Lipsi

Lipsi covers about sixteen square kilometres and has around eight hundred residents, most of them in the one town around the harbour, where the blue dome of Agios Ioannis rises above the waterfront. The island keeps a genuine agricultural life: vineyards producing a strong local wine, olive groves, goats and small fields divided by dry-stone walls, and the government has protected it from large hotel development. Beaches are the draw for visitors, a dozen small bays reached by track, footpath or the caique that runs a daily circuit, Platys Gialos with white sand, Katsadia, Monodendri for naturists, and boats also go out to uninhabited islets such as Aspronisi and Makronisi. In August the island holds a wine festival, and the calendar of saints' days brings the villages together.

What you actually see

• The harbour town - a blue-domed church above the single settlement.
• The coves - a dozen small beaches around the coast, several with no road.
• The farmland - vineyards, olives and stone-walled fields inland.
• The islets - uninhabited rocks reached by daily boats.

When to go

May, June and September for warm water and open tavernas; August brings Greek and Italian regulars and fills the limited rooms. Winter is very quiet with sparse boats.

Honest expectations

There is nothing to see in a sightseeing sense and no nightlife; the island is for swimming, walking and eating. Rooms are few and simple, and the ferry timetable dictates arrivals and departures. Bring cash.

Nearby

Patmos lies south, Leros southwest; both are short boat rides.