(CNN) — From legendary nightlife hotspots to volcanic outposts far off the continent’s mainland, Europe has islands in spades. However for each Mykonos, Ibiza or Santorini, there’s someplace lesser recognized and equally pretty to flee to the place you’ll be able to ditch the crowds and get nearer to nature.
Listed below are a number of the finest islands in Europe for getting away from virtually everybody:
Schiermonnikoog, the Netherlands
House to simply 950 folks and a lone city, Schier, as locals name their island, is primarily nationwide parkland, lined in dunes and forests and with a few of Europe’s most pristine seashores.
“Apart from the attractive nature and the vastness of it, there may be not a lot to do on the island. And that’s exactly the allure,” says Annemarieke Romeijn, who has a vacation house on Schiermonnikoog and has been visiting all her life.
Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland

There are extra puffins than folks right here, however human guests are richly rewarded.
Thor/Adobe Inventory
A cataclysmic volcanic eruption on Heimaey in 1973 lined the realm in 200 hundreds of thousands tons of ash and lava however miraculously only one loss of life was reported. Immediately, utter peace reigns, with lonely mountain climbing trails to discover and huge ocean views.
Solely about 4,500 folks share Vestmannaeyjar with practically 1,000,000 puffin pairs that make up the most important Atlantic puffin colony on the planet. The breeding season, between April and late summer time, sees birds careening from the cliffs and carrying fish to their younger in cliffside burrows.
Flores Island, Azores, Portugal

Waterfalls trickle down an imposing rock face on the island Flores within the Azores.
aroxopt/Adobe Inventory
Some of the distant islands in an already distant archipelago, Flores Island within the westernmost stretches of the Azores is a nature lover’s dream.
Deep blue crater lakes, vivid inexperienced slopes, plunging valleys, waterfalls and boiling sizzling springs are among the many otherworldly sights on the 55-square-mile volcanic island house to roughly 3,400 folks, the place you’ll be able to arrive by way of flights from different Azorean islands
With simply 26 rooms, Lodge das Flores is Flores’ largest lodge, situated within the island’s predominant harbor city, Santa Cruz das Flores. Trip leases are scattered all through the island.
Naustholmen, Norway
Guests should fly into Bodø in Northern Norway then proceed north by boat to succeed in this non-public island owned by Norwegian adventurer Randi Skaug, the primary Norwegian lady to scale Mount Everest.
Isle of Tiree, Scotland

This turquoise paradise is off the western coast of Scotland.
Richard Kellett/Adobe Inventory
One take a look at the turquoise and deep sapphire waters and excellent surf waves rolling onto its shores and it is clear why the Isle of Tiree is typically known as the Hawaii of the North.
Probably the most westerly island within the Inside Hebrides archipelago, off mainland Scotland’s west coast, 12-mile-long Tiree is understood for its delicate local weather, clear air and delightful white sand seashores that might simply be mistaken for the Caribbean in images if not in individual (August water temperatures are within the brisk higher 50s Fahrenheit, or about 14 Celsius).
Berlengas archipelago, Portugal

About six miles off the coast from Peniche, the Berlengas archipelago is a superb scuba diving vacation spot.
Luis Fonseca/iStockphoto/Getty Pictures
Berlengas Grande has campsites open in the course of the summer time the place guests can sleep in a single day and really feel on their lonesome underneath the Milky Method.
Mola mola (ocean sunfish) can typically be seen within the waters, and the islands are one of the crucial necessary locations alongside mainland Portugal’s coast for breeding seabirds.
Alicudi, Sicily, Italy
Wild and rugged, Aliduci is the least inhabited of the seven islands within the chain off Sicily’s northern coast that embrace Stromboli and Lipari, amongst others.
Alicudi’s distinctive volcanic cone rises from the Tyrrhenian Sea to dramatic impact, with colourful fishing boats bobbing alongside the shoreline finishing the postcard look. Shopping for fish straight from the fishermen in Alicudi is to not be missed.
There are not any vehicles right here and solely round 100 residents, so discovering a quiet spot all to your self isn’t a difficulty. The upper you stroll alongside lava stone steps main up the volcanic slopes, the deeper the silence and escapism.
Skyros, Greece

Skyros is one among two dozen islands in Greece’s Sporades chain.
dinosmichail/iStockphoto/Getty Pictures
Greek islands like Santorini and Mykonos within the Cyclades can get so sardined with vacationers in the course of the summer time months that you just could be left questioning what all of the hype is about. For a extra remoted expertise within the Greek islands, set your sights as a substitute north within the Aegean Sea to the island of Skyros.
Certainly one of 24 islands within the largely uninhabited Sporades chain within the northwest Aegean Sea, Skyros is reached by way of flights from mainland Greece in addition to by ferry from the mainland and different close by Greek islands.
As soon as there, there are secluded seashores to discover, a Byzantine fort towering over the principle city and sea and even an historical breed of miniature horse, the Skyrian horse, that lives within the wild solely on this island.
Except the lead as much as Lent — when Skyros’ well-known carnival places the island into nonstop occasion mode with parades and costumed revelry and an inundation of Athenians — it is a supremely peaceable place.
Rathlin Island, Northern Eire
Stretching six emerald-hued miles lengthy and only one mile extensive, Rathlin Island off the coast of Northern Eire is house to solely about 150 everlasting residents.
Guests who arrive by way of a fast ferry crossing from Ballycastle on the mainland are transported to a wilderness of dramatic sea cliffs house to hundreds of nesting birds that embrace puffins, guillemots, kittiwakes and razorbills. Colonies of harbor seals and gray seals line Rathlin’s distant inlets.
Mountaineering trails crisscross the ruggedly scenic island and skilled scuba divers are drawn underwater to discover the scores of shipwrecks simply offshore that embrace the HMS Drake, torpedoed by a German U-boat throughout World Conflict I.
Fasta Åland, Finland
Within the Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland, the Åland archipelago has greater than 6,500 islands, of which solely about 60 are inhabited. To say there’s room to stretch out and breathe on these Baltic Sea islands is an understatement.
An autonomous area, the islands belong to Finland however are solely 25 miles from Sweden, with Swedish because the official language.
Fasta Åland is the most important island within the archipelago and a very good base for explorations. Tour by bike to close by islands linked by ferries and bridges or simply settle right into a trip rental or lodge with a sauna and sea views for a calming reset.