Journal

The best Greek islands compared: which is right for you?

By the Destination Traveller editors · 12 min read · 30 October 2026

Greece has more than 200 inhabited islands, and choosing between them is half the pleasure. We have narrowed the field to six of the best, Crete, Santorini, Naxos, Milos, Mykonos and Rhodes, and compared them on what matters: food, wine, history, nightlife, swimming, walking and the simple question of how it feels to be there.

A red-domed church and pink bougainvillea above taverna tables with checked cloths

Photo: Unsplash

The short answer

For food and history, choose Crete. For wine and views, Santorini. For produce, quiet beaches and walking, Naxos. For the clearest water, Milos. For nightlife and glamour, Mykonos. For medieval history and a long season, Rhodes. If you have two weeks, pair a famous island with a quieter neighbour: Santorini with Naxos or Milos, Mykonos with Naxos, Crete on its own.

Best for

Category	Winner	Runner-up	Why
Everyday food	Crete	Naxos	Olive oil, wild greens, mountain cheeses and slow-cooked lamb in tavernas that cook what the island grows.
Gastronomy and produce	Naxos	Crete	PDO graviera, Naxian potatoes, herb-fed lamb and kitron liqueur from a distillery working since 1896.
Fine dining	Santorini	Mykonos	Clifftop restaurants with caldera views and wine lists built on the island's own Assyrtiko.
Wine	Santorini	Crete	Own-rooted vines trained into kouloura baskets, three PDO styles and wineries open for tastings.
Ancient history	Crete	Mykonos (for Delos)	Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum tell the story of Europe's first great civilisation.
Medieval history	Rhodes	Naxos	The walled Old Town of the Knights of St John is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and still lived in.
Nightlife	Mykonos	Santorini	Beach clubs, sunset bars and late nights in Chora; nowhere else in Greece comes close.
Crystal-clear swimming	Milos	Crete	Around 70 beaches, white volcanic rock and sea caves such as Kleftiko, reachable only by boat.
Walking	Crete	Naxos	The 16-kilometre Samaria Gorge and countless mountain paths; Naxos has Mount Zas and village trails.
Sunsets and views	Santorini	Milos	The caldera at dusk is one of the great sights of the Mediterranean.
Peace and quiet	Naxos	Milos	Big, green and agricultural, with miles of sandy beach and a calm pace.
Long stays and late-season sun	Crete	Rhodes	The longest season, the most to explore and direct flights from the UK.

Everyday food
WinnerCrete
Runner-upNaxos
Olive oil, wild greens, mountain cheeses and slow-cooked lamb in tavernas that cook what the island grows.
Gastronomy and produce
WinnerNaxos
Runner-upCrete
PDO graviera, Naxian potatoes, herb-fed lamb and kitron liqueur from a distillery working since 1896.
Fine dining
WinnerSantorini
Runner-upMykonos
Clifftop restaurants with caldera views and wine lists built on the island's own Assyrtiko.
Wine
WinnerSantorini
Runner-upCrete
Own-rooted vines trained into kouloura baskets, three PDO styles and wineries open for tastings.
Ancient history
WinnerCrete
Runner-upMykonos (for Delos)
Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum tell the story of Europe's first great civilisation.
Medieval history
WinnerRhodes
Runner-upNaxos
The walled Old Town of the Knights of St John is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and still lived in.
Nightlife
WinnerMykonos
Runner-upSantorini
Beach clubs, sunset bars and late nights in Chora; nowhere else in Greece comes close.
Crystal-clear swimming
WinnerMilos
Runner-upCrete
Around 70 beaches, white volcanic rock and sea caves such as Kleftiko, reachable only by boat.
Walking
WinnerCrete
Runner-upNaxos
The 16-kilometre Samaria Gorge and countless mountain paths; Naxos has Mount Zas and village trails.
Sunsets and views
WinnerSantorini
Runner-upMilos
The caldera at dusk is one of the great sights of the Mediterranean.
Peace and quiet
WinnerNaxos
Runner-upMilos
Big, green and agricultural, with miles of sandy beach and a calm pace.
Long stays and late-season sun
WinnerCrete
Runner-upRhodes
The longest season, the most to explore and direct flights from the UK.

How the islands score

Editor scores from 1 to 5, one row per island and one column per category
Island	Everyday food	Gastronomy and produce	Wine	History	Nightlife	Crystal-clear swimming	Walking	Sunsets and views	Peace and quiet	Long stays
Crete
Milos
Naxos
Rhodes
Mykonos
Santorini

Editor scores from 1 to 5, comparing these six islands with each other.

Crete: best for food, ancient history and walking

Crete is big enough to feel like a country: two airports, snow-capped mountains, Venetian harbours and a south coast that faces Africa. It is home to Knossos, the great Minoan palace, and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum, which together tell the story of Europe's first great civilisation. The food is the best in Greece for everyday eating: dakos, wild greens, snails, graviera, slow-cooked lamb and a glass of raki on the house. Walkers come for the 16-kilometre Samaria Gorge, normally open from May to October, and countless mountain paths. The catch: you need a car and at least a week. Read our Crete guide.

Santorini: best for wine, views and fine dining

Santorini's caldera is one of the great sights of the Mediterranean, and its wine is just as distinctive. Vines are coiled into low baskets called kouloura, many on their own roots and some over a century old, producing three PDO styles: dry Santorini Assyrtiko, oak-aged Nykteri and sweet Vinsanto. Add Akrotiri, a Bronze Age town preserved under ash, and some of the best restaurants in the Aegean. The catch: crowds and prices in summer, cruise traffic and beaches of dark volcanic sand. Go in April, May or late October, stay three or four nights and pair it with a quieter island. Read our Santorini guide.

Naxos: best for gastronomy, quiet beaches and slow travel

Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades and still lives from farming, which makes it a joy for food lovers. Its PDO graviera, sharp arseniko cheese and famous potatoes appear on every menu, and the Vallindras distillery in Halki has made kitron liqueur since 1896. The west coast is lined with sandy beaches, the interior with marble villages and Byzantine churches, and Mount Zas, at 1,004 metres, is the highest peak in the Cyclades. The catch: almost none, except a windy July and August. Read our Naxos guide.

Milos: best for crystal-clear swimming

If the sea is the reason you go to Greece, go to Milos. Volcanic activity has left the island with around 70 beaches, white moonscape rocks at Sarakiniko and the sea caves of Kleftiko, which can only be reached by boat. Evenings are spent watching the sunset from Plaka or eating fish in Pollonia. The catch: no international flights, so you connect via Athens, and some beaches need a boat or a rough road. Go in June or September. Read our Milos guide.

Mykonos: best for nightlife and glamour

Mykonos is the party island, and it does it beautifully: beach clubs, sunset bars, design hotels and restaurants that would hold their own in any capital. But it also has whitewashed lanes, windmills, the traditional village of Ano Mera and, half an hour away by boat, Delos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. The catch: high summer prices and crowds. Go in late May, June or September, stay three or four nights and pair it with Naxos. Read our Mykonos guide.

Rhodes: best for medieval history and a long season

Rhodes Old Town, built by the Knights of St John, is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Add Lindos and its clifftop acropolis, sandy beaches on the east coast and day trips to colourful Symi, and Rhodes is the island for history with your sunshine. Direct flights from across the UK and a season that runs well into October make it ideal for spring and autumn breaks. The catch: Lindos and the Old Town are crowded at midday in summer, so explore early and late. Read our Rhodes guide.

How we scored them

Our editors scored each island from 1 to 5 in ten categories, based on our own visits and research. The scores compare these six islands with each other, not with the whole of Greece, and reflect the islands outside the peak weeks of July and August.

When to go

May, June and September are the best months for almost every island: warm sea, long days and far fewer people than in high summer. Late September and October bring the warmest water. Crete and Rhodes have the longest seasons and work well into late October; the smaller Cycladic islands go very quiet from November. Avoid the last week of July and the first three weeks of August if you can, when European school holidays fill the ferries.

How to combine them

Fast ferries make island-hopping easy within the Cyclades. Classic pairings: Santorini and Naxos, about two hours apart by fast ferry; Mykonos and Naxos, under an hour; Milos and Santorini, a few hours apart in season. Crete works best on its own for at least a week, and Rhodes pairs naturally with Symi and the other Dodecanese islands. Always leave a spare night before an international flight in case the wind cancels a ferry.