Small Cyclades

The Lesser Cyclades — sometimes called the Small Cyclades — are a scattered complex of some 32 islands and islets in the Aegean, lying just southeast of Naxos between it and Amorgos. Only four of them are permanently inhabited: Ano Koufonisi, Irakleia, Donousa and Schinoussa. Together they hold a total population of under a thousand people, with Irakleia the largest island by area at 18.1 square kilometres and Ano Koufonisi the most populated. Even the tiny islet of Kato Antikeri, between Amorgos and the main group, is home to a couple of year-round residents.

Administratively, most of the group falls under the municipality of Naxos and Lesser Cyclades in Greece's South Aegean region, with the exception of Ano and Kato Antikeri, which belong to Amorgos. Beyond the four inhabited islands, the archipelago also includes the uninhabited Keros — an important Early Cycladic archaeological site — along with dozens of smaller rocks and islets that give the group its scattered, maze-like character.

For sailors, the Lesser Cyclades reward careful navigation with some of the quietest anchorages left in the Cyclades, well away from the ferry routes that connect the bigger islands. Chartering through this stretch of the Aegean is worth a visit if you're chartering a gulet in Greece for those looking for a slower, less crowded alternative to Santorini or Mykonos.