5 Greek Islands for a Quieter Holiday

If what you need from your holiday is a little more peace and quiet, that does not necessarily mean you are looking for an isolated island with no one around.

You may simply want your days to feel easier. To wake up without a schedule, go for a swim without a long journey, find somewhere to eat without having planned the whole day in advance, and be able to sit down for a drink or take an evening stroll without automatically finding yourself in the intensity of nightlife.

That is the first thing worth considering when you are looking for a quieter island: not only how many people are there, but how simply you can spend your day.

The base you choose makes a big difference. If you can easily reach a beach, somewhere to eat and a place for an afternoon stroll from your accommodation, you do not need to keep getting in the car or making lots of small decisions throughout the day. By contrast, even a small and supposedly quiet island can become more tiring if every swim, meal or journey requires planning.

The same applies to size. Small does not automatically mean quiet, and large does not necessarily mean busy. What matters is whether there are beaches and settlements where you can stay for longer, whether the evening scene is low key, and whether the island lets you spend an entire day without feeling that you constantly need to go somewhere else.

And, of course, the time of year matters. In July and August, tourism in Greece is usually at its busiest. If you have some flexibility, June and September are worth looking at separately, as the Greek National Tourism Organisation recommends them for travellers who want warm seas and tourism services that are still fully open, with less pressure than at the height of the season.

That does not mean you have to avoid August to have a peaceful holiday. It means that at that time of year it matters more exactly where you stay, what times you move around, and whether your daily routine depends on the island's most popular spots.

In the islands that follow, this is exactly the side of a holiday we are looking at: beaches where you can stay for hours, short distances or straightforward transport, villages and settlements with a slower pace, food without too much planning, nature and routes for the days when you feel like doing something more.

Not to find the island with the fewest people, but the one where it is easier to leave a little more space in your day.