From the breathtaking beaches to the pretty ports, the Greek Islands are irresistible. Whichever island you choose to visit you're guarranteed to experience great food, hospitable locals and the alluring Greek sea. But with hundreds of diverse islands to choose from, how do you decide? Read on to get to grips with the Greek Islands!

DK Eyewitness Top 10 Greek Islands

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Lying off the west coast of mainland Greece, the scattered Ionian islands share dramatic coastlines of plunging cliffs and blue seas, backed by cypresses and olive groves. Most islands are reached easily from the mainland or overseas and visitors flock here in summer for beach holidays.

Best for: West coast beaches, Italianate churches

Home to: Corfu Town

Experience: Feeling like you're in the Caribbean on Vrika beach, Antipaxi

The rugged Argo-Saronics, easy to reach from the mainland, are extremely popular on the weekends. Despite being home to cosmopolitan port towns packed with trendy bars and shops, these islands still feel a world apart from the capital.

Best for: Characterful port towns

Home to: Égina, Temple of Aphaia

Experience: The wild Easter celebrations on Ýdra

The rich and the beautiful first docked their yachts on the then-deserted beaches of Skiathos and Skopelos in the 1960s and 70s. No longer as exclusive, but even more popular, the Sporádes offer preternaturally blue seas, green countryside and achingly photogenic towns, whereas gigantic Évvia has compelling archaeological sites, museums and thermal spas.

Best for: Unspoiled mountain scenery on Évvia, yachting holidays

Home to: Halkida

Experience: Wildlife spotting on a boat tour through Sporádes Marine Park

Whatever you're looking for in a Greek island holiday, you'll find it in the Northeast Aegean. Closer to Turkey than to Greece, the seven major islands here have distinct personalities, from the isolated and brooding Samothráki to the busy resort island of Thásos, all marked by significant ancient sites. While Sámos, Thásos and Lésvos attract the package-holiday crowd, Samothráki appeals to hardy nature lovers and Ikaria to those seeking a slower pace and more traditional life.

Best for: Ancient sites, hiking on Samothráki, beaches

Home to: Híos town, Néa Moní, Mastic Villages

Experience: Tasting the grapes of famed Límnos at its numerous wineries

Scattered along the coast of Turkey, the Dodecanese attracts visitors with beautiful weather, fantastic beaches and a lively nightlife. Each island is diffferent in character, as well as landscape, some, like Hálki, are stark and barren, while others, such as Tilos, are green and fertile. The islands here are scattered with dramatic fortifications left by the Knights Hospitaller, the Ottomans and the Italians, who also left an enduring taste for Italian gelato.

Best for: Charming whitewashed hilltop towns and dramatic fortifications

Home to: Pátmos, Rhodes Old Town, Rhodes New Town, Líndos

Experience: The dramatic volcanic caldera with its craters on Nísyros

With whitewashed villages, blue church domes, blonde and black-sand beaches and incredible sunsets, the Cyclades are, to many, the pinnacle of the Greek Islands - particularly Mýkonos and Santoríni. Made up of 56 islands, 24 inhabited, the large number of islands in the Cyclades ensure diversity. That means that while there are islands, like Íos, where staying until late at a club is de rigeur, others like Síkinos, are quiet and traditional.

Best for: Venetian kástra and sunset views

Home to: Delos, Santoríni

Experience: Watching a movie in the balmy Greek summer at an outdoor cinema on Mýkonos

Crete is also know as Megalónisos, the Greek Island, not just for its size, but for the space it takes up in the heart of the locals. The most southerly, and largest, of the Greek Islands, Crete is dominated by soaring mountains and innumerable beaches, and is marked with a history of occupation that has not dimmed the Cretan passion for individuality and freedom. Its north coast bustles with resorts as well as historic towns, while the south-west is less developed. The island has possibly the best hiking in the Aegean, and attracts rugged hikers bent on trekking through the famous Samariá Gorge.

Best for: beaches, traditional culture, Venetian castles and urban architecture

Home to: Haniá, Réthymno, Iráklio, Palace of Knossos, Phaistos, Samariá Gorge

Experience: Live Cretan music and free-flowing tsikoudiá spirit in a taverna

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