Anafi

Anafi sits at the south-eastern edge of the Cyclades, roughly 28 kilometres east of Santorini and, in every other sense, a world away from it. Where its famous neighbour heaves with cruise passengers, Anafi keeps to the rhythms of a farming and fishing island of a few hundred residents. Ferries arrive at the small port of Agios Nikolaos on the south coast; above it, reached by a winding road, the whitewashed Chora spills down a ridge with long views over the Aegean.

The island's defining landmark is Mount Kalamos, a vast limestone monolith rising sheer from the sea at the eastern end. It is often described as the largest such rock in the Mediterranean after Gibraltar, and the walk up to the Monastery of Panagia Kalamiotissa on its summit is Anafi's essential outing, rewarded by a panorama that on clear days reaches back to Santorini's caldera. Lower down, the older Monastery of Zoodochos Pigi stands on the site of an ancient sanctuary to Apollo, whom legend credits with raising the island from the waves to shelter Jason and the Argonauts.

Anafi's beaches are its other great draw. Klisidi, a short walk from the port, is the most accessible, with soft sand and a couple of tavernas. Beyond it a string of quieter coves, Roukounas, Katsouni, Megas Potamos, unfolds along the south coast, several linked by footpath and backed by dunes and cedar. Roukounas, watched over by a conical hill, is the largest and a long-standing favourite of free campers.

There is little to do here beyond walk, swim and eat, and that is precisely the point. A network of old stone paths crosses the island, connecting the Chora, the monasteries and the ancient site at Kastelli. Evenings are spent over slow tavernas dinners in the Chora, where the lack of nightlife feels like a relief rather than a shortcoming. Anafi rewards travellers willing to trade convenience for calm, and it suits those who already know the Cyclades and want to see what the islands were like before the crowds arrived.