Koufonisia

Koufonisia lies in the channel between Naxos and Amorgos, the most popular of the cluster known as the Small Cyclades. The name covers two islands: inhabited Pano (Upper) Koufonisi, where all the life is, and the uninhabited Kato (Lower) Koufonisi across a narrow strait. Small and flat, Pano Koufonisi is easy to explore on foot or by bicycle, and its scale is part of the appeal, a single village, a working fishing harbour and a coastline that ranks among the prettiest in the Aegean.

The Chora rises just above the port, a compact tangle of whitewashed lanes, low houses and small squares filled with tavernas and cafes. From there a coastal path runs east past a succession of beaches, each more inviting than the last. Finikas, Fanos and Italida offer soft sand and calm, shallow water, while further along the shoreline breaks into natural rock pools and swimming holes carved from the pale stone. The path ends at Pori, a wide crescent of sand and turquoise shallows that is the island's showpiece beach.

The water here is exceptionally clear and warm, and much of the pleasure of Koufonisia is simply moving from cove to cove, swimming and sunbathing. A short boat trip crosses to Kato Koufonisi, whose quiet beaches, a lone taverna and a small chapel make an easy half-day escape from even the modest bustle of Pano. Boat excursions also run to nearby Keros, an important site of Bronze Age Cycladic culture, now protected and off-limits to landings but striking from the sea.

Evenings revolve around the harbour and the Chora, where fresh fish and a handful of low-key bars set an unhurried tone. There is no need for a car, and many visitors never take one. Koufonisia has grown busier in recent summers as word of its beaches has spread, yet it retains an easygoing, small-island character that keeps travellers coming back. It works beautifully as a base for exploring the Small Cyclades or as a self-contained few days of swimming and slow living.