Revealed: five of the best hidden gems in the Mediterranean to visit this summer. Which one would YOU most like to escape to?
There are hundreds of beautiful inhabited islands in the Mediterranean.
Are you excited to buy one this summer but don’t know where to start looking?
We limit the search field for you to five hidden gems on islands that make a beautiful holiday destination.
They have turquoise waters, ancient ruins, enchanting bays and delicious food. There is even one that is car-free.
Scroll down for some very strong candidates for this summer’s bucket list…
Formentera, Spain
Travel guide Lonely Planet noted that Formentera is ‘designed for lazy days spent lounging on some of Europe’s most exquisite beaches’
Formentera is the smallest of the Spanish Balearic Islands and can be reached by ferry from Ibiza; it is only one and a half kilometres wide at its narrowest point.
Will Hide, who visited the island, said: ‘If you want to do little more than eat, drink, relax on beaches as soft as talcum powder, swim in turquoise waters or wander around village markets, then Formentera is an absolute must.’
While travel guide Lonely Planet noted that the island is ‘designed for lazy days spent on some of Europe’s (dare we say the world’s?) most exquisite beaches’ – some of which ‘have water [that] glows a surprising shade of luminous turquoise’.
Porquerolles, France
Porquerolles has ‘one of the best beaches in Europe’ – and is car-free
A true hidden gem and one of three ‘Golden Islands’ off the coast of the Riviera. This French island is filled with white beaches, cycle paths and limestone cliffs that are ‘unspoilt’ thanks to being car-free.
MailOnline Travel Editor Ted Thornhill wrote: ‘Porquerolles is the biggest [of the Islands of Gold]At 4.3 by 1.8 miles, it has one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever thrown a towel on. Called Notre Dame—and about two miles east of the harbor—its crescent-shaped shape wraps around gorgeous, shallow, turquoise waters.
‘It must be one of the most beautiful beaches in Europe.’
Hvar, Croatia
Travel reporter Jo Knowsley described Hvar as a ‘Croatian gem’. Pictured: Hvar with the Paklinski Islands in the background
Billed as the sunniest island in the Mediterranean, with 2,800 hours of sunshine, Hvar is almost guaranteed to brighten up any holiday. But it’s likely to enchant, whatever the weather.
Travel writer Jo Knowsley described it as a ‘Croatian gem’, offering the ‘clearest blue waters and fragrant green surroundings’.
Rough guides stated that Hvar is the ‘summer destination for celebrities, yacht travellers and cocktail drinkers’, but that the town also offers ‘a slice of the Mediterranean that is family-friendly, unspoilt and affordable’.
Visitors can explore enchanting bays, 13th-century walls, a hilltop fortress and a central square that impresses with a Renaissance cathedral.
Elba, Italy
Elba, Italy, has been described by Lonely Planet as ‘an eternally glorious paradise of bays with beaches, vineyards, azure waters and hairpin bends’.
This Italian island off the coast of Tuscany, in the Tuscan Archipelago National Park in the Tyrrhenian Sea, was the site of French Emperor Napoleon’s exile, although it is clearly more popular in modern times.
It is described by many as ‘an eternally glorious paradise of bays with beaches, vineyards, azure water and hairpin bends’. Lonely planet.
Author Mary Bly, meanwhile, calls Elba a “picture-perfect postcard getaway,” claiming that “Elba is not luxurious, like Capri; even the yachts that visit its tiny bays and towns are human-sized.” She adds, “It’s a wonderful place to go if you’re looking for excellent, simple food, day-in, day-out sunshine, and postcard-perfect sunsets over the sea.”
Folegandros, Greece
Folegandros, Greece (pictured), is ‘ideal for a relaxing holiday’ with ‘delicious food, beautiful beaches, azure Aegean waters and secluded coves’
This ‘unknown’ Greek island is only 32 square kilometers in size and is located in the southern part of the Cyclades, between the popular islands of Santorini and Paros.
The quieter Folegandros is ‘ideal for a peaceful holiday’ with ‘delicious cuisine, beautiful beaches, azure Aegean waters and secluded coves’, according to Visit Greecethe official website of the Greek National Tourism Organization.
The island contains the ruins of an ancient Agora, or marketplace; a medieval village; the Archaeological Museum of Olympia and, according to Lonely planet‘a culture full of passionate music and exciting activities’.
