British travel consultant Duncan Greenfield-Turk, with 30 years of experience, has visited as many as 14 Greek islands over the past 20 years, but he consistently recommends Tinos as a lesser-known island that genuinely rewards the effort of getting there.
A 30-Minute Ferry from Mykonos
Just 30 minutes by boat from Mykonos, Tinos offers a stark contrast to its famous neighbor. Greenfield-Turk notes that Tinos is a little off the beaten trail, which is no bad thing in the ever-popular Cyclades. The island features elegant Venetian-influenced architecture, a tradition of extraordinary marble carving that survives in working ateliers, and a landscape of granite hills, dovecotes, and charming villages that have remained largely unchanged for generations.
Historically, Tinos was once a centre of worship for Poseidon. A famous shrine to the Virgin Mary was established in the main town in 1823, and a grand Orthodox church – Panagia Megalochari – was built over it. The island still receives pilgrims year-round for the Church of Panagia Evangelistria, with some pilgrims literally crawling on their knees from the ferry along a carpet flowing up to the church.
A Quiet Food Destination
Tinos has quietly become one of the most exciting food destinations in the Aegean, with a handful of restaurants doing serious work with local ingredients. Greenfield-Turk describes seeing chefs hanging octopus tentacles to dry outside tavernas and plates being smashed through the door. He believes the island has not yet reached the point where the experience of being there has been managed away.
These days, people who long owned homes on Mykonos are selling up and relocating to Tinos, drawn by the slower pace of life.
Getting There and Where to Stay
From the UK, the most elegant route is a direct flight to Mykonos from London Gatwick or Luton with easyJet, or from Heathrow with British Airways, followed by a high-speed ferry. The cheaper but more arduous alternative is flying direct to Athens from a wider range of airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Bristol, then connecting via Piraeus on a ferry of approximately five hours.
Accommodation options range from Odera, the island's flagship five-star Autograph Collection hotel in a converted neoclassical mansion with a pool and views across the town and harbour, to Pnoēs Tinos, a small three-villa property in the hills with a quiet atmosphere, and Under the Sun Cycladic Village, offering four-star villa-style digs that sit naturally within the landscape.
Alternative Islands to Consider
If Tinos doesn't appeal, Greenfield-Turk suggests Ikaria, a Blue Zone island in the northern Aegean with villages that run nocturnal hours, panigiri festivals that start after midnight and last until dawn, and geothermal springs that flow directly into rock pools at the sea's edge. He describes it as the kind of place that reminds you what the Greek islands were before they became a product.
Other places he encourages people to explore instead of Mykonos and Santorini include Milos, positioned as Santorini's successor by many travel magazines; Porto Heli, a well-protected deep-water marina in the Peloponnese with a turquoise bay and almost no current tourist infrastructure; Hydra, a neoclassical harbour town and birthplace of five Greek prime ministers; Dokos, which has one of the oldest known shipwrecks in the world in its waters and offers outstanding anchorage for yachts; Ermioni, a mainland port town with an authentic fishing village feel; and Nafplio, accessible as a day excursion from the Argolic Gulf stops and proof that the mainland rewards the detour.
