Despite being only a few hours from Athens, one hidden Greek treasure was able to avoid the crowds of tourists completely. Visitors are popular neighbours like Mykonos, who tend to shyly stop Saicradic Island, the northernmost island, making it a real, peaceful holiday.
It's not something you expect from a dry cyclades, as lush vegetation covers the island of Andros. Andros can be explored on foot through the snake hiking trails, walnut trees and olive vines. And, according to the 2011 census, the population is only 9,221, and they feel completely out of the beaten track.
When you finish your exploration you can take picks from over 100 beaches. Most of them are easily accessible by car.
The most famous are Agiospetros, Bazzi and Golden Sand, but for a more remote dip, we choose Vichada, Agios Sostis and Harukolimuniona instead.
In the island's capital, Chora, a history of Venetian, Byzantine and Ottoman architecture, brought noble mansions and neoclassical buildings instead of the typical whitewashed buildings in Greece.
Built on a small peninsula between two long sandy beaches, the capital is filled with imposing mansions that belonged to sailors and captains since the time Andros was a maritime superpower.
The beautiful island is connected to other Cycladic islands such as Mykonos, Paros, Naxos and Siros, allowing you to hop on the island and return to peaceful hideaways.
A flight to Athens takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes. Ferries to Andros usually depart from the Rafina port in Athens and take about 1-2 hours.
