Europe's most overcrowded holiday islands – and the unspoilt alternatives to visit instead

Telegraph

a day ago

Across the Mediterranean, rumbling concerns about over-tourism have risen to a crescendo over the past couple of years. Both the conspicuous absence of visitors during the pandemic and the talk of building back more sustainably are distant memories: now it seems that all people really want is their moment in the sun.
On Europe's most popular islands, it's putting a strain on resources and infrastructure as water becomes scarce, roads are jam-packed and rubbish mounts. Still, they come.
In Spain, where tourism accounts for 15.6 per cent of the total GDP according to World Travel & Tourism Council figures, industry revenue was up 36 per cent on 2019 in the first nine to 11 months of 2024, despite well-publicised anti-tourism protests.
Surprisingly though, the busy Balearics are not the most over-touristy place in the Med, nor are the much-Instagrammed Greek holiday paradises of Mykonos and Santorini.
According to a recent report by Which? Travel, that dubious accolade goes to Zakynthos – where there are 150 tourists for every resident.
Below, we've rounded up the busiest islands in Europe, and some of their sleepier alternatives.
The overrun
Rhodes
The neon-clad party resort of Faliraki has much to answer for: it's where the island's reputation as a hard-living, cheap-boozing place was born, and now 3.5 million visitors per year head here every year in search of a slice of hedonistic heaven (that's 26 for every one resident).
Cruise ships dock in the port of Rhodes Town too, tipping the tourism scales even further. It led it to be labelled the second most over-crowded city in Europe by holiday rentals portal Holidu.co.uk, which crunched inbound arrivals data from Euromonitor International to place Dubrovnik first in the table.
Rhodes, however, beat notoriously busy Venice into second place. Things could soon start looking up for the island though. It partnered with operator Tui to found Rhodes Co-Lab, an organisation that aims to transform it into a sustainable destination by 2030 using initiatives that include moving away from fossil fuels, increasing local agriculture and aquaculture by 50 per cent and protecting the island's cultural heritage.
Majorca
According to Which? data, Majorca had the most overnight stays in Europe in 2023, clocking up more than 51 million of them. In 2024, seven per cent more visitors passed through Palma's airport than in the previous year, and numbers were expected to rise again in 2025.
Among the consequences is a new summer traffic problem, with hire cars clogging the ring road around Palma and the winding lanes of the countryside during July and August. Then there's the lack of housing for locals, with around a third of all properties classed as second homes.
It has resulted in understandable friction. In March, an open letter signed by a clutch of campaigning organisations warned the latter not to visit this year. It explained: 'We do not need more tourists; in fact, you are the source of our problem.'
Ibiza
The number of annual visitors to Ibiza has almost doubled since 2001, according to the non-profit organisation Ibiza Preservation. With more than three million overnight stays annually, compared with a year-round population of just 160,000, the island has lost much of its farmland and has the highest amount of waste per head of any Balearic island.
The organisation claims that only four per cent of food eaten is grown locally, while a decimation of fields and forest has led to increased risk of wildfires. Water is scarce too, though no restrictions are currently in place for tourists. On June 15, this year's over-tourism protests will kick off in Ibiza Town, as part of a nationwide campaign.
Malta
It may not get the Instagram mileage of the Balearics or Greek islands, but Malta is engaged in a quieter battle with over-tourism.
In 2022, it already had the eighth highest number of tourists per resident in the world, according to worlddata.info and, in 2024, the number visiting rose by almost 20 per cent year on year.
More hotels are being built, and the island will need to attract almost five million tourists per year to fill them by 2027. But Malta and its neighbours are already struggling to cope with those that do come.
Back in 2023, residents complained to The Times of Malta about 'a 'suffocating' stench, traffic chaos and double parking' in the island capital Valletta and some of its busiest resorts. And some local operators refuse to take visitors to the nearby island of Comino in the summer. Once one of the prettiest local spots, it's now packed with Instagrammers and the resulting litter has led to a rat problem.
The under-visited
Dugi Otok
Croatia has an over-tourism problem, with more than 20 million overnight stays per year. But only around 0.005 per cent of them involve this secret (though not exactly inconspicuous) spot off the coast near Zadar.
It may because much of the 27-mile long island is uncultivated, or because its tiny capital Sali lacks the glamour or show-off monuments of the country's better-known seaside cities (it makes up for it with a harbour busy with sorbet-shade terraces and surroundings dotted with 700-year-old olive trees).
There's a lively festival in Sali each year in the first week of August, the rocky coves and wooded hills of the Nature Park Telašćica and one of the country's best beaches – the long sweep at Sakarun, where the water is as clear as vodka and the scent of pine forest carries on the breeze – to enjoy.
Pantelleria
This wild isle off Sicily isn't completely without visitors. But though the population doubles in summer, that still means there are less than 15,000 people exploring its crater lake, hot springs and herb-scented trails at any one time (compare that with the 3.6 million who flock to Capri every year).
There's culture too: Pantelleria's traditional way of harvesting grapes for its famous wines has made it onto Unesco's Intangible Cultural Heritage List. And, though sand is not really on the menu, Pantelleria's dramatic rocky coves are literally the stuff of legend – the playgrounds of Odysseus during his long kidnap by Circe.
Samothraki, Greece
For every Mykonos or Santorini, there's a harder-to-access Greek island where tourists are thin on the ground. Among them is Samothraki in the northern Aegean, accessed by the summer ferry from Limnos (or year-round one from mainland Alexandrouplis) and with a healthy tourist bed to local ratio of 0.5 to one, according to research by the Sustainable Samothraki project.
This is not a place for days on the beach and long lunches in tavernas but rather tramping through golden wheat fields or driving up empty switchbacks towards remote churches and icy waterfalls.
There aren't any swish hotels either, just a smattering of three-stars on the north coast, between the swooping rocks and tumbling waters of the Fonias Gorge and the ancient columns of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, once home to a mystery cult that drew dignitaries from across the region.
Porto Santo, Portugal
Sometimes you have to get away from the Med to escape the crowds and this island dwells in the Atlantic, a 90-minute ferry ride from its big sister Madeira.
Well-known among Portuguese tourists for its buttery beaches and sleepy seaside towns, it hasn't yet hit the big time with the wider world, despite Madeira being Portugal's fourth most-visited region.
Not deemed worthy of its own official statistics, Porto Santo is thought to see around 20,000 visitors per month in summer. The sand really is the thing here: there's a great nine km line of the stuff at Porto Santo's namesake beach, as well as a chain of sleepy coves with tiki umbrellas.
Sea kayak or hike between them and break up the sunbathing with trips to the rock formations at Pico de Ana Ferreira or hikes up the mountain of Pico Branco for blustery views out to sea.