The bad news is that Tinos has no airport which means it's slightly harder to get to. The good news is that Tinos has no airport which means it's slightly harder to get to.

With relatively few package tourists, this mountainous island dwarfs nearby crowded Mykonos and is a great place for exploring and enjoying a more genuine version of Greece. The beaches are wild exposed places, especially on the north of the island where the full brunt of prevailing winds hit the coast and surge over the top of the moutain ridge that runs the length of the island (especially vicious during the Meltemi winds in August).

The mountain villages all have their own distinctive character, often with local signature dishes; go to Volax for the slow cooked lemon kid goat, or to Falatados for the spicy local sausage omelette. The cheeses are special, the meat and fish dishes are excellent and the locals proud and engaging.

Avoid staying in the main port town of Tinos which although has a few great restaurants and very relaxed bars, has rather sadly lost a lot of the Ventian and cubist Cycladic architecture that attracts so many visitors to Mykonos, and head for the hills or to the beach and stay in a villa or appartment instead.

Go there now before someone writes a novel about the place and you can't move for cheesy memorabilia...