Tiny European Islands You Can Only Reach By Ferry
Sometimes travelers need real distance between themselves and the world, and boarding a ship bound for a small, low-key island offers one of the most effective ways to find it. Adding an island day to a European itinerary can deliver a distinctly welcome break from a busy week of big-city attractions, and even the largest national parks, with their overwhelming number of trails and viewpoints, rarely offer the same sense of completion that a small island can.
A small island explored entirely on foot over a day or two, where there’s nothing to do but enjoy quiet nature or wind down an evening reading on a rocky cove, offers a distinctly different kind of travel experience. Following the coastline of nearly any European destination reveals islands like these scattered throughout the region, each reachable only by boat and each offering a considerably different flavor of escape.
Isla de Tabarca Rewards A Beach Day With Pirate History
The smallest inhabited island in the Mediterranean, Isla de Tabarca makes for a perfect day trip when exploring Spain’s Costa Blanca south of Valencia. The island sits within a marine reserve less than 5 kilometers from the coast, and the impeccably clear waters can be reached from either the sandy shore of the main beach, Platja de Tabarca, or one of the small coves just beyond the 18th-century walls of Nova Tabarca, a town that was frequently the target of pirate raids in centuries past.
Trails on the wilder side of the islet lead to lighthouses, rocky beaches and lookouts well worth exploring beyond the main settlement. Seafood paella appears on menus throughout Spain, though visitors to Tabarca should reserve a table at Mar Azul to try the island’s classic dish, a creamy rockfish stew called caldero de Tabarca.
Ferries leaving from the port in Alicante take about an hour to reach the island, though travelers can reach it more quickly from the small town of Santa Pola. From there, a speedboat takes just 25 minutes, though the ride runs notoriously splashy, so only those willing to get thoroughly soaked should sit up top.
Cape Clear Keeps Irish Alive Off Ireland’s Coast
Cape Clear, an hourglass-shaped island in the Gaeltacht, is one of the few places where Irish is still actively spoken as a first language. The water here is stunning, and dolphin sightings are fairly common along the ferry route from the mainland. Cape Clear reaches peak popularity in summer, when day-trippers arrive to enjoy the beach and walk one of the routes that encircle the island.
Various angles around the island reveal beautiful vistas of the surrounding islets, including Fastnet Rock, which balances a lighthouse on its narrow foundation at Ireland’s southernmost point. A handful of hotels and restaurants offer overnight stays, though popular attractions, such as the goat farm that serves homemade ice cream and cheese, tend to close during the shoulder and off-season months.
his particular pairing of linguistic heritage and considerable coastal scenery gives Cape Clear real standing as one of Ireland’s most distinctive island destinations. Visitors interested in the island’s linguistic heritage may find local shops and cafes a good starting point for hearing Irish spoken naturally in daily conversation. Packing a light rain jacket remains wise regardless of the season, since the weather along this stretch of the Irish coastline can shift quickly even during the summer months. Checking the ferry schedule the night before a planned crossing helps travelers avoid missing one of the limited departures during quieter months. This particular habit matters most during the quieter shoulder-season months. Fewer daily crossings mean less flexibility if plans need to shift at the last minute. Travelers with rigid return flight timelines should build in extra buffer days into their itinerary, just in case.