Irakleia

Irakleia (also spelled Iraklia) is the largest of the Small Cyclades, a scatter of low-lying islands strung between Naxos and Ios that stayed almost untouched by tourism until fairly recently. Archaeological evidence points to habitation stretching back millennia: the island's most striking trace of the deep past is a set of rock markings known as the Bousoules, believed to be roughly 5,000 years old and possibly used by early sailors as navigational aids. Later occupation left the ruins of a fortress at Livadi dating to the 4th–2nd century BC, and for a long stretch of its more recent history the island belonged to the Hozoviotissa Monastery on neighbouring Amorgos as monastic property. An inscription found on the island in the 1890s even records a formal decree banning goats, set down in a shrine dedicated to the Mother of the Gods.

Geographically, the island covers just under 18 square kilometres and, per the 2021 census, is home to 148 people, split between the port village of Agios Georgios and the inland administrative centre, Panagia. Its standout natural feature is the Cave of Agios Ioannis, reached on foot from Panagia and rated among the largest in the Cyclades, with five chambers of stalactites and stalagmites, a rare mineral deposit locals call "cave milk," and traces of human presence dating back to the 4th millennium BC. Above ground, the beach at Livadi offers calm, shallow water with the low Hellenistic ruins of Kastro visible on the headland behind it.

For boats moving between Naxos and Amorgos, Irakleia is an easy, low-key stop with barely any real town to speak of — just two small settlements, a cave, and a coastline that has changed little since ferries began calling. It's worth a visit if you're chartering a gulet in Greece, especially for guests looking for a genuinely quiet island between busier stops.