The greatest islands in the Med, ranked and rated

The coastline of Sardinia, which ranks second on our list - Moment RF

At the risk of stating the obvious, the Mediterranean Sea is a very big thing indeed. It spreads out to 970,000 square miles, touches the shores of three continents (Europe, Asia, Africa) and 22 countries, contains 15 “smaller” seas within it (including the Adriatic, the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian), and is home to some 10,000 islands and islets.

How, if you were to attempt it, would you arrange those islands into some sort of logical order? You would start by pruning the list from 3,000 to a more manageable 50, and then ranking them via the factors which make places like Crete, Sardinia and Menorca such alluring destinations. Such as the cleanliness of their beaches, the beauty of their geography, the excellence of their restaurants, the quality of their hotels, and the range and importance of their historic sites.

How would such a ranking look? A little like the top 10 laid out below...

10. Rhodes, Greece

Rhodes may only be the fourth largest of the Greek islands, but it eclipses both the third biggest (Lesbos; 13th) and the second (Evia; 32nd) in our ranking – partly because it comes wrapped in an air of history that, even for Greece, is remarkable.

True, you can no longer see the Colossus of Rhodes – the giant bronze statue of the sun god Helios which stood as one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World – but the port whose entrance it once adorned (Rhodes Town, the island capital) is now a Unesco World Heritage Site (worth 30 points in our study), thanks to its 14th-century and 15th-century fortifications.

Of course, the Rhodes story stretches back far further than the medieval era – its oldest landmark, the Acropolis of Lindos (with its epic Temple of Athena Lindia), dates to the 10th century BC (and is worth 46 points).

The Acropolis of Lindos is Rhodes’ oldest landmark, dating to the 10th century BC - Jorg Greuel

Holiday heaven

Rhodes offers 136 miles of coastline – where you will find 28 Blue Flag beaches (68 points). Kiotari Beach, on the east coast, may be the pick of the bunch.

How to do it

A seven-night stay at the Lindos Blu Luxury Hotel & Suites (a five-star resort within walking distance of the acropolis), flying from Manchester on Aug 15, starts at £2,178 per person via Olympic Holidays (020 4586 1626).

9. Menorca, Spain

The second largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands is not generally regarded as the coolest of the gang, but our research shows that, when you drill into its details, Menorca has more than enough character to out-rank its far trendier sibling Ibiza (11th place).

True, it makes for a quieter travel experience, but its comparative lack of visitors (1.5 million per year, compared to 3.7 million for Ibiza, and 13.4 million for Mallorca) is worth 40 points in our scoring system.

Menorca’s attributes often go unheralded. The island is rarely acclaimed for its sandy coast, but it does boast five Blue Flag beaches (30 points) – including the gorgeous two-mile strip of Son Bou, on its south flank. It produced an impressive 11 award-winning wines in the most recent survey by industry bible Decanter (30 points). It is also – with very little publicity to the fact – a splendid option for scuba-divers; its 44 Padi-listed dive sites are worth 58 points.

Cala Mitjana is one of Menorca’s five Blue Flag beaches, - Gaizka Portillo Benito

Holiday heaven

Mahón, the capital, is a splendid kernel of Spanish cafés, churches and charm. It shares its name with a protected foodstuff (15 points), a soft white local cheese.

How to do it

The Camí de Cavalls – a 115-mile coastal loop – is one of the Telegraph’s top 15 walks in Europe (40 points). Pura Aventura (01273676712) sells an eight-night break which tackles 37 miles of it, from £2,250 a head (flights extra).

8. Kefalonia, Greece

Nobody can argue that this special segment of the Greek Ionian is unknown. It greets so many direct flights from the UK that you can reach it from 13 British airports. With 755,000 visitors a year, a fair number of people regard it as a summer essential.

Equally, there is always a hint of mystery and myth to Kefalonia. Its oldest site, the Acropolis of Sami, is dated to the third century BC (worth 34 points, although it may be significantly more ancient – passing reference is made in The Iliad). Its highest mountain, Mount Ainos, is majestic, rising to 5,431ft (1,628m) as the loftiest peak in the Ionian Sea (86 points). Even the heavens wear a veil of intrigue: when it opened in 2023, Aenos International Dark Sky Park became the first such star-gazing area in Greece (50 points).

Fteri Beach in Kefalonia was deemed the third best beach in the world last year - Roberto Moiola/Sysaworld

Holiday heaven

Fteri Beach, on the north-west coast near Atheras, is so eye-catching that it finished in third place in the “World’s 50 Best Beaches” poll for 2025 (30 points).

How to do it

A week’s stay at the three-star Sami Beach Hotel, flying from Birmingham on Aug 8, costs from £1,395 per person through Sunvil (020 8568 4499).

7. Mallorca, Spain

It is perhaps no surprise to find Mallorca listed here. Popular perception views the biggest of the Balearic Islands as one vast Spanish sunspot – and its suitability for summer breaks is only reinforced by its having one of the world’s top beaches (Playa de Muro, named as the 12th best on the planet in the 2026 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards; worth 30 points) on its north-east coast.

The standard of accommodation is just as impressive; 78 of the island’s hotels have a Telegraph review score of 9/10 or higher (78 points). But Mallorca also scores well for being high and mighty. The Serra de Tramuntana, its northerly block of mountains, is both a Unesco World Heritage Site (30 points, for the centuries of agricultural toil it has witnessed), and home to one of Spain’s grandest peaks: Puig Major, which, at 4,741ft (1,445m), soars above the many cyclists who ride the range (84 points).

Cala Llombards is one of Mallorca’s top beaches - getty

Holiday heaven

How to do it

A week’s stay at the four-star Trendhotel Alcudia (close to Playa de Muro), flying from Cardiff on July 28, starts at £1,113 a head via Tui (020 3451 2716).

6. Malta

By far the smallest island in this top 10 (only a tenth of the size of Mallorca), Malta packs a great deal into its 122 square miles. It boasts three distinct entries on the Unesco World Heritage list (worth 50 points), two of them (subterranean burial ground the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum and the seven megalithic temples dotted across the landmass) evidence that life was thriving here in the third millennium BC.

There is modernity too, of course – more Padi-listed dive sites than any other inclusion in this top 10 (100 sites in total; 60 points), and seven Michelin-starred restaurants (50 points). One of them, Under Grain – where chef Victor Borg serves modern Mediterranean fare – is housed in a vaulted chamber at the Rosselli Hotel in the third of those Unesco sites, Valletta, a city whose high walls and 16th-century grandeur make it one of Europe’s most spectacular capitals.

Valletta, Malta’s capital, is a Unesco World Heritage Site - Rob Wilson

Holiday heaven

For all its history, Malta is best known as a sun-and-sand destination. It has 13 Blue Flag beaches (62 points), including the aptly named Golden Bay, at Mellieha.

How to do it

A seven-night getaway to the five-star Radisson Blu Golden Sands Resort (a short walk from Golden Bay), flying to Malta directly from Bournemouth on July 11, costs from £939 per person – through Love Holidays (01234 230 440).

5. Corsica, France

The fourth-largest isle in the Mediterranean is rich in Napoleonic history, so it is perhaps surprising that its only imprint on the Unesco register (worth 30 points) is the Scandola Reserve – an area of coastal scrubland, of outstanding ecological importance, on its west flank.

But then, for all its size, Corsica is something of an unknown package. Its rugged interior – Monte Cinto, its highest peak, rears to 8,878ft (2,706m) (96 points) – gives it a craggy mystique, and with “just” 3.4 million visitors a year (390 people per square kilometre; 78 points), it rarely feels crowded.

Of course, this is France, so both food and drink are heavenly. Twenty different Corsican wines were ranked among the world’s best in 2025 by Decanter (40 points); the island has six Michelin-starred restaurants (40 points), not least two-star Le Casadelmar (casadelmar.fr) in south-easterly Porto-Vecchio.

Monte Cinto is Corsica’s highest peak, at 8,878ft (2,706m) - Balate Dorin/iStockphoto

Holiday heaven

Two Corsican beaches – Plage de Palombaggia and Santa Giulia, both near Porto-Vecchio – feature in the recent “World’s 50 Best” and TripAdvisor lists (40 points).

How to do it

A week at Hotel Le Pinarello in Porto-Vecchio, flying from Gatwick on July 12, starts at £3,112 a head, via Simpson Travel (020 3281 7295).

4. Cyprus

The largest island in this list that is also a country – Malta would fit into it 29 times – Cyprus is a Mediterranean giant whose high ranking owes a good deal to its size and geographic magnificence. For example, its highest peak – Mount Olympus, the 6,404ft (1,952m) snow-capped star of the Troodos Range – is worth 92 points (more than 10 per cent of the island’s total).

But there is subtlety to go with the statistics. Cyprus can claim three protected foods of origin (20 points) – not least the now hugely familiar halloumi. The island’s three Unesco-listed sites (50 points) include the archaeological remains of ancient Paphos, with their elaborate mosaics. And Cyprus’s beaches are beyond reproach; 58 of them are Blue-Flagged (58 points); one of them – lovely Fig Tree Bay, on the east coast, near Paralimni – is one of the planet’s finest, according to TripAdvisor (30 points).

Cyprus is the third-largest island in the Mediterranean - Balate Dorin/iStockphoto

Holiday heaven

Eleven Cypriot hotels have a rating of 9/10 or higher according to the Telegraph’s reviews section (15 points). These include gorgeous Anassa, a five-star retreat hidden on the Akamas Peninsula, in the remote north-west of the country.

How to do it

A seven-night stay at Anassa, flying from Gatwick to Paphos on July 4, starts at £2,342 a head, with transfers, via easyJet (0330 551 5165).

3. Crete, Greece

The largest piece of the Aegean jigsaw puzzle is no stranger to the upper reaches of lists like this – it came second (behind Kefalonia) two years ago when this travel section ranked all the islands of Greece. That silver medal earns Crete no points here, but several of its other attributes do.

With 650 miles of coast to its name, it offers an astonishing 148 Blue Flag beaches (worth 70 points) – and a trio that, according to TripAdvisor, are among Europe’s best (another 50 points). That all three (Falassarna Beach, Elafonissi Beach, Balos Lagoon) are found in the relatively remote west or north-west is a hint that Crete rewards visitors who choose to explore it. This applies in particular to Samaria National Park (40 points), the island’s geographic treasure in the south, where the gorge of the same name is a feast for the eyes.

Elafonissi Beach is known for its pink sand - Patryk Kosmider/iStockphoto

Holiday highlight

Crete was the hub of the Minoan civilisation which thrived in the Aegean from 3100-1100 BC. Its ruins (like Knossos) hold Unesco status (30 points).

How to do it

Crete is one of the Telegraph’s greatest European destinations for walking (40 points). The seven-night “Wild Crete” tour sold by Ramble Worldwide (01707 524 295) visits the Samaria Gorge. From £1,579 a head, with flights.

2. Sardinia, Italy

If Corsica still wears a cloak of mystery for many British tourists, its Italian cousin, directly to the south, is an utter enigma. The second biggest island in the Mediterranean it may be, but Sardinia sees little need to sell itself as a dream destination. Indeed, only the most devoted of Italophiles will have heard of its two national parks (worth 60 points): Asinara, an island off the north-west coast with a dark history as a prison and a quarantine zone, and La Maddalena, an archipelago rich in marine life, just off the north-east shore.

Even the oldest structures – the nuraghe, Sardinia-specific megalithic edifices that date to between 1900 and 730 BC (54 points) – are perhaps only known to history-minded travellers, though their importance is enough to make the Su Nuraxi di Barumini cluster, roughly at the heart of the landmass, one of two Sardinian Unesco World Heritage Sites (40 points).

La Pelosa is among Sardinia’s finest stretches of sand - getty

Holiday heaven

Sardinia is home to five beaches ranked among the world’s best (70 points). Cala Goloritzé, on the east coast, topped the “World’s 50 Best Beaches” poll for 2025, hailed as so beautiful that “its raw beauty has a way of touching you emotionally.”

How to do it

A seven-night half-board getaway to the five-star Valle Dell’Erica Thalasso & Spa at the north tip of the island, flying from Gatwick (to Olbia) on July 18, starts at £3,296 per person via Sovereign Luxury Travel (01293 324 799).

1. Sicily, Italy

In the end, big proves to be best. So enormous, at 9,974 square miles, that it might be a country (indeed, at various times in its history, it has been just that), Italy’s largest island has a little of everything that makes for a fine destination.

It offers seven Unesco sites (worth 100 points) – including the capital, Palermo, whose 11th-century architecture, a fusion of Arabic and Norman, earns a listing by itself. There are 22 Michelin-starred restaurants (70 points), including the doubly lauded Duomo, in southerly Ragusa. Twenty-four of its hotels are rated 9/10 or above by the Telegraph (12 points), and 21 beaches have Blue Flag status (20 points).

But its wow factor is wordlessly encapsulated by its resident dragon. You might think that playing host to an active volcano (50 points) is a bad thing, but Mount Etna is so dramatic in its behaviour, and such a critical element of the island’s soul, that it adds a special drama to Sicily’s image. It is also a national park (40 points), the highest point (11,165ft [3,403m]; 98 points), and one of the Unesco septet.

Sicily’s active volcano, Mount Etna, lends any visit to the island an element of drama - Paolo Graziosi/iStockphoto

Holiday heaven

Another of the Unesco sites, the Valle dei Templi – a cluster of ancient Greek temples in south-westerly Agrigento. The Temple of Concordia is notably glorious.

How to do it

A seven-night stay at the three-star Taodomus Boutique Hotel (one of those 24 top-rated Telegraph hotels) in Taormina, flying from Heathrow to Catania on Aug 3, costs from £1,563 per person through Expedia (020 3024 8211).

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