Island

Which Greek island should you visit?

Written by Elena Philippou, who hosts Villa Olivia Clara above Platis Gialos.Updated August 2026

Guests ask us this before they book, and there is no answer until we know what you want. Would you rather not fly again after Athens? Do you want somewhere quiet, or somewhere with plenty going on? Those questions pick one of the 9 islands on the ferry line out of Piraeus that passes us.

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The white sea cliffs and turquoise water of Poliegos, near Sifnos — Photo: A La Mer

Every article on this question ranks the islands. A ranking cannot be right for two people with different plans. A family with small children and one week wants a different island from a couple who want nobody on the beach, and both get the same list.

This page covers the 9 islands on the western Cyclades ferry line, the one that passes Sifnos, because those are the islands we have the figures for. If you are choosing between Crete and the Ionian, this page will not help you.

Why the lists don't help

Take the airport. With small children and one week, you want one. You land and you are there. If you have come for quiet, that same runway brings the crowds. A list has to decide which of those people you are, and it has never met you.

So we turned it round. You say what you want first, and the census and the airport list pick the island. Of the 9 islands on this line, 7 have no airport and 2 do. Most of what follows comes from that split.

The questions

Read down until one of the questions is yours. Start with the first, it rules out the most.

Would you rather not fly again once you land in Athens?

Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos, Kimolos, Folegandros, Sikinos, Ios

Then it is one of these 7. You reach them by ferry only, and a ferry can carry only so many people a day, so the crowd has a ceiling. Every one of them is a direct sailing from Piraeus on the same line.

Do you want it quiet, with things still open?

Sifnos

Sifnos. Of the islands on this line with no airport, it has the most people living on it all year, 2,777 at the last census. Enough people to keep the buses running and the tavernas open for a whole season. And it is our island, so allow for that.

Do you want somewhere empty?

Sikinos

Sikinos, by a wide margin, on both the number of residents and residents per square kilometre. Ask yourself if you want that for seven nights.

Do you want plenty going on and you don't mind crowds?

Santorini

Santorini, the last stop on the line, with several times more people per square kilometre than any other island on it. It is on this page because it is on this ferry. If that is the trip you want, go and enjoy it.

You would rather fly, and the busiest island is not for you?

Milos

Milos. It is the only island on this line with a runway apart from Santorini. There is nothing else to choose between.

Resident population from the Greek census at municipality level, read from the statistical authority's own workbook. Airport status from the published list of Greek airports. Checked 2026-08-23.

If you want more than a paragraph

The quietest islands, measuredThe full table, with residents, area, density and airport for all 9 islands on the line.The best island for food, and whyThe man whose surname is the Greek word for cookbook was born on Sifnos. Start there.

Where we come into this

We live on Sifnos and host our house there, above Platis Gialos. So the quiet-with-things-open answer landing on our island should make you suspicious. We did not choose it. The rule is the island on this line with the most residents and no airport, and if the next census moved that, the page would move with it.

Look instead at the answers that send you away from us. Empty, and we send you to Sikinos. Plenty going on, Santorini. A runway without the crowds, Milos. We have no house on any of them, and we would rather you went to the right island and came to us another year.

Common questions

Which Greek island should I visit for the first time?: If it is the postcard you want, go to Santorini. Otherwise start with Sifnos. Enough going on to fill a week, no airport, and a direct ferry from Piraeus.
How do I choose between Greek islands?: Decide what you want before you look at a single island. Start with flying. Will you get on a second plane, or would you rather take the ferry? That one question splits this line 7 to 2, and which side of that split an island is on tells you most of how it feels in August.
Which Cyclades island is best?: Four answers, one for each kind of trip. Sifnos for quiet with the tavernas open. Sikinos if you want it empty. Santorini for plenty going on. And Milos if you want to fly in and Santorini sounds like too much.
Which Greek islands don't have an airport?: On this ferry line, 7 of the 9 have no airport. Only 2 have a runway. A ferry carries a fixed number of people a day, so the islands without a runway stay quieter in August.
Is it a problem to pick an island with no airport?: No. It costs you a few hours on a boat. Every island here is a direct ferry from Piraeus, and the busiest island is the last stop on the line, so none of the quiet ones is a detour. Give the crossing your first day and your last and you will not think about it again.
Can I combine two of these islands?: Yes, and easily, because they sit on one line in a fixed order. Pair a quiet island with a busier one and do the quiet one first, so the trip ends closer to your flight home. From Sifnos, Milos is 40 to 50 minutes on the fast ferry. Serifos is the stop before us, just to the north.

If the answer was Sifnos

Our house is Villa Olivia Clara, above Platis Gialos, four bedrooms and a private pool, with room for eight. We host it ourselves and Elena answers the emails. If one of the other islands was your answer, go there.

See the villa

Continue exploring Sifnos

The Quietest Greek Islands, Measured The Best Greek Island for Food, and Why Which Islands to Combine with Sifnos Getting Here Where to Stay The 4-Bedroom Villa in Platis Gialos

Which Greek island should you visit?

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Why the lists don't help

The questions

Read down until one of the questions is yours. Start with the first, it rules out the most.

Would you rather not fly again once you land in Athens?

Kythnos, Serifos, Sifnos, Kimolos, Folegandros, Sikinos, Ios

Do you want it quiet, with things still open?

Sifnos

Do you want somewhere empty?

Sikinos

Sikinos, by a wide margin, on both the number of residents and residents per square kilometre. Ask yourself if you want that for seven nights.

Do you want plenty going on and you don't mind crowds?

Santorini

You would rather fly, and the busiest island is not for you?

Milos

Milos. It is the only island on this line with a runway apart from Santorini. There is nothing else to choose between.

Resident population from the Greek census at municipality level, read from the statistical authority's own workbook. Airport status from the published list of Greek airports. Checked 2026-08-23.

Where we come into this

Common questions

Which Greek island should I visit for the first time?

If it is the postcard you want, go to Santorini. Otherwise start with Sifnos. Enough going on to fill a week, no airport, and a direct ferry from Piraeus.

How do I choose between Greek islands?

Decide what you want before you look at a single island. Start with flying. Will you get on a second plane, or would you rather take the ferry? That one question splits this line 7 to 2, and which side of that split an island is on tells you most of how it feels in August.

Which Cyclades island is best?

Four answers, one for each kind of trip. Sifnos for quiet with the tavernas open. Sikinos if you want it empty. Santorini for plenty going on. And Milos if you want to fly in and Santorini sounds like too much.

Which Greek islands don't have an airport?

On this ferry line, 7 of the 9 have no airport. Only 2 have a runway. A ferry carries a fixed number of people a day, so the islands without a runway stay quieter in August.

Is it a problem to pick an island with no airport?

No. It costs you a few hours on a boat. Every island here is a direct ferry from Piraeus, and the busiest island is the last stop on the line, so none of the quiet ones is a detour. Give the crossing your first day and your last and you will not think about it again.

Can I combine two of these islands?

Yes, and easily, because they sit on one line in a fixed order. Pair a quiet island with a busier one and do the quiet one first, so the trip ends closer to your flight home. From Sifnos, Milos is 40 to 50 minutes on the fast ferry. Serifos is the stop before us, just to the north.