Secret Cyclades

It’s easy to picture the ideal island in the Cyclades. “It looks exactly like Greece should look in your dreams,” says Head of SDP Jules Maury. “It’s going back in time, to a hidden taverna where you’re sitting with a local whose mother and grandmother ran the restaurant.” Even as island-hopping in Greece has grown ever more popular, those places do still exist – at least if you can look past headline-hogging, crowd-chasing spots like Mykonos or Santorini.

Take Tinos, for instance, which has long been off-radar as it lacked an airstrip or any upscale hotels. This precluded easy visits from overseas and left the island mostly to summer house-owning Athenians. It was best known for its marble quarries, which drew an artsy crowd, and for its devotion – Our Lady of Tinos is one of the most important churches in the entire country, but just one of more than 700 such shrines dotted around the 75-square-mile island. Now, though, Tinos has been unlocked by two near-simultaneous developments: a scheduled helicopter service, Hoper, started connecting it with the capital in around 45 minutes, and the first five-star hotel, Odera, with 77 rooms on the southwest corner, above the bay of Vourni Beach. It’s this island, more than any other, perhaps, which has the timewarp-ish charm that Maury so champions.

Top: Sea views from The Rooster; Above: The wild shores of Tinos; map of the Cyclades, Greece

Much the same evolution, albeit on a smaller scale, has happened in neighboring Folegandros, a shard of an island just west of Santorini. It’s sparsely populated – barely 700 people call it home – and the countryside remains rugged, a fact that the newly opened Gundari reflects; the hotel’s name means ‘rocky place’. It’s perched on a breezy hilltop, with spectacular views, and each suite has its own private, solar-heated pool; the restaurant scored a coup by luring the first Greek chef to earn a Michelin star, Lefteris Lazarou, to oversee the food. Just make sure to charter a boat for exploring, as many of the best beaches on this under-developed island are only accessible from the water.

You can combine one or both of these islands with a few days on Antiparos, the Med’s answer to Mustique: Athanasia Comninos, the heiress who built and operates the first upscale hotel here three years ago, The Rooster, has just taken over management of the nearby Beach House complex, with plans to upgrade its facilities to offer a second, splashy option.

Syros was the original commercial center of Greece, and remains the administrative hub for this cluster, but don’t let that put you off. Andria Mitsakos owns the concept store Anthologist in Athens, and says it’s her under-the-radar recommendation. “The architecture is divine,” she says, noting that the capital Ermoupoli has a Neoclassical skyline versus the sugar cube-like buildings that are typical of the Cyclades. “I love being in town as it feels more livable.” The five-star Aristide hotel is the standout place to stay, but don’t miss the chance to get cheese from the Zozefinos farm. “The farmer’s sheep live at the top of the mountain in a newly built gazebo, because he wants them to have the best view. He lives at the bottom. It's so sweet and kind.” Pick up some loukoumia, or Turkish delight, as the island’s renowned for producing some of the best in the region.

Above: The infinity pool at Mèlisses, Andros; breakfast at the Aristide hotel, Syros

Come to Andros for an unexpected bonus: the mountainous interior of this island is far lusher and greener than much of the wind-whipped Cyclades, with waterfalls and healing springs. It was even known as Hydroussa in ancient times, a nod to that abundance of fresh water; the Sariza spring in the village of Apoikia is said to be particularly restorative. Interior designer and antique dealer Tamsin Johnson spent weeks there this summer, staying at the six-room Mèlisses boutique hotel, owned by an expat Italian who tapped her father to build it and mother to design the interiors. “It has the most impeccable service, home-cooked organic food mostly from the garden and there are private rocks where you can jump off into the Aegean Sea,” she says.

If you’re time-pressed, consider a quick trip to Kea (also known as Tzia), the closest Cycladic island to the mainland, around 40 minutes from the Athenian port of Lavrio. It doesn’t have a harbor town, which has kept it off-radar since it isn’t on the regular ferry route for tourists – one reason, doubtless, that One&Only picked this as the site of its first Greek island, all-villa property, with 63 suites dotted around the 160-acre site on the west side of the island.

Above: Views from One&Only Kea Island; fishing boats on the island of Milos (Photo: David Tip/Unsplash)

Don’t overlook Milos and nearby Kimolos, either. The former’s become a hotspot in recent years: Louis Vuitton and Dior both shot campaigns there, lured in part by its Instagram-catnip beach Sarakiniko, which is rimmed by stripey, brightly colored cliffs. It isn’t an island for overnighting, though, but rather sailing around, as those beaches are hard to reach by road: better to idle on the deck of a boat and swim up to them, like Firiplaka on the south side or Agia Kiriaki. Northwest, separated by a channel that’s barely half a mile wide, is Kimolos: come here for a day at the low-key but glamorous Kimolia Beach Club on the northeastern side.

Perhaps the best option is choosing them all, using that charter to sail around the entire cluster rather than just this pair of islands – the meltemi winds, after all, are nature’s own power in the region. “It’s the dream of landing at a small harbor and seeing just a few fishing boats and some whitewashed houses,” says Maury, “Then if the winds are too strong, it’s having to stay in port and make another plan.” As long as it includes staying a few extra nights, at least.

SDP tip: “You’ll need a boat to get there, but Papalagi on Folegandros is worth the effort. Order the seafood carpaccio, sit back and take in the sweeping cliff-top views of Agios Nikolaos bay and the sparkling Aegean.” – Julie Durso, SDP Greece expert.