Cyclades

If you approach Santorini from the water, it's hard not to be awed by the sheer cliffs that soar above a turquoise sea, by the fact that you're sailing in an immense crater of a drowned volcano and that before you lies an island shaped by an ancient eruption cataclysmic beyond imagining.

High above, the main villages of Fira and Oia are a snow-drift of white Cycladic houses that line the cliff tops and spill like icy cornices down the terraced rock. And then there are the sunsets, with crowds breaking into applause as the sun disappears below the horizon.

In peak season, Santorini becomes a playground for the very wealthy, and while this has resulted in some stellar restaurants and superb wineries, the strain on the infrastructure is a concern. Still, there's relative seclusion found at the island's ancient sites, on hiking trails and beneath the waves.

The Cyclades fulfil their collective name (kyklos means circle) by encircling the sacred island of Delos. The mythical birthplace of twins Apollo and Artemis, splendid Ancient Delos was a shrine turned sacred treasury and commercial centre. This Unesco World Heritage Site is one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. Cast your imagination wide to transform this sprawling ruin into the magnificent city it once was.

The island, just 5km long and 1300m wide, offers a soothing contrast to Mykonos, its main access point. Overnight stays are forbidden, so visits are at the mercy of boat schedules. Aside from the museum, there's very little shelter; a hat, sunscreen and walking shoes are sensible precautions.

Folegandros lies on the southern edge of the Cyclades, with the Sea of Crete sweeping away to its south. The island has a quiet beauty, amplified by the clifftop Hora, one of the most appealing villages in the Cyclades.

The hilly topography, with terraced fields sloping down to the sea, verdant countryside dotted with chapels and ruins and numerous beaches to explore – some reachable via strenuous slogs – make Folegandros a favourite with hikers. The island is barely 12km by 4km and both little harbour of Karavostasis on the east coast and the village of Ano Meria are easily walkable from Hora.

You'll find no signs of it today, but Folegandros shoulders a somewhat dark past. The remoteness and ruggedness of the island made it a place of exile for political prisoners from Roman times to the 20th century, as late as the military dictatorship of 1967–74.

The largest of the Cyclades, Naxos packs a lot of bang for its buck. Its main town of Hora has a gorgeous waterfront and a web of steep cobbled alleys below its hilltop kastro and fortified Venetian mansions – testament to three centuries of Venetian rule. You needn’t travel far, though, to find isolated beaches, atmospheric mountain villages, ancient sites and marble quarries.

Naxos was a cultural centre of Classical Greece and Byzantium, and Venetian and Frankish influences also left their mark. Its high mountains form rain clouds, and consequently Naxos is more fertile and green than most of the other Cyclades islands. It produces olives, grapes, figs, citrus fruit, corn and potatoes. Mt Zeus (also known as Mt Zas; 1004m) is the Cyclades’ highest peak and is the central focus of the island’s mountainous interior, where you will find enchanting villages such as Halki and Apiranthos.

Volcanic Milos arches around a central caldera and is ringed with dramatic coastal landscapes of colourful and surreal rock formations. The island’s most celebrated export, the Venus de Milo, is far away in the Louvre, but dozens of beaches (the most of any Cycladic island) and a series of picturesque villages contribute to its current, compelling, attractions.

The island has a fascinating history of mineral extraction dating from the Neolithic period when obsidian was exported to the Minoan world of Crete. Today Milos is the biggest source of bentonite and perlite in the EU.

A substantial western chunk of Milos (and part of the east coast) is off-limits to rental vehicles due to bad roads and a proliferation of the Milos viper, but the beaches are reachable by boat tours.

Dramatic Amorgos is shaped like a seahorse swimming its way east towards the Dodecanese, while the ribbon of road that winds its way along the long ridge of mountains, connecting the main villages, is among the most beautiful drives in the Cyclades.

Amorgos remains relatively off the beaten track – even the fast ferry from Athens takes seven hours to get here! Free-diving aficionados and fans of Luc Besson's cult classic The Big Blue come to play in the Aegean, while walkers spend days exploring the numerous trails that zigzag across the rugged terrain, leading to secluded beaches, cutting across hillsides and abandoned stone terraces and meandering past ruined Cycladic windmills and remnants of ancient settlements.

Of the three main settlements, Katapola is more favoured by families, while Aegiali attracts a younger crowd and the enchanting capital of Hora is all maze-like, marble-paved alleyways and tumbling bougainvillea.

Tinos is one of those sleeper hit islands. It’s known widely for its Greek Orthodox pilgrimage site: the Church of the Annunciation, in the port and main town, Hora.

But as soon as you leave the throngs in town, Tinos is a wonderland of natural beauty, dotted with more than 40 marble-ornamented villages found in hidden bays, on terraced hillsides and atop misty mountains. Also scattered across the brindled countryside are countless ornate dovecotes, a legacy of the Venetians.

There’s a strong artistic tradition on Tinos, especially for marble sculpting, as in the sculptors’ village of Pyrgos in the north, near the marble quarries. The food, made from local produce (cheeses, sausage, tomatoes and wild artichokes), is some of the best you’ll find in Greece.

The six tiny islands that lie between Naxos and Amorgos have gone through millennia of civilisation and upheaval, from being densely populated trading centres in the days of antiquity and then fortified Venetian outposts to pirate havens and impoverished fishing backwaters during WWII before recently remerging in the spotlight as increasingly fashionable getaways. Today, only four have permanent populations – Iraklia, Schinousa, Ano Koufonisi (Koufonisia) and Donousa – and they remain very distinct from one another in character and topography, with Koufonisia in particular welcoming sun-worshippers, Schinousa and rugged Donousa appealing to hikers, and Iraklia famous for its cave pilgrimage.

Donousa is the northernmost of the group and the furthest from Naxos; the others are clustered near the larger island's southeast coast.

Sifnos has a dreamlike quality. Three whitewashed villages, anchored by the capital Apollonia, sit like pearls on a string along the crest of the island. The changing light kisses the landscape, and as you explore the slopes of the central mountains you’ll discover abundant terraced olive groves, almond trees, oleander and aromatic herbs. Each of the island’s bays offers aqua waters and breathtaking vistas.

During the Archaic period (from about the 8th century BC), Sifnos was enriched by its gold and silver deposits, but by the 5th century BC the mines were exhausted. Sifnos is now known for pottery, basket weaving and cookery. Visitors flock to the southern half of the island, served by good bus links, but it's worth getting your own wheels and driving to the remote beaches of the north, where the main road culminates in – you guessed it – a church.

The island's most strikingly beautiful beach, Agios Sostis, is a 40-minute walk northeast of Livadi. It occupies a sandy spit terminating in a headland topped with a blue-vaulted church and craggy golden rock formations. On each side are gravelly golden beaches abutting crystal-clear waters, perfectly framing views of distant islands. It's best reached on foot as the access road is rough and there's only parking for a handful of cars.

Next up is pretty little Psili Ammos, tucked below the main road, offering good swimming and a couple of tavernas. Reached by a steep side road, Platys Gialos in the north has gravelly sand and a good seasonal taverna. Near the turnoff, look out for the Monastery of the Taxiarches (a title referring to the archangels Michael and Gabriel), built in 1572 and fortified to protect it from pirates and other raiders. If it's open, it's worth exploring.

Sykamia is one of the island’s best beaches, with a dramatic approach along a steep, windy, sealed road through terraced hills. There's a good taverna set back from its pebble-strewn, grey-brown sands.

Tiny Megalo Livadi, on the southwest coast, is interesting for its crumbling neoclassical buildings (remnants of the mining era) and seaside tavernas but the beach is a little muddy and rocky. The cave where the Cyclops was said to dwell is near here.

The best beaches on the south coast tend to be broad and sandy, and deserted out of high season. It’s a wild landscape, punctuated by derelict mining machinery. Three of them share a large sheltered bay: Koutalas, a small fishing village with a pebble-strewn beach; Ganema, a tamarisk-edged beach with vivid green waters giving way to deep-blue depths; and, best of all, Vagia, a horseshoe of golden sand and shingle embracing iridescent waters.