Pitch

Santorini, Mykonos, Paros: Greek islands that have become icons of global tourism. But that success comes at a cost. Crowded beaches, soaring prices, even water shortages — Greece is struggling under the sheer weight of visitors. In 2024 the country welcomed forty million tourists, four times its population.

Yet only a few kilometres away, dozens of islands still hold out against the frenzy.

On Levitha, a single family lives on this scrap of land, serving fresh fish in a taverna reachable only by boat. On Hydra, where cars and scooters are banned, time seems to have stopped in the 1950s. And on Patmos, Byzantine traditions still set the rhythm of daily life, under the watchful eye of the monastery's monks.

Some of these islands are now looking to draw visitors in, even if it means keeping a few myths alive. On Ikaria, known for its many centenarians, the legend of eternal youth is a selling point — and one worked for all it is worth.

Between forgotten havens and traditions thousands of years old, set sail for the secret islands of the Aegean.