The tiny island where Greeks go on holidays with fewer tourists than Mykonos or Santorini

Spetses is an island among the Saronic Islands group in Attica, Greece. It has a population of just 3,800 and its name refers to ‘spices’.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the island attracted a number of wealthy Greek vacationers from Athens and elsewhere, who owned second villas or lived on their yachts in the port.

But from the 1980s, the Greek vacationers were supplanted by north European tourists, especially from Britain, who were attracted by the low cost of a holiday.

Package tours to Spetses declined and eventually stopped during the 1990s. Now, the island’s holiday clientele is of a higher economic class and largely Greek.

Because of this, whilst it is possible to find lower-cost rooms to rent and tavernas to eat in there are now many higher-priced restaurants and ’boutique’ hotels around the town.

While it attracts tourists, largely thanks to its stunning beaches and turquoise sea, the island doesn’t welcome as many tourists as Santorini or Mykonos, who over the past few years have famously being affected by issues linked to overtourism and overcrowding.

The town of Spetses is the only large settlement on the island. It is unusual in that no private automobiles are allowed within its limits. Instead, you’ll see locals travelling by foot, motorbike and horse and cart.

Around the island’s port of Dapia, there is a selection of cafes and bars, ideal for a romantic drink with a view of the sunset.

The Spetses Museum and Anargyros Mansion are located near the port and comprise two of the top attractions on the island

Agia Paraskevi is considered the island’s best beach, while Vrellos and Agioi Anargyroi are among the top ones, too. Those shores are away from the town, so your best bet is to hire a motorbike or get there by bus.

The island is also becoming beloved by —Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 2021 drama The Lost Daughter and Rian Johnson’s 2022 mystery-comedy Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery were shot on Spetses.