The Greek Islands

Mylopotas beach and the best nightlife in the Cyclades, Chora's hilltop whitewashed lanes, Homer's tomb, and ferry connections to Santorini.

Sarakiniko's lunar white pumice, Kleftiko sea caves, colourful fishing villages, volcanic beaches, and ferry connections from Athens and Santorini.

Your honest guide to Mykonos: Little Venice, the best beaches, where to stay without overpaying, how to get there, and what the island actually costs.

The Portara marble doorway, Naxos Town's Venetian kastro, mountain villages, and the widest beaches in the Cyclades: the best all-round island.

Parikia's marble alleys, Naoussa fishing village backed by Venetian ruins, windsurfing at Golden Beach, and the best Cyclades ferry connections.

Your honest guide to Santorini: the caldera villages, best beaches, where to stay, how to get there, and what the island actually costs.

Guide to Sifnos: the Cyclades' gastronomy island. Kastro village, Chrissopigi Monastery, 100km of hiking trails, pottery tradition, and ferry routes.

Guide to Tinos: pilgrimage church, marble villages, Venetian dovecotes, and an exceptional food scene. How Tinos differs from neighbouring Mykonos.

Corfu Old Town UNESCO forts, Liston arcades, Paleokastritsa bay, and the most architecturally rich history of any Greek island: with good beaches.

Myrtos Beach with jaw-dropping cliffs, Melissani underground lake cave, Fiskardo Venetian harbour, and the Ionian's largest unspoiled island.

Porto Katsiki white cliffs, Egremni beach, Nidri for boat hire, windsurfing at Vassiliki: and no ferry needed, Lefkada links by a causeway.

Navagio shipwreck beach reached only by boat, the Blue Caves, loggerhead sea turtles nesting at Laganas, and the sunniest climate in the Ionian.

Minoan palaces at Knossos, the 16km Samaria Gorge, palm-lined Vai beach, and mountain villages: five distinct regions on Greece's largest island.

Hippocrates' birthplace, the Asklepion healing sanctuary, cycling-friendly flat terrain to reach beaches, and a short ferry crossing to Bodrum.

Guide to Patmos: UNESCO Monastery of Saint John, Cave of the Apocalypse, white Chora mansions, quiet beaches, and ferry routes to this Dodecanese island.

Rhodes island: UNESCO Old Town (€6 entry), Lindos acropolis (€12), beaches (Faliraki, Anthony Quinn). Flights from €45, hotels from €70/night.

Samos island guide: Pythagoreion UNESCO harbour, Vathy capital, Karlovasi, island wine, and day trips to Ephesus - just 3km from the Turkish coast.

Koukounaries pine-backed lagoon, 60-plus beaches reachable by water taxi, Chora's medieval Bourtzi fort, and summer nightlife in the Sporades.

Guide to Skopelos: the Mamma Mia filming location with pine forests, Kastani Beach, the cliff chapel of Agios Ioannis, and Glossa village.

Temple of Aphaia rivals the Parthenon in condition, Perdika fishing village, Greece's pistachio capital, and 40 minutes by ferry from Athens.

No cars allowed, donkeys carry supplies, and a car-free harbour that's 2 hours by hydrofoil from Athens: the Saronic Gulf's most beautiful island.