Greek Island Hippie Hotspots for Globetrotters and Free Spirits

Do you love traveling with little luggage, in an absolutely “casual” mode, searching for beaches and places unknown to mass tourism where you can stay as close to nature as possible? You don't stay in one place for the whole vacation and are content with staying in hostels, campsites, or even just a tent set up perhaps a bit secretly on the beach or in the shade of a tree? You don't want or can't spend much but still want to see the world and meet others like you? Then we recommend visiting the hippy Greek islands. You can take the ferries and then move around the hippy Greek islands, backpacking, hitchhiking on the larger ones, or walking on the smaller ones. A vacation of freedom, pacifism, slow rhythms where you can forget the technological world at least for a while.

Here are some hippy Greek islands where you can truly feel like a free spirit.

Crete

The island, very large, had attracted hippies who frequented it in the 60s to concentrate in a specific place to form their community: the beach of Matala. It was, and still is, a perfect place for this pacifist culture: picturesque, remote, wild, and alternative. The hippies, especially in the past, had settled inside a series of natural caves by the sea and lived there in complete freedom. Now it is much rarer to meet them, and the caves are visitable for a fee but no longer usable as a shelter. Modern hippies have to settle for camping.

🏡 Check out the best hotels and studios in Crete
🛳️ Find a ferry to Crete

Gavdos (Crete)

The island is especially appreciated and frequented by visitors who are a bit hippy and reject touristy and mundane places. Tourists who love walking in untouched nature, in solitude, and looking for a free-spirited vacation. Since the island is far from everything (located in the southernmost part of Greece), its starry sky is beautiful. Free camping on the beach is tolerated.

Ios (Cyclades)

We also mention Ios because in the 60s and 70s it was a great reference for the hippy movement, and some still visit it, but since then, the typical tourism of the island has changed a lot. Much less “peace and love” and much more “drink”! It is mostly frequented by young people, and, a bit like in Mykonos, a vacation in Ios is about parties, drinks, and music. The desire for contact with nature has turned into a desire to have fun.

Naxos (Cyclades)

Naxos, like Ios, was also a reference point for hippies in the 60s and 70s, but now there is little left of that type of tourism, although the island still offers beautiful solitary places like the long and quiet Plaka beach, still frequented by a few free spirits.

🏡 Check out the best hotels and studios in Naxos
🛳️ Find a ferry to Naxos

Nisyros (Dodecanese)

It is a very fascinating volcanic island and, unlike Santorini, not very touristy (visitors to the volcanic area only visit during the day). It is therefore suitable for somewhat globetrotter and hippy tourists who love wild nature and the possibility of experiencing their vacation freely without too many restrictions, in a somewhat primordial environment. There are many walkable trails on the island. For several years now, it has become a destination for hippies who come here from far away to meet and share their particular way of understanding life, or at least vacation. Free camping on the beach is tolerated and widespread, especially in the area of the black beaches.

Samothrace (Northeast Aegean)

Samothrace is rich in vegetation and watercourses that often form beautiful waterfalls and lakes. Many hippy tourists are attracted to all this, camping freely, or almost, taking advantage of what nature offers them. The island is quite large, and to get around, you need a means of transport; for free spirits, I would say the bus or the always very economical hitchhiking! The climate of Samothrace is cool, and the sea is particularly fishy.

Santorini (Cyclades)

Even Santorini in the 60s and 70s was an ideal destination for many hippies in search of a magical, peaceful, and incredibly fascinating place with its primordial volcanic nature and spectacular sunsets. Once discovered by mass tourism, however, flower children and globetrotters have moved more and more to less frequented destinations.

🏡 Check out the best hotels and studios in Santorini
🛳️ Find a ferry to Santorini