Secret Greece: How to escape the tourist trail

See another side of Crete

Chania’s magnificent Venetian harbour, Rethymnon’s glorious old town and Heraklion’s bustling shopping streets are rightly renowned, but if you want to get off the beaten track on Greece’s largest island, hire a car and head east.

Soon after Agios Nikolaos, peaceful highways dotted with typical fishing villages replace roads jammed with cars. Stop in at Mochlos, with its Minoan settlements and excellent fish restaurants, and the tiny resort of Makrigialos, where you can order ouzo and meze at one of the kafenio (a café) lining the picturesque, horseshoe-shaped bay.

If you’re feeling adventurous, why not drive, via the mountain villages of Lithines and Armeni, to the remote resort of Xerocambos? Here you’ll find powdery sand beaches and turquoise waters that are near deserted for most of the year.

Hike the Mani

Cut off from the world by the Taygetus Mountains and dotted with stark stone towers, the Mani region of the Peloponnese is still one of Europe’s wildest and most isolated regions.

To really get to grips with this region inhabited by the truculent Maniots, grab a copy of war hero Patrick Leigh Fermor’s travel opus Mani, then hike the old goat trails to Kardamyli, where Fermor settled in the 1950s.

Here you should order rich gavros sto fourno (fresh anchovies baked with tomatoes garlic and wine) at Lela’s taverna, owned by the son of Fermor’s former housekeeper, before making the stiff climb along scree-strewn slopes spiked with purple-flowered thyme to the town of Areopoli – named for Greek war god Ares.

In Areopoli, you’ll see the first of many pyrgospita, the stone tower houses where, not so long ago, feuding families walled themselves up and threw cannonballs at each other.

Hop on a local ferry

From early spring to late autumn, ferries chug back and forth between the Greek islands leaving furling lines of foam in their wake. These local boats travel to all the well-known islands, but if you’re willing to wait for connections, you can also get to some of the more remote isles where the routine of daily life is rarely troubled by tourism.

A ferry hop from Rhodes, the Dodecanese island of Tilos was the first to ban hunting back in 1993. This tiny island dotted with medieval castles is now a nature reserve where you can spot the narrow-winged Eleonora’s falcon, vividly coloured European rollers and other rare birds.

Further north, on the rarely visited island of Ikaria (named for Icarus who plunged into the sea here after the wax holding his wings melted), the locals are legends of longevity. If you want to add a few years to your life, join them as they bathe in the island's hot radioactive geothermal springs, take long siestas and indulge in horta (wild greens), island-made red wine and other local healthy delights.

Explore the other 'capital' city

Drawn like a magnet by the magnificent Parthenon and the Acropolis museum, most visitors to the Greek mainland flock to Athens. But, if you want to experience a truly authentic conurbation, head north to the country’s second largest city, Thessaloniki. Known as ‘the co-capital’ because it ruled alongside Constantinople during Byzantine times, this lively city is a cornucopia of Byzantine and Ottoman monuments and marvellous cultural attractions, including the fascinating Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, which featured in Victoria Hislop’s award-winning novel The Thread.

When night falls over the city’s celebrated 15th-century White Tower, make a beeline for the historic quarter known as the Ladadika (the name comes from ladi, the oil which was one traded here). This pedestrian only area was a buzzing bazaar during the four centuries of Ottoman occupation, and then became a ghetto. Revitalised in the 1990s, the bazaar is long gone but the buzz is still there: the beautifully restored 19th-century buildings are now home to dozens of cafes and bars offering some of the city’s best nightlife.

Less than an hour’s drive from Thessaloniki, Sithonia is the middle finger of the three-pronged Halkidiki peninsula. With beautiful coves and seemingly endless sandy beaches, this region, close to the male-only monastery of Mount Athos, is the ideal spot to chill out after your hectic Greek city break.

Go to a glendi

A glendi (Greek for party), where food and wine flow freely as local musicians play traditional dance tunes, is the real place to discover the kefi, or high spirits, that characterise Greek life.

In Crete, you’ll see musicians playing the three-stringed, violin-like lyra and the long-necked laouto (lute), while on the islands and mainland you’ll find musicians playing mandolin or bouzouki.

Look out for glendi posters in shop windows then head out to join in the fun – and be prepared to party until dawn.

Stay in a traditional guesthouse

Greek-owned Aria was one of the first companies to build hotels in out-of-the-way locations and tiny villages across Greece. From a windmill on the tiny volcanic island of Kimolos to an exclusive boutique hotel in the mountainous region of Zagori in northern Greece, staying in one of the company’s striking stone-built properties is an excellent way to get off the beaten track and enjoy a taste of the real Greece.

Check out a local winery

Known by most travellers for retsina, the white wine made with pine resin that tastes like turpentine, Greek wines have had a makeover in the last decade. These days the country’s most celebrated cuvees easily rival better-known wine producing neighbours France and Italy.

Following the waymarked wine road, which loops, via a dozen wineries, through vine-tousled countryside from Heraklion’s outskirts to the archaeological site of Gortyn some 60km away, is the ideal way to escape the crowds in Crete.

Alternatively, head out one of the Peloponnese’s seven wine-themed trails to discover some of the region’s lesser-known sites, while sipping plenty of grape juice en route.

Head for the hills

With its sparkling seas and stunning resorts, Greece is a magnet for beach lovers. To escape the seaside crowds, head inland to seek out the country’s lost-in-the-past mountain villages.

It’s a steep climb to reach Olympos on the island of Karpathos, but well worth it to visit this tiny village where the women still go about their daily lives dressed in traditional local costumes.

High in the mountains of Tinos island, Pyrgos, the so-called ‘marble village’, rarely gets crowded even in the height of summer, while Portaria, with it’s breathtaking views, winding streets and traditional kafenions on the slopes of mythical Mount Pelion, is the perfect spot to soak up a big dose of authentic local lifestyle.