{"id":37528,"date":"2025-08-05T11:18:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T08:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecloudkeys.com\/?p=37528"},"modified":"2025-08-05T11:18:05","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T08:18:05","slug":"tip-of-the-day-plan-your-summer-2025-in-greeces-best-secret-towns-and-villages-the-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.thecloudkeys.com\/en\/tip-of-the-day-plan-your-summer-2025-in-greeces-best-secret-towns-and-villages-the-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Tip of the day \u2013 Plan your summer 2025 in Greece\u2019s best secret towns and villages | The Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

25 of Greece\u2019s best secret towns and villages for summer<\/h3>\n

Our expert picks out the country\u2019s most beguiling escapes, far from the throngs of Santorini and Mykonos, that are holiday havens untouched by mass tourism<\/p>\n

Greece attracts 35 million visitors a year, about 4.5 million of whom are Brits \u2014 enough to make it our most popular overseas destination after Spain, France and Italy. Given that the bulk of these holidaymakers come at the height of summer, you won\u2019t be surprised if the obvious spots are much less serene than they looked in the brochure.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s more to Greece than the mega resorts of Rhodes and Crete or the non-stop buzz of Mykonos and Santorini. Skip the mainstream towns \u2014 be that on the islands or the mainland \u2014 and you\u2019ll find places where the vibe is authentic and prices aren\u2019t sky-high. Last summer, while spending a glorious few weeks hopping around Greece by ferry, I discovered just such a spot: Prasonisi, down at the bottom of Rhodes. It\u2019s far from the big resorts and it\u2019s mostly die-hard water-sports fans who bother to schlep the full two hours from Rhodes Town to get here, leaving the crowds at the island\u2019s other end. It felt delightfully undiscovered: a place for travellers rather than tourists.<\/p>\n

Earlier on that same trip I spent several days exploring Syros, the island next to Mykonos but almost empty of tourists (my meal in its capital, Ermoupoli, cost a fraction of Mykonos\u2019s prices). I had a similar experience in Thirasia, which is effectively part of Santorini but feels like its larger sibling must have done before the age of mass tourism. The same would be true in spots such as Kimolos in the southwest Cyclades and Kastellorizo in the Dodecanese, two small islands served by local ferries instead of the major ferry routes, making them that bit more adventurous as destinations.<\/p>\n

On the Greek mainland too are towns and villages where only clued-up travellers go. Spend time in any of them and you\u2019ll feel that those 35 million visitors must be on another planet. So whether you\u2019re looking for a beach break, a villa stay, an active escape or a guided tour that captures Greece\u2019s essence without sticking to the well-worn tourist trail, you\u2019ll find inspiration among these, our pick of the best secret Greek havens.<\/p>\n