15 car-free islands in Europe where you won’t have to worry about petrol costs this summer – iNews

Seek out traffic-free islets across the continent, including options in Spain, France, Italy, Greece and the UK.

The last permanent resident of The Great Blasket left the largest island of this archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Dingle Peninsula in the 50s. It will be just you, a handful of other guests staying in the islands five traditional self-catering cottages and the seals sunning themselves on the sandy Tra Bhan. Forget traffic noise instead you will hear the wild crash of the Atlantic, the wind and the seabirds on this island, which is 5km from Dunquin on the mainland. Cottages sleeping four from 140 (120) a night, greatblasketisland.net

Littered with granite boulders, the frilly 15km coastline of this tiny island between Corsica and Sardinia is edged by clear, cobalt-blue waters. It is a low-key but glamorous French island with a distinctly Italian flavour, where electric golf carts, bikes and two feet are the only ways to discover its hidden coves and quiet beaches. Among the private villas, its only hotel, the smart Htel & Spa des Pcheurs, which used to be a boarding house for sailors, teeters over the water. Doubles from 340 (293) B&B, hoteldespecheurs.com

Untamed, natural beauty is what you get on the three uninhabited and off-the-beaten-track Islas Ces, off the Galician coast of north-western Spain. They form the National Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia and the only way to stay on the largest of this trio reached by ferry from Vigo is to camp. Visitor numbers are limited by the authorities, but those who do come can lounge in splendid isolation on one of the castaway beaches such as the Isla Praia des Rodas and snorkel, kayak and explore the walking trails. From 8.90 (7.70) a night with tent or 53 (46) a night for a tent, lasislascies.com, campingislascies.com

Many a childhood summer has been spent inhaling the salty sea air and playing on the sandy beaches of the traffic-free island of Juist a slender finger of land that forms part of Germanys northerly East Frisian Islands between the Wadden and North seas. Also aptly known as Twerland, which translates as magic land, it is the simple pleasures here that enchant building sandcastles, paddling, exploring dunes and lounging in stripy basket chairs that are scattered along its broad beaches. juist.de

The Swallows and Amazons experience can be had at the tiny, private island of Shuna in the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. Dominated by the crumbling remains of the imposing Shuna Castle, the island measures just three-and-a-half miles long and one-and-a-half miles wide. There are kayaks and canoes to explore its coastline and each of the seven cottages, sleeping between four and 12, comes with its own boat. From 450 a week, islandofshuna.co.uk

Swedens answer to Italys Cinque Terre coastal path is the Kuststigen trail, which traverses a scenically diverse swathe between the island of Tjrn in the south all the way up the west coast to Oslo in the north. The newest section, the 27km Gteborgs Skrgrdsled leg, opened on 14 May and threads its way through the Gothenburg archipelago across the car-free islands of Hn, Fot and cker, which are all easily accessible by public transport from Gothenburg. westswedentrails.com

Privately owned Tresco in the Isles of Scilly is the quintessential low-fi UK holiday isle. This tiny, family-owned speck of land, measuring just two-and-a-half miles by one, is 25 miles off the Cornish coast from Lands End. With a collection of holiday cottages, houses and 16 newly redone guestrooms at its New Inn, a highlight is the Tresco Abbey Garden, established in the 19th century and a verdant haven of more than 20,000 plants and 4,000 specimens from more than 80 countries around the world. Doubles at the New Inn from 185 B&B, tresco.co.uk

An hour by ferry north-west of Dubrovnik, lying in the sparkling waters of the Adriatic, is the traffic-free Lopud, one of the largest of the Elaphiti archipelago. Its pin-up is Sunj Beach, a golden crescent of sand, while the island is also home to one of Europes newest film and cultural events the Ponta Lopud Festival (pontalopud.hr), held in June, which attracts A-listers such as the Coen Brothers. Lopud1483 is an eye wateringly expensive, restored 15th-century hotel with a world-class art collection and five bedrooms, but when guests are not in residence tours can be arranged (lopud1483.com

Parasol pine forests and vineyards criss-crossed by hiking and biking trails form an alluring mosaic on Porquerolles, a more tranquil take on the Cte dAzur. It is the largest of the three les dHyres, also known as the Golden Isles, which are surrounded by a marine park 10 minutes by ferry from the French coast near Toulon. Its craggy outline is dotted with cliffs, coves and pretty beaches edged by glittering seas. The Fondation Carmignac (fondationcarmignac.com) is a relatively new contemporary art institution housed in a restored Provenal farmhouse surrounded by Mediterranean gardens. Doubles at Auberge Glycines in the main town from 110 (95), auberge-glycines.com

One of the Aeolian Islands off the north-eastern coast of Sicily, Alicudi is the most remote of this volcanic chain, where its traffic-free status only adds to the feeling of serenity and seclusion. Donkeys transport visitors luggage from the small port lined with colourful fishing boats, up its vertiginous steps and slopes and interior blanketed by capers and prickly pears. Casa 3 Archi is a stylishly renovated Aeolian style self-catering house sleeping up to four from 135 (116) a night, airbnb.com

Donkeys are the main mode of transport on Hydra, which lies in the Saronic Gulf just over an hours ferry ride from Athens. It is an island dotted with more than 300 churches, where locals and visitors move around by foot or taxi boat to visit its more remote beaches and coves. Over the years its natural beauty and bohemian air have attracted a legion of devotees writers, artists and musicians including arguably its most famous one-time resident singer-songwriter, Leonard Cohen. Lined with stone mansions ascending up a natural amphitheatre, Hydra port is the place to pull up a chair at a waterside caf and watch the world go by. The Four Seasons hotel is right on the water, overlooking Vlychos Beach. Doubles from 235 (202) B&B, fourseasonshydra.gr). Self-catering Villa Birmisa has doubles from 110 a night, booking.com

The smallest of the Channel Islands, at just 1.3 miles long and less than half a mile wide, Herm lies three miles from its nearest neighbour Guernsey. It offers a complete disconnect among its flower-lined trails and high cliffs, with dreamy sea views, coves and sandy beaches. With a permanent population of just 65, the island is bestowed with a natural bucolic beauty and scattered with cottages to rent or you can stay at the islands only hotel, The White House Hotel. Doubles from 145 B&B, herm.com

Actually four small islands in one, Lyngr is a picturesque huddle of weathered clapboard houses off Norways southern Baltic Sea coast, known as the Norwegian Riviera. Only reachable by boat and popular with weekenders, this island of fewer than 100 residents was recognised as Europes best-preserved village in 1991 by Unesco for its historic houses, small lanes, rocky outcrops and sandy beaches. Be lulled to sleep by the sounds of the waves at the Lyngr Lighthouse, set on an islet by Tvedestrand. Run by the Aust-Agder Trekking Association, single beds in its hostel-style rooms from Nkr150 (12.50), ut.no, visitnorway.com.

Its crystalline waters are a big draw for divers, but the car-free island of Comino is also a haven of tranquillity. Midway between Malta and Gozo, with just a handful of residents, its star attraction is the Blue Lagoon. But the real beauty is to stay on the island and have it to yourself when all the visitors have gone. visitmalta.com

A short hop from the capital Tallinn, this is one of Estonias 2,222 islands. Its a protected nature reserve, dotted with historic and military remnants, the 12th-century Eerikneeme stone labyrinth and a diverse landscape that includes dunes, bogs, forest and beaches. Its peaceful pathways are a draw for hikers and those interested in nature. The self-catering Aegna Beach House sleeps between six and 12 people and costs from 250 per week based on six sharing. visitaegna.ee

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15 car-free islands in Europe where you won't have to worry about petrol costs this summer - iNews