Kimolos: the Secret Greek Island Where the Beaches Are Empty Even in July

There is a Greek island many people could not find on a map - and that is precisely its beauty. Kimolos, a small islet in the Cyclades in the south-western Aegean, has until recently stayed off the radar of mass tourism. It measures only about 36 square kilometres and has a thousand permanent residents, yet it carries everything sought by those fleeing the packed beaches of Mykonos and Santorini.

Getting there takes patience - and that is part of the filter. From Athens you travel by two ferries: first to neighbouring Milos, then another twenty minutes to the port of Psathi. There are also direct lines from Piraeus in season, but rarer and longer. The difficult access is the reason the island still smells of fish and thyme rather than of the tourism industry.

The landscape is volcanic - arid hills falling toward clear waters, houses whitewashed in white with narrow lanes overgrown with bougainvillea. The main village of Chorio is considered one of the best-preserved traditional villages in the Cyclades, with a medieval castle that once protected the residents from pirates. The name itself comes from "kimolia" - the Greek word for chalk, a mineral once quarried here.

The beaches are a story in themselves. Prasa has white sand rich in minerals and water of an intense blue; Bonatsa is shallow and family-friendly; Aliki offers fine sand and shade from the trees. Many of them can only be reached on foot, by bicycle or by small boat - so even in July they stay empty. From the island there are also trips to uninhabited Polyaigos, the largest uninhabited island in the Mediterranean, known for its surreally blue waters and Mediterranean monk seals.

And when the sun sets, you eat the way you should - in family tavernas in Chorio and at the port, with fresh grilled fish, dried octopus, homemade cheeses and pickles, a tomato flatbread drizzled with olive oil that the Greeks call the ancestor of pizza. An open-air summer cinema, free screenings under the stars. Kimolos does not ask you to understand it - it only asks you to leave it as it is.