Ruins of the medieval castle of the Knights of St John above the village of Chorio, Halki Island, Greece

© Massimo Ripani/eStock Phot

High above the Aegean Sea. Castle ruins on the island of Halki, Greece

Halki, a tiny Greek island in the Aegean Sea, is off the beaten path and remains sleepy when other Greek islands are flush with visitors. The only way to arrive is by ferry from Rhodes. Halki has a total area of just 11 square miles, the smallest of the 26 inhabited islands in the Dodecanese group.

One of its most popular attractions is the ruins of this medieval castle built by the Knights of St John in the 14th century, in the now-abandoned village of Chorio. It’s a short, uphill walk from the only town here, the port village of Emporio, where most of the island’s residents live. A big chunk of the population left in the mid-20th century, many of them settling in the US town of Tarpon Springs, Florida.

People from the Greek islands were lured to Tarpon Springs to work as sponge divers, a skill they honed for generations in Greece. These days, not much goes on in Halki beyond eating, relaxing and swimming. Like all Greek islands, it has beautiful beaches. But unlike many others, here you’re in with a chance of having them largely to yourself.