlements, CASTRO BAR has a magical terrace that seems to float above the archipelago.

The nearest beach is LIVADI, a sort-of-resort surrounded by citrus orchards. The rest of the island is stark and wild. Treacherous tracks hurtle down to shingle bays such as VATSES, with a rocking beach bar, and KAMINAKIA, where Linda’s farm-to-table taverna serves the best roast goat in the Dodecanese. If you really want to be alone, rent a motorboat from MALTEZANA, an old-time fishing village, and putter to KOUTSOMITI and KOUNOUPES, tiny islands connected by a double-sided beach. At VATHY, a lagoon where erotic graffiti was etched into the rocks 2,500 years ago, the only taverna is called GALINI (Peace). Which sums up Astypalea perfectly.

RHODES

Best for: Travelling back in time

When the writer Lawrence Durrell arrived in Rhodes after World War II, he found an island devastated by centuries of crusaders and invaders. Like the fallen Colossus, it was ‘a Rhodes dispersed into a million fragments, waiting to be built up again.’ Since then, Rhodes has reinvented itself as one of Greece’s top travel destinations. The big draw is the medieval citadel: stroll along the battlements and you’ll spy Byzantine churches, Roman ruins, synagogues and minarets. Upmarket hotels are clustered around LINDOS, its magnificent acropolis surrounded by slate cliffs and emerald coves. Go for the views – and the sublime octopus ragout at MAVRIKOS RESTAURANT.

As you head south, high-rise resorts give way to stretches of golden sand, such as GLYSTRA, TSAMBIKA, and FOURNI. Inland, you’ll find alpine forests (MOUNT ATTAVYROS), hilltop castles (MONOLITHOS), faded frescoes (AGIOS NIKOLAOS FOUNDOUKLI) and ancient ruins (KAMIROS). Marooned on the southern tip, PRASONISI is a powdery peninsula where the Aegean meets the Mediterranean. One side is calm, the other choppy – a metaphor for this island of two halves.

PATMOS

Best for: Stark mystique and show-stopping villas

Patmos has an indefinable je ne sais quoi – an otherworldly quality that radiates from its crowning glory, the medieval monastery of St John. This turreted fortress, bursting with Byzantine relics, is named after John the Divine, who conjured up his apocalyptic revelations in a cave nearby. Pure-white CHORA, a World Heritage Site, is where A-listers and fashion editors stay. High walls and heavy doors conceal magnificent mansions dating back to the 16th century.

The almighty church has kept nightlife in check. If you must see and be seen, head to ASTIVI for watermelon Daiquiris or GEORGE’S PLACE on KAMBOS BEACH, where the full-moon parties last until sunrise. Beach life is generally languid and low-key; PSILI AMMOS and LIVADI GERANOU are our favourite hideouts. Dinner reservations are essential at BENETOS, for Med-Asian fusion on an organic farm, and LAMBI for grilled fish on a purple pebble beach.

Joining the Patmos in-crowd requires commitment. There’s no airport and it’s a nine-hour ferry journey from Athens, which keeps the hoi polloi at bay. Seriously reclusive types hop on a fishing boat from Patmos to MARATHI (population: 12) and play castaway at PANTELIS a divine taverna with rooms to let.