Here’s something that quite surprised me; there are nearly 3,000 islands in the Mediterranean.  Sure, I knew there are a good number of islands in Greece as well as a few off the coast of Italy, but otherwise figured the rest of the Mediterranean was basically island-free. 

This is certainly not the case, and holiday-makers know it.  Unfortunately, so many of these islands are so packed with tourists in the summertime that “deserted island” becomes a harsh oxymoron in the Mediterranean. 

The good folks at The Sunday Times (UK), however, have researched which of these islands are not regularly served by tourist agencies and thus, promise to be semi-deserted and maybe even tourist-free. 

Of course, getting to such places, like Susak Island in Croatia, is not easy.  Such islands are considered “off-the-beaten-path” because they are indeed, off-the-beaten-path.  Transport is often difficult and ferries are rare not very accommodating.  Yet, you’ll find yourself wanting to endure these inconveniences after reading such quotes from The Sunday Times as, “no cars, no roads, no nightclubs, just a seven-mile network of sandy tracks across the island, two villages, a couple of churches and four small restaurants to ease you from your sandy vigil.”

The above is regarding Susak Island, and yes, The Sunday Times provides ferry information for this, and the other islands they spotlight in the article. 

Filed under: Europe