Lesbos Greece quieter Greek Islands travel

The top ten European islands to avoid crowds this summer

The top 10 European islands to avoid crowds this summer

The island of Lesbos, Greece, is revealed as the best alternative island destination to visit this year in Europe
Porto Santo in Portugal ranks as the second most secluded island to head to this summer
Six Greek islands feature in the top ten most secluded islands to visit this year

A new study conducted by global car hire company Avis has analysed popular European island destinations by looking into search volume and Instagram hashtags to reveal the busiest islands and find their alternatives to visit this summer to avoid the crowds.

Unsurprisingly, Ibiza leads the way as the most popular island destination with over 20 million hashtags on Instagram and close to 2 million average monthly searches. Malta ranks second as the most popular European island with just shy of 10 million hashtags and over 3 million monthly searches, followed by Mallorca which has 1.5 million Instagram hashtags and the same number of monthly searches as Ibiza.

For anyone wanting to visit established European island destinations, Tenerife, Santorini and Madeira are also in the top 10, but this means that these destinations will be very busy during the summer months.

Top 10 most popular European islands to visit this summer

Instead of going to popular hotspots, there are plenty of alternative European island destinations where travellers can go this summer to avoid the crowds and still get that European island feeling.

The remote island of Lesbos, also known as Lesvos in Greek, has a population of 86,000 people. With average summer temperatures of 25-30 degrees, crystal clear blue water, typical Greek fishing villages and gorgeous white beaches, this island has been described as the 'real Greece' and offers everything popular Greek islands like Mykonos and Santorini have, just without the crowds!

Ranking as the second most secluded European island is Porto Santo in Portugal. This golden oasis in the Atlantic Ocean is just a 1.5 hour flight away from Lisbon and has stunning long beaches to visit. With 201,000 Instagram hashtags, this quieter island could be the destination you're looking to go to in 2025.

In third spot is another Greek hidden gem – Symi. Described as a postcard-like island, you can expect gorgeous sunsets, traditional settlements and stunning beaches on this island.

In fact, a whopping six Greek islands feature in the top 10 most secluded islands to visit, making Greece the best country to visit for secluded destinations.