Donoussa Island: The Ultimate Greek Paradise

If this summer you are searching for adventure, relaxed vibes, beautiful beaches and you’re trying everything to avoid mass tourism in Greek islands, Donousa is most probably the best option for your next vacation in Greece. Situated in the small Cyclades between Naxos and Amorgos, Donoussa is a little island approximately 7 hours by ferry from the main harbour in Athens, Pireaus. This island is really secret and well-known only by Greeks: in fact, you’ll not find many reviews on the web about it and travel guides rarely talk about it. Why? Because Donoussa has a strong hippie soul and it’s just not for everybody. Rather than a vacation, you’ll live a real life experience. If you want to know more about Greek islands, this guide is literally the best. Eddy and I went there last year in August 2019, totally randomly, to experience wild camping for the first time. If you’re not into camping, you can always find the perfect place on Travala saving 25$ on your booking. Not bad, ah? If you want to know more about how organizing your wild vacation in Donoussa Island, keep on reading to discover its traditional villages and its beaches! 

If you are on a budget, Donoussa is definitely the island for you. We spent something like 300 euros to buy all our equipment to camp, so we can say that our accommodation for the whole month of August on a Greek island was incredibly cheap! We gave a look at the different hotels and rooms on the island, but they were way too expensive for what the island has to offer you. Don’t expect to find beautiful villas like in Santorini, but rather old studios with not fancy stuff inside. So, our advice is definitely to do wild camping in Donoussa or to visit the island in September: in this way you’ll be pretty alone and you’ll pay cheaper prices. If you want to wild camping in Greece and it’s your first time, read our ultimate guide on the tools to have, on useful tricks, on where to go and how to organize the perfect wild camping vacation. Ah, for wild camping you’ll need a backpack, otherwise it would be to hard to move with a normal luggage. We have this one since 2 years and we absolutely love it!

Restaurants and supermarkets in Donoussa are pretty expensive, so forget about the cheap prices of Athens and be ready to pay 30 to 40 euros for a meal for two people. Restaurants are concentrated in the biggest villages like Stavros, Kedros, Mersini and Kalotaritissa. Since we were living in Livadi beach, we ate often in Mersini in our favourite restaurant called Tzi Tzi. The beautiful owner, the breathtaking view on the blue sea, the delicious food made us fall in love with this restaurant. If you prefer to buy food and cook on your own, we advise you to do your grocery at the harbour at “Estiatorio To Kyma” shop and restaurant. Besides being one of the most delicious restaurants, its prices are the cheapest on the island. Close by, you’ll find a more expensive fruit shop and by the church another shop which, on the other hand, is really expensive. If you want to have the ultimate guide of the restaurants in Donousa, give a look at our article.

First of all, you’ll have to reach Donousa by ferry from Piraeus in Athens. We really suggest you buy your tickets once in Athens and avoid booking them online: we struggled a lot to have them via the internet, so we end up in the most serious travel agency in Athens, Ferry Hopper. There, you’ll have the best price and the best connections. We traveled with Blue Star Ferries and we can say that in August it’s really not the best way to move: in fact, the ferry is really crowded. We advise you not to buy anything on board because the prices are ridiculously high. If you want more information about it, read our article about the cheapest way to book ferries in Greece. Once you arrive in Donousa, you can forget about all the taxi of Athens: there is only one taxi on the island! We never took it so we don’t know about its fares. We usually moved by boat, bus or feet. The ship is really typical and it’s so beautiful to sail the water of the Aegean Sea. It brings you from the harbour in Stavros to Kedros, Livadi and Fokospilia Cave. The prices are the double in August, but normally you pay something between 2 and 4 euros. The bus is less traditional, but very useful if you don’t want to walk. It drives you everywhere in the island at the same prices as the boat. You can pay the ticket on board, as for the boat, and it’s leaving as well from the port.

If you decide to visit Donousa, delete from your mind the vision of a cheesy vacation with commodities and so on. Donoussa is wild and the best way to discover its soul is by doing wild camping and merge with nature. Live following nature rhythm, respect your environment and enjoy small things. Only by doing that, you’ll really appreciate your stay. Otherwise, it will only be an island with not that much to do. 

If you guys have some questions, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment or write us an email. We will be glad to reply you!