The Greek island named the ‘best value’ holiday destination – with golden beaches & home to the God of wine

A TINY Greek island has been named one of the best value holiday destinations in the world.

Lonely Planet has announced its annual trending destination list for 2024.

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And to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the has included the top 10 best-value destinations.

Making the top ten is the island of Ikaria, a Greek island also called Icaria.

The island is most known for the lifespan of the locals, being one of the few 'Blue Zones' in the world.

There are just five original Blue Zones - which is where people live longer than average - and one in three locals on Ikaria live to the age of 90.

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According to Lonely Planet, it is one of the best value destinations too.

Basic rooms start from €35 (£30), while a pint can be found for just €4 (£3.50).

But the history of the island is related to two famous Greek gods.

Icarus was said to have crashed on the island after their wings melted when flying too close to the sun - with the island now named after him.

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And the god of wine Dionysos, is said to have been born on the island.

This now results in parties on the saints' days called Panagiria, with lots of wine and dancing.

There are lots of wineries on the island to choose from because of this - with the most popular being Karimalis Winery which has amazing views, and Afianes Winery, which produces a popular white Begleri wine.

Otherwise goat cheese and milk are a diet staple, along with locally made honey.

But while you might expect to see the classic white and blue houses on the Greek island, like Santorini, Ikarian locals had a much more unusual style of housing.

Back in the days when pirates would attack the island, locals built their homes to look like big rocks in a bid to camouflage themselves.

Dating back to the 1st century BCE, locals have since moved out of the unique homes, although they remain as tourist attraction.

Local Eleni Mazari, who has an interest in Ikarian history, told the : "Ikarians were building homes designed to be seen by no-one, and to do it they had to go high up into the wilderness where they could not be observed from sea."

Eftychia, who runs a winery on the island with her father, added that they were often built without chimneys, to avoid giving them away, nor would they have dogs to prevent them being caught by their barking.

She added: "The structure would be low, one storey only, and lower than the maximum height of the boulder."

But for holidaymakers, one of the biggest draws are the beaches.

One of the most popular is Messakti Beach, which is said to be the best on the island with golden sands.

Or there is Seychelles Beach, named due to its similarity to the East African Island, which has marble-like pebbles and bright waters.

Or head to harbour in the town of Therma, where an open cave is home to natural hot springs, where you can float in balmy water.

To get to the island, you can travel by plane from Athens or get the ferry from the mainland, along with Kos or Mykonos.

Flights from the UK to Athens start from £16.99 with Ryanair, with the flights from Athens to Ikaria from £44.

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