The New Jungle Bar

Dozens of beautifully unspoiled islands fringed with quaint little harbours and topped with dazzling sugar-cube houses looking down to aquamarine waters. What’s not to like about the Greek islands?

Well its slightly rocky economy over the past few years with some hefty debt levels for one, but in 2014 things look a lot brighter in Greece than they five years ago. Confidence has returned, there are some small increases in GDP projected and the foreign property buyers came back in 2014.

For good reason, too. Tourism figures are perky because there’s little evidence of Greece’s austerity hardships in the holiday hotspots of Crete or the Cycladic isles. Wonderfully unsullied by overdevelopment, many of the islands offer an alluring cocktail of stunning beaches, ancient history and authentic fishing villages.