Agathonisi

Agathonisi sits at the northernmost tip of the Dodecanese, a modest limestone outcrop of just 13.5 square kilometres rising to 209 metres at its highest point. Covered largely in thorny scrubland, the island has long stayed off the main charter routes, and its population reflects that: the 2021 census counted only 202 permanent residents, spread mainly between the two inland villages of Megalo Chorio and Mikro Chorio.

Between these two settlements lies Agios Georgios, the island's only harbour and effectively its third village, home to most of the tavernas and the handful of small guesthouses. Agathonisi's modern history is short but eventful: it was occupied by Italy during the 1912 Italo-Turkish War and only joined Greece, along with the rest of the Dodecanese, in 1947. In antiquity it carried other names, including Tragea and Gaidaro ("donkey").

For sailors, the appeal lies precisely in what the island lacks — crowds, development, and noise. Its handful of coves and pebble beaches, reachable mostly by boat, make it a quiet detour rather than a headline stop, which is exactly why it's worth a visit if you're chartering a gulet in Greece and want a day away from the busier Aegean ports.