Head To This Historic European Island For A Relaxing, Crowd-Free Vacation

When planning the itinerary for your trip to Greece, it can be hard to choose which places to visit. No matter your budget for a Greece vacation, the country is full of beautiful places to choose from — but if you love little-known destinations that teach you about history, make sure you don't overlook the tiny island of Gavdos. 

This Cretan island is beloved for its landscape, hippie vibes, secluded and picturesque beaches, and fascinating history. The island is less than 13 square miles, about half the size of Manhattan. Depending on the time of year you visit, you may see more migrating birds than locals or tourists. In 2015, a paper from The European Archeologist reported that less than 60 people were living here year-round. It is also significantly less visited than popular Greek destinations like neighboring Crete. In 2008, it was reported by The Guardian that at least 1000 visitors to the island just slept on the beach in the summer. 

Today, there are hotels to choose from, so you won't have to camp out unless you want to. Even if you visit in the far less popular winter season, you should be able to enjoy some warm weather, though winter can be very windy. In the summer, you can appreciate the lush, natural beauty of the island without having to fight crowds, and this spot is a must for anyone looking to feel closer to Greece's mythic past.

Homer's epic the "Odyssey" tells the story of the mythical Greek hero Odysseus who, after offending the god of the sea, has to spend 20 years trying to get home from the Trojan War. He faces many trials, including the destruction of his ship, an enchantress who transforms people into animals, terrifying monsters that eat his crew, and being forced to descend into the land of the dead and make his way out again — but one of the most difficult places to escape is Ogygia, the island home of the goddess Calypso.

Calypso had lived on the island alone for centuries and fell in love with Odysseus as soon as she saw him. She captured him and offered him the chance to live forever as her companion. It took Odysseus seven years to escape — almost as long as he had been at war in the first place. Whether or not the island of Ogygia was a real place is debatable, but some believe that the island of Gavdos may be the inspiration. We may never know if Homer had a real place in mind when he wrote about Calypso's lonely island, but there's no better place on Earth to lie on the beach and read about the mythical hero's escape than Gavdos.

While its connections to Homer's Ogygia are debatable, this island has a fascinating history that dates back thousands of years. Ancient artifacts detailed in a 2015 paper by professor of prehistoric archeology Katerina Kopaka showed that people have lived on the island of Gavdos since the early Stone Age. Researchers discovered constructions and pottery from the Bronze Age and evidence of a burial with funeral rites dating between 2000 and 1000 B.C.

It is believed that the island of Cauda, mentioned in the Bible, is another name for Gavdos. Some also claim that it was a regular hideout of the famous pirate captain Barbossa. In the 1930s, the famous Greek Communist leader Markos Vafiadis, who fought against the Nazis in World War II, was temporarily exiled to the island of Gavdos — though he and five others escaped in a small boat when Germany invaded Crete.