Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Built on Karpathos, a small island in the southeastern Aegean, sitting between Rhodes and Crete, it has been named as one of “the best seven travel experiences to Europe for 2025”. This delightful Greek island – overshadowed by its better-known neighbours – offers a more peaceful, more authentic holiday. Karpathos is known for its wild mountains, isolated beaches, and traditional communities—ideal for those who want to experience true Greek culture and Mother Nature in their pure form.

Not as frantic as the resort islands of Santorini and Mykonos, Karpathos is blessed with a laid-back vibe that offers a taste of Greece’s glory days before mass tourism. The island is in its essence an oasis of calm; this draws visitors to rest in a place that brings to mind what traditional Greek life must have been like. One comes to Karpathos to relax, to admire its natural beauty and the beauty of the island and its untouchedness.

Its picturesque landscapes are a strong point, with steep mountains hanging over the coast, among the most dramatic of the Aegean. From dramatic towering cliffs that plunge into turquoise waters below, to the serene olive groves and fragrant pine forests, Karpathos’ natural wonders are awe inspiring. Island life is still pure and authentic and surprisingly untouched by mass tourism fortunately which means that you can live your dream of how Greek island life used to be.

The best way to experience Karpathos is by car, thanks to an extensive road network that gives visitors the freedom of wandering the island’s different regions wherever and whenever they please. Riding throughout the winding mountain roads will not only give you panoramic views of the island’s wild topography, but also the coastal roads will let you see the panoramic views of the Aegean Sea. The freedom of having a car for getting around Karpathos enables visitors to enjoy everything that the island has to offer, both in terms of its natural beauty and special little secrets.

Zooming through Karpathos, you’ll pass traditional villages where time has stood still. These are typical Andean villages situated high in the hillsides where ancient customs and way of life prevail. Visitors become a part of a slower way of life in which farmers still work their fields and artisans still create crafts by hand. There’s a strong air of community, a shared tradition and a warm reception awaits visitors from the locals proud to share their island ancestry.

One of the most picturesque and traditional villages on Karpathos is the northern mountain village of Ólymbos, a must on a trip to the island. Ólymbos has preserved its traditional customs and costume with simply stunning success and it is a rare treat for the eyes of today’s travelers walking through its streets. Villagers still dress in the traditional attire of the island; many of the homes and building are in the original architectural style of whitewashed stone walls with blue trim.

Here you can stroll through the otherworldly streets, made of narrow, cobbled alleyways; visit old churches and gaze down into the stunning land below. The village sits high up in the mountains delivers picture-perfect views of the countryside and the Aegean Sea. Life in Ólymbos has a very relaxed pace and is ideal for indulging in the authentic charm of Greek island life.

The rugged landscape of Karpathos makes it a destination to suit the outdoorsman, no matter whether hiking, trekking, horizontal exploration of the natural world. The island is laced with hundreds of miles of walking paths that lead you through dense forests, up mountain summits and across its rugged coastline. Karpathos hiking provides an opportunity to be close to nature, walking through the picturesque island’s diverse landscapes.

Among the island’s most popular outdoor activities is taking a hike to Karpathos Island’s highest peak, Kali Limni. The mountain provides a sprawling view of the entire island, as well as the Aegean Sea, making the difficult hike a worthy one for outdoor enthusiasts. The island’s diversity of landscapes means that along the country, hikers can immerse themselves in everything from pine forests to cliffs to tranquil valleys to dramatic coastlines.

For a more leisurely adventure, it is highly recommended to take a boat trip to the small islet Saria. The uninhabited island of Saria, right across the shore of Karpathos, is on the other hand a very small island but popular for its beautiful clear waters, beautiful beaches and hidden coves. You can take a boat to Saria and have a peaceful retreat and see the true beauty of the Aegean sea in peace.

Karpathos is one of the destinations on the list, alongside a host of other locations across the continent. The list includes options ranging from peaceful Åland — an island region of Finland known for its tranquility and natural beauty — to the glitzy retreats in Sardinia, to encourage travelers to experience cultural treasures in lesser-known places. Other new destinations include a Croatian archipelago cruise, wellness retreats in Poland, a river cruise in France and island-hopping in Sweden.

Authentic and off the beaten path adventures, The Travel Magazine has now selected these 13 based on extensive research by travel experts who have experienced these destinations first hand and found them to provide a unique experience and excellent value for money.

The selection of Karpathos to this list of such reputable is not only an acknowledgment of the unparalleled beauty of the island but an approval to the island’s dedication to sustainable tourism. With more travelers looking for genuine, and environmentally friendly travel practices there’s definitely much to be learned from places like Karpathos, which are serving as examples of responsible tourism. The meticulous preservation by the island of the natural surroundings and traditional culture at the same time that it is catering to expanding interest in the place is important to its viability in the long run as a destination.

With its relatively low-key profile, Karpathos has so far been spared the mass-tourism ugliness, and it’s in the position to grow in a responsible way. The community on the island are finding ways to manage the demands of tourism to protect the unique character of the island and to provide future visitors an experience of the unspoiled beauty that makes Karpathos so unique.

IF YOU TRAVEL : Stunning landscapes, traditions and respect for sustainable tourism make Karpathos the ideal destination for those searching for a genuine Greek island escape outside of the mass tourism. Whether you are attracted by its rugged mountain landscapes, its traditional villages or its outdoor activities, Karpathos island has something special and unique to offer for a traveler looking elsewhere than your mass tourism destinations. Added to the list of Europe’s must visit travel experiences for this year, Karpathos’s status is about to change to be one of the European hidden treasures!