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Most visitors to Greek want their trip to include, or even to be devoted to, "the islands," but may initially be bewildered by their number and variety. In order to sort out these islands' diverse attractions, here is a high-level overview of them; the characteristics of each group will be summarized on their regional pages with further descriptions on the links to the individual islands. Also below there are some suggestions which may be helpful for travelers in getting an idea of which islands they may find most appealing.

Note that Crete is not included on this page since due to its size and importance it's described as a separate region, and the island of Evvia is so large and so closely associated with the mainland that it's considered together with the mainland areas of Central and Northern Greece rather than being included in the above list. Also, a few small offshore Greek islands are described in connection with the mainland areas they are close to.

Quick Island Finder

What follows is by no means a complete list of island attractions, but is meant as a starting point to help travelers to The Greek Islands, especially first time ones, decide which islands might repay further investigation. Islands top ranked in their category are given first, followed by an also listing of others that rank highly in the category.

Islands with great beaches: Mykonos, Naxos, Thassos, Skiathos, Skopelos; also Kos, Rhodes, Serifos.

Islands with significant archeological sites and museums: Delos, Rhodes, Aegina, also Kos, Thassos.

Great island harbor towns: Hydra, Symi, Naxos, Mykonos, also Syros, Corfu.

Great island medieval towns and fortresses: Rhodes, Sifnos, Serifos.

Lots of night life: Ios, Mykonos, also Skiathos, Rhodes, Corfu.

Good for walking: Sifnos, Tilos, also Skopelos.

Significant connection with early or Orthodox Christianity: Patmos, Tinos, also Chios, Milos.

Impressive landscape: Santorini, also Naxos.

Closest to Athens: Saronic Gulf Islands, also Serifos, Sifnos, Milos.

Best access by airplane: Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, also Corfu, Milos.

Islands with luxury hotels or resorts: Rhodes, Santorini.