The island, as we know it
Where to swim, what to order, and which lanes to get lost in. A guide written by the people who live here.
May 2026 · 8 min read
The island is small enough to cross in forty minutes and large enough to keep surprising us after twenty years. This is not a list of everything. It is the handful of places we send our friends.
Swim
Go to Vlychada in the morning, before the wind rises, when the pale cliffs look like a sculpture. In the afternoon take the boat to the white beach, which you can only reach from the water.
“The best beach is the one you reach by boat, with nobody on it but a goat.”
Eat
In Pyrgos, the taverna with no name at the top of the steps serves tomato fritters that we have never managed to copy. Order the fava, the white aubergine and whatever fish they have.
Walk
Start in Imerovigli at six in the evening and walk the cliff path north. You will pass chapels, cats, and a hundred people waiting for the same sunset. Keep going and you will lose most of them.
