I was born in Europe, lived here for eight years in my childhood, came back to visit many times while growing up in North America, and eventually moved back here in 2020, living first in Belgium and now in Austria.
All this to say, I've been lucky enough to have traveled Europe fairly extensively. It will never be enough and there is ALWAYS more to see in Europe, but I do like to think I've sampled quite a lot of what this continent has to offer.
Check out every country I have visited in Europe so far!
And while I have not yet been to every island on my bucket list (which probably barely even scratches the surface of possible islands to visit in Europe), I have had a number of requests for recommendations for my favourite islands to visit in Europe.
And, with Euro-summer dawning, I figured now would be a good time to gather all my island guides into one. I look forward to adding many more islands in the future, but for now, enjoy!
I have organized them alphabetically by country and outlined why you might want to choose that island for your trip. They are not ordered preferentially because I loved them all for different reasons and could not possibly order them that way.
Also, I think there is so much more to Europe than just its islands, but for that... feel free to check out the rest of my Europe guides!
Cyprus
Location: Cyprus is in the Mediterranean just south of Türkiye and off the coast of Syria and Lebanon. Northern Cyprus, which covers the northeastern part of the island, is disputed territory between Cyprus and Türkiye. You can visit this area, but you do need to cross the UN buffer zone between the two.
Go to Cyprus if you like: the Mediterranean, wine villages, quiet beaches, fascinating cultural and religious history. If you really want it, Ayia Napa is known for being an affordable party hotspot, a bit like some areas of Ibiza; but easily avoidable.
Omodos Wine Village
Petra tou Romiou
Isle of Wight, England
Location: The Isle of Wight is in the far south of England, reachable by ferry from Southampton on the mainland.
Go to Isle of Wight if you like: England, but think Famous Five, peace, quiet and afternoon tea, and long walks along the water.
Cowes
Mont Saint-Michel, France
Location: The mysterious Mont Saint-Michel, home to the highest tides in Europe, is an isolated island commune off the northern coast of France.
Go to Mont Saint-Michel if you like: Enchanting French islands steeped in history, also with lots of steep steps. The Abbey was awe-inspiring, which was once a popular pilgrimage destination for those brave enough to trek a kilometre across wet sand and after a prison, which served as the inspiration for Alcatraz.
Föhr, Germany
Location: Off Germany's northern coast, reachable by ferry from Dagebüll, three and a half hours away from Hamburg by train.
Go to Föhr if you like: Riding a bike around quiet German islands to visit wind-swept beaches and cornfields, lounge on the sand at the strand and explore little museums and windmills.
Hundestrand
Kastellorizo, Greece
Location: This little Greek island is just off the coast of Türkiye, about a twenty-minute ferry ride from Kaş, a stunning holiday town on Türkiye's famed Turquoise Coast.
Go to Kastellorizo if you like: Tiny, peaceful and uninterrupted island time. There truly isn't much happening here - we only went for a day - but if you're after that, then this might be exactly it. Kastellorizo is also home to the famous Blue Cave where you can snorkel and free dive, and the sealife is in abundance around the island. Plus, St George Beach is just straight out of a magazine.
St George Beach
Malta
Location: Malta is a tiny island nation in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, situated strategically under the boot of Italy, resulting in a long history of being conquered by many nations.
Go to Malta if you like: Stunning beaches, natural swimming pools, fascinating history and achitecturally gorgeous cities, quaint villages to explore and plenty of beauty to photograph and admire. Malta was the first place I flew to as soon as COVID restrictions allowed me to, back in 2021. I loved my week here - photogenic, welcoming, varied and delightful.
Mdina
Azure Window, Gozo
Tromsø, Norway
Location: Tromsø is a well-known northern Norwegian destination, above the Arctic Circle in the far north of Norway. We flew here from Oslo.
Go to Tromsø if you like: Tromsø is an excellent destination year-round in northern Norway, with beautiful opportunities in nature whether in the heat of summer with hiking and midnight sun, or in the cold of winter with exceptional animal sightings and the chance to see the northern lights.
Tromsø Harbour looking to the Arctic Cathedral
Sherpatrappa Viewpoint
Sommarøy, Norway
Location: Sommarøy is a surreal destination, high above the Arctic Circle in the far north of Norway. The closest airport is in nearby Tromsø.
Go to Sommarøy if you like: everything Tromsø has to offer but quieter, smaller, fewer tourists, more natural beauty and even better chances at spotting the northern lights.
Sommarøy Arctic Hotel
Northern Lights
Azores, Portugal
Location: The Azores archipelago is a two and a half hour flight from Lisbon, out west in the Atlantic Ocean. There are nine to choose from, the largest and most populous one being São Miguel Island, home to the Azores' biggest city of Ponta Delgada.
Go to the Azores if you like: lush greenery, volcanoes, lakes, viewpoints (miradouros), tiny fishing villages, hot springs, hiking, waterfalls... you get where I'm going with this, right?
Miradouro da Vista do Rei
Madeira, Portugal
Location: Madeira is less than two hours flight from Lisbon, heading southwest in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco.
Go to Madeira if you like: to eat (I felt this was kind of the only thing to do in Funchal) and to hike. The absolute only reason I would go to Madeira is for the seriously otherwordly hiking.
Ponta de São Lourenço Hike
Gran Canaria, Spain
Location: Gran Canaria is the largest of the Canary Islands, a group of four clustered off the west coast of Morocco. The Canaries are a popular year-round warm weather destination, which makes flights plentiful, affordable and available from all around the world. We flew directly from Munich with Condor, a pleasant five hour flight across western Europe.
Go to Gran Canaria if you like: year-round sunshine, world-class surfing conditions, otherworldly island roadtrips and little hikes on cool volcanoes. Also they have sand dunes.
Roadtripping
Surfing at Playa de las Canteras
Formentera, Spain
Location: Formentera is one of Spain's four Balearic Islands, just a short ferry ride away from Ibiza. Head down to Eivissa Harbour and board one of the thirty-five crossings happening per day between Ibiza and Formentera. I didn't even arrange the tickets in advance; which was just fine, since you could buy them on board.
Go to Formentera if you like: biking to pretty beaches through little farming villages and back country lanes all banked with wildflowers on well-maintained roads.
Cala en Baster
Ibiza, Spain
Location: Ibiza is one of Spain's four Balearic Islands and quite the most famous one at that. A short flight away from Spain's southern coast, you can get flights to Ibiza from pretty much all across Europe.
Go to Ibiza if you like: well, it used to be party-central, but it is (thankfully) starting to turn back into a bit of a pretty, quiet, sun-drenched escape. Don't worry, you can still find plenty of places to party. I'm just saying, there might actually be something here for everyone now.
Dalt Villa
Platja de ses Figueretes
Mallorca, Spain
Location: Mallorca is another of Spain's four Balearic Islands and probably my favourite island in Europe (out of the ones I have visited so far) even though I said at the beginning of this post I couldn't possibly pick a favourite. Mallorca is a short flight away from Spain's southern coast.
Go to Mallorca if you like: anything: jagged mountains, gorgeous little villages, breathtaking roadtrip views, swimming off exquisite beaches in crystal clear blue water, culture and history, eating your weight in Spanish tapas, hiking up to viewpoints... take me back.
Deia
Cala Pi
Menorca, Spain
Location: Menorca is an exquisite Mediterranean paradise, the fourth and final Balearic island I visited. I arrived by ferry from its bigger neighbour, Mallorca, but you can also fly here, though not as regularly as to the other Balearics.
Go to Menorca if you like: everything Mallorca has but on a smaller, quieter scale. I spent most of my time on Menorca hiking or beach-ing. Plus I did a boat trip circumnavigating the whole island and that was seriously amazing.
Boat trip circumnavigating Menorca
Cala Macarella
Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.
