Thinking of taking a trip to the islands of Greece? There are roughly 6,000 islands making up the country. So with thousands of islands, which ones are the best to visit? This guide will take you to the four Greek islands I have traveled to on a cruise in 2019. There are countless beaches, ancient history, Greek mythology, beautiful sunsets, and incredible food. Greece is a great vacation getaway with multiple island options.
If you’re flying into Greece to begin this adventure, definitely take some time to see Athens. While I haven’t had the chance, there is so much history in this ancient city to see. It is also one of the best places to hop to any island you could want.
So out of all the Greek islands, I’ve been to four. Each has its differences so if you are trying to figure out which to travel to hopefully this helps.
Santorini
This is definitely the most touristy island. It has the iconic white buildings with blue domes. It’s known for some of the best sunsets anywhere. It truly is gorgeous. Santorini is a caldera island where volcanic activity created a crater sticking out of the water. Due to this, there aren’t really any beaches in Santorini. The towns like Oia sit on top of the volcanic cliffs giving some incredible views of the Aegean Sea. Santorini does have crowds when the cruise ships come in, but the views are worth it! If I could go back for longer, I’d love to get a nice villa with a pool overlooking the sea. This is also the island you see all over Youtube travel videos cause its gorgeous. This island is best for relaxation, sunsets, and amazing views.
Mykonos
Next, we’re island-hopping over to Mykonos. This island is known for parties, white painted streets, and blue buildings. It also has some exquisite beaches that you should totally spend a day at. My favorite activity was wondering around the old town area. Every street is picture worthy! I’d say definitely check out Mykonos if you want an island with nightlife as well as stunning beaches. Also, don’t miss the windmills on the island as well as some Greek food!
Corfu
Corfu was actually the first Greek island I visited on my cruise and is located pretty close to the border of Greece and Albania. It’s more laid back than Santorini and Mykonos but still busy with a decent amount of tourists. One fun activity we did was take a boat ride around some really cool caves in the water. I’d recommend coming to Corfu to get the Greek experience and if you want to avoid some of the more crowded islands mentioned above. Also, there’s a cool British TV show based here called The Durrels in Corfu.
Kefalonia
This island gave us the coolest greek experience. We rented a fishing boat that caught fish and lobster that morning. They took us out on the water and as we jumped in for a swim they cooked us lunch (the lobster they just caught). It was so much fun and probably the most memorable event we did in Greece. This island is the most laid back of the four on this post. Every other island had at least a couple other cruise ships docked at the same time, and this Kefalonia only had ours. So… not crowded with tourists at all. Come here for some authentic Greek experiences (and maybe some lobster fishing too!) Check out the YouTube video above to see some backflips off the fishing boat!
CW
