In April, Princess Cruises told passengers it was canceling a scheduled stop in Santorini, Greece, citing traffic congestion. Four cruise ships were already expected to arrive on the same day in June, and if they joined, the ships would have brought about 17,000 visitors to an island of 15,500 people.
In the Aegean, more than 1,000 islands fill the waters between Greece and Turkey and the coasts are dotted with impressive bays. Both countries saw record tourism last year, a boon for two fragile economies, but one that follows and in turn feeds frenzied growth that threatens local livelihoods, cultural heritage and ecological balance, particularly on the Greek islands.
With many whitewashed islands and historic seaside towns offering the same charm as their neighbours, it’s time to look beyond Mykonos and Marmaris to lesser-known spots that could benefit from more visitors. Whether you’re looking for a hiking adventure, a cultural excursion or solitude in wild beauty, here are five destinations that offer unique Aegean experiences without the crowds.
Turkey
Scream
When Michelin expanded its Turkey guide last year, the quiet neighborhood of Urla, near the port of Izmir, stole the spotlight. On a windswept peninsula with clay-heavy soil, the hilly region has a rich winemaking tradition dating back 6,000 years. An almost absolute state monopoly on winemaking has hindered production for decades, but recently boutiques and chef-driven restaurants have carved a path for themselves and put Urla on the culinary map.
Newer winemakers like Hus focus almost exclusively on indigenous 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, including the 2-room hotel at Şarapçilik (from $230). Each producer is no more than a 20-minute drive from the next.
“It’s like everything is passed down here by word of mouth, from generation to generation, from season to season,” said Seray Kumbasar, the sommelier and co-owner of Vino Locale, a sophisticated restaurant among vineyards.
The local Bornova Misketi grape, a semi-sweet ancestor of Muscat, features in many of Vino Locale’s Italian dishes. Mrs. Kumbasar and her husband, Ozan, who is the chef, take a hyperlocal approach, harvesting the restaurant’s produce alongside the farmers who supply it. Most menu items are bright and have simple ingredients: The heart of a local artichoke is simmered in an aromatic broth of herbs and citrus, then drizzled with olive oil and paired with fava mash and kumquat.
On the way down the coast from wine country, the OD Urla restaurant has a similarly light style. Wood-fired dishes, such as a gently cooked octopus or calamari drizzled with fermented pomegranate syrup, combine seafood from the peninsula’s waters with produce from an on-site farm.
In the charming town of Urla itself, cobblestone alleys connect spaces with multiple associations such as İstifçi, where a combined design and wine shop leads to a restaurant and hotel. Casual hangouts like Filos Coffee and Wine, which serves a variety of local wines by the glass. and mom-and-pop shops that do one thing really well, like Girit Pastanesi with its bademli kazandibi, a caramelized almond milk pie.
Ayvali
The coastal town of Ayvalı, 250 miles southwest of Istanbul, was once an Ottoman-era center of olive oil production. Many of the stone factories of the industry are now filled with workshops focusing on traditional Turkish crafts. Despite growing tourism, Ayvalı retains “a raw texture,” said Özlem Erol, founder of design shop Moyy Atölye, as well as “a permanent community that lives and produces here.”
In her boutique, Ms. Erol works with female artisans to design clothes made of feretiko, an airy, handmade fabric made from hemp and cotton, as well as other crafts such as hazelnut bark baskets and woven wooden stools. At Bovindo, one of several shops that sell porcelain work created on site, a potter creates intricately engraved plates based on her mother’s old plates. At Tia Vine Cafe & Bar, husband and wife co-owners Hasan and Neşe Erdem serve local wines alongside Circassian family recipes like haluj dumplings, pockets filled with mashed potatoes and topped with garlic yogurt.
Most of the action centers around the neighborhood of Macaron, where every other corner seems to have either a small-batch olive oil shop, an antique market, or a boutique hotel. The most modern, Ivy Ayvalik, opened last year in a traditional stone house (from $70). Four compact yet comfortable rooms sit above a neon-lit café and wine bar that stays alive late into the night.
From town, it’s a three-mile drive to Cunda Island and the Aivali Islands Natural Park, where you can explore rocky coves and a hilltop hiking trail that opens up to stunning views, before heading into the main town of Cunda for Sardine Tartines at Ayna and herbal drinks at Cactus, one of the many cocktail bars that circle the area’s main square.
Datca
With resort-packed Bodrum to the north, nightlife capital Marmaris to the east and the ever-popular Greek island of Rhodes to the south, it’s surprising that Datça has remained relatively unknown. That is, until you look at a map: the long, narrow peninsula is connected to the mainland by a thin isthmus (plus a ferry from Bodrum) that somehow was enough to deter most visitors.
Güven Çetinkaya is the chef and co-owner of the Ultava Houses Hotel, which consists of four traditional village houses that have been updated with amenities such as private rooftop pool terraces (from $170). He said that unlike the more touristy areas, most of Datça’s residents have lived there for a long time. The area’s strict building codes have kept large developments at bay.
Along with a waterfront lined with fish taverns, there’s Eski Datça, or the old town, where bougainvillea spills over stone buildings. There are just enough small restaurants and cafes to start and end your days here, but most visitors spend the hours in between exploring the pebbly beaches tucked away in buk, or ‘bends’, that dot the 200 miles of coastline. of the peninsula (Aquarium Cove is a standout).
The route along the interior of the peninsula — characterized by Walloon oaks, deep river gorges and almond orchards — is equally impressive. Along the way there are detours to fishing villages that have been transformed into simple seaside towns, home-style restaurants set in lush gardens and at the western tip of the peninsula, the ancient site of Knidos and its Greek amphitheater.
Hellas
Sifnos
Almost a third of this island in the western Cyclades is accessible only by footpaths, which act as small windows into its storied history. Some routes date back to the Neolithic period. others were forged by the gold and silver miners who made Sifnos one of the richest stations in ancient Greece. “Today, they are still used by locals to reach their fields and small chapels, as well as by hikers,” said Phoivos Tsaravopoulos, co-founder of Paths of Greece, a national hiking cooperative.
For almost a decade, the group has carefully restored around 60 miles of the island’s network and organized several themed self-guided hikes. One is a remote 9-mile trail that circles the highest point of Sifnos, Mount Prophet Elias, and passes chapels, terraces and a nature reserve known for its bird watching. “It’s the only way to experience what it’s like to live on this island, one of the most pristine of the Cyclades,” said Mr Tsaravopoulos, who hopes the trails encourage more travelers to come during the shoulder seasons when it’s good. time for hiking. .
In between hikes you can enjoy large meals of Sifniotic delicacies, many slowly cooked in ovens with olive wood. Ever since Nikolaos Tselemendes, considered the most important chef in the history of Greece, settled here in the early 1900s, the island has maintained its culinary reputation.
Sifnos recipes like chickpeas, roasted chickpea stew and mastello, roasted lamb, can be found in every tavern, while newcomers like Cantina are more creative — smoked beef croquettes with eggplant béchamel, for example. For a stay that rivals those on Mykonos, the 18-room Nos Hotel & Villas (from $825), the island’s latest addition, is all stone and marble surfaces, cinematic lighting and hillside pools.
Folegandros
About an hour west of Santorini by ferry, Folegandros is a quieter choice for a classic Greek island getaway. The sparsely developed island has no airport, less accessible beaches and few visitor attractions — and that’s the plus. His latest hotel, billed as his first luxury property, capitalizes on that sense of isolation: Gundari sits on an 80-acre nature reserve known for its population of Eleanor’s falcons (from $640).
Unlike other luxury developments in the Cyclades, which have often drawn the ire of locals, Gundari hopes to set a different tone through its small commitments. The hotel has its own sewage treatment system and all its stonework was constructed with stones excavated on site. An on-site farm, which employs traditional agricultural professionals, will soon begin after-school programs.
Each of the 27 rooms has a private infinity pool and its restaurant, run by Lefteris Lazarou – the chef behind Athens’ Michelin-starred Varoulko – will serve a rotating menu of incredible seafood dishes such as octopus carpaccio with cream fava beans and black garlic. From its cliffside setting, you can head to white sand or pebbly beaches via e-bike.
The central port of Karavostasis is more than just a fishing village. The second largest village, Ano Meria, has ancient hilltop ruins, traditional farmhouses and the Ecomuseum, which captures what life was like back home. Chora, the de facto capital of the island, with its whitewashed squares on the edge of a cliff, it has all the charm of bustling cities on nearby islands, but retains an intact local community.
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