Greek

The historic island of Syros in the Cyclades is home to a cat sanctuary where volunteers from around the world can stay for free in exchange for caring for animals – and it’s been described as a quieter alternative to Santorini and Mykonos

Holidaymakers can seize the opportunity to live on a stunning Greek island with free accommodation, breakfast, and utilities in return for volunteering at a cat sanctuary and assisting with animal care. The position is based on the historic island of Syros, situated in the Cyclades within the Aegean Sea, where the Syros Cats sanctuary operates.

Since the 1990s, the sanctuary has led the way in feline welfare, implementing trap, neuter and return (TNR) schemes, overseeing animal health, and facilitating the safe integration of stray cats within the local community.

The sanctuary welcomes volunteers from across the globe to join its team and embrace animal care while discovering life on a Greek island. They are seeking volunteers who are physically capable, responsible, healthy, and self-sufficient, able to commit to staying for at least one month.

Applicants must be prepared to dedicate five hours daily, five days a week, to vital duties. These include cleaning living areas, preparing and serving meals, socialising kittens, and providing a secure, nurturing environment for the cats.

Those with veterinary expertise or experience handling feral cats are especially encouraged to apply, though the programme welcomes anyone prepared to roll up their sleeves, demonstrate reliability, and genuinely interact with the animals. In exchange, volunteers are provided with free lodgings, breakfast, and access to amenities, enabling them to fully concentrate on their tasks while basking in the Mediterranean sun, reports the Express.

The sanctuary’s efforts have revolutionised the dynamic between the island’s inhabitants and its cat population. Richard Bowell, co-founder of God’s Little People Cat Rescue, which works in partnership with Syros Cats, stated: “We want to show the world that we really care about animals. The way we treat them reflects something of our own humanity.”

As a result of these endeavours, the local community now regards cats with respect and pride, marking a significant departure from the apathy or animosity previously displayed.

Syros is often touted as a quieter, less touristy alternative to more renowned Greek islands such as Santorini and Mykonos. YouTubers Katie and George from Intersection Voyage highlighted the island’s allure during a recent trip: “Every year, millions of people travel to Greece’s most famous islands, Santorini and Mykonos. However, after travelling to both Santorini and Mykonos, I have come to realise that there are some other, way less commercialised islands, which are amazingly rich in history and scenery.”

They added: “We will be spending the next three days on one of Greece’s most historic and beautiful Greek islands, exploring hidden cave churches, local beaches, unique cuisine and the island’s famous tourist attractions.”

Reflecting on their experience, they said: “Looking back on this island, there was something just magical about it. It was unique and authentic and it had something for everyone. I found the locals were extremely kind and generous and were always willing to help if you needed it. We didn’t even scratch the surface of how many hidden places there are to see.”

Applications for the 2026 volunteer season are now closed, but those keen to participate in 2027 can apply when registration reopens in September 2026 via the official Syros Cats website or sign up to their newsletter for updates.

Renae Wąsik was fed up with the UK’s grey skies and spiralling cost of living

When the sodden winters, soaring costs and relentless gloom of British existence finally overwhelmed her, Renae Wąsik realised she’d reached breaking point. “I felt like I was going crazy,” reveals the 43-year-old PR executive.

“Grey skies make me feel sad, bleak and trapped. I didn’t want my baby growing up in that.”

Therefore, in November 2025, Renae and her partner Pawel decided jointly to abandon their existence in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, relocating with their two-year-old daughter, Rocca, to an obscure village unknown to most Britons: Vasiliki, situated on the Greek island of Lefkada, nestled between Corfu and Kefalonia. Within months, she claims the transformation has been revolutionary.

“In the UK, we were paying close to £3,000 a month just to live, that covered rent, council tax and utilities, for a suburban home with a tiny garden,” she explains. “It was wet, miserable and exhausting. Now we’re renting an off-season Airbnb for €800 (£690) a month, I can walk to the sea, and I wake up feeling free.”

Renae, who established The Atticism PR and Brand Development, has cultivated a thriving career spanning more than 20 years and frequently documents her fresh lifestyle on TikTok, where her content has accumulated more than half a million likes, though not everyone has celebrated her relocation. Whilst certain followers fantasise about emulating her journey, others have branded her ‘privileged’, ‘out of touch’, or even accused her of ‘stealing housing from locals’.

Renae refuses to accept such criticism. “People say it’s ‘not that easy’ to live and work overseas, and they’re right,” she explains.

“It’s not easy. But it’s also not impossible. If it’s truly your goal, you’ll work for it. Nothing falls in your lap.”

She also rejects the notion that she’s taking more than she contributes. “We’ve been really conscious about contributing,” she insists.

“I work in PR and I help get the island press exposure for free. Pawel is a painter and decorator and has been helping locals who are desperate for skilled labour. We’re living in an off-season Airbnb that sits empty all winter, and when we build our house, we’ll hire local trades. This isn’t a ‘take, take, take’ situation.”

The emotional transformation, she reveals, was instantaneous. “The moment we arrived, my husband and I looked at each other and said, ‘Oh my God, we escaped’,” she recalled.

“The UK feels like a rat wheel. You work to live, and by the weekend you’re so exhausted you just want to order Deliveroo, which is so expensive you have to work even more. Here, the pressure just lifted.”

She portrays Britain as suffocating. “The sky feels low. Everything feels heavy. Here, I see the sea and sky every single day. There’s space. I feel calm. I can breathe again,” she adds.

Renae is keen to emphasise that Greek island living isn’t some picture-perfect postcard fantasy. “If you’ve done Santorini or Mykonos and think that’s real life, you’re in for a shock,” she warns.

“It rains, a lot. There’s no food convenience. I’ve lost three kilos because I can’t just snack whenever I want. Sometimes I honestly can’t look at another courgette.”

But she shrugs. “I sacrifice convenience for peace.”

One surprising element that also swayed her choice to quit Britain was a series of utterly exasperating encounters with the NHS, which eventually drove her to pursue treatment overseas. “I’ve had some useless experiences,” she says bluntly.

“I was once told I might have breast cancer and then had to wait six weeks for a scan. Later, they said one of my breast implants had capsulated and they’d remove just one.”

When she requested both to be taken out, even offering to pay, she was turned down. “They said they’d take one out, sew me up, and I’d have to sort the other privately later,” she says. “It was insane.”

Instead, she travelled to Turkey, where a consultant found both implants were faulty. “I was lucky I went,” she says.

“The NHS has potential, but the system is chaotic. I’ve had blood tests lost, appointments messed up, they even accidentally deleted my daughter from the surgery system while she had a 40-degree fever and refused to see us. It’s just been a mess.”

For Rocca, the relocation has been life-changing. “The outdoors!” Renae beams.

“Sunshine, even in December. She’s not stuck inside watching TV, she’s climbing rocks, playing with water, exploring. And she’s seen here.”

In Greece, she explains, youngsters are genuinely welcomed. “In restaurants, staff greet her, make a fuss, talk to her. It took months for her to get used to it. In the UK, she was mostly ignored.”

Their routine now moves at a completely different rhythm. “We wake up without alarms. Coffee in bed. We work until lunchtime while Rocca plays outside painting or in her sandpit,” she explains.

“Lunch is simple, most days are spinach pies or salad. Then we explore: beaches, neighbouring towns, counting cats.”

The evenings are leisurely and sociable. “We cook early, eat around 5pm, maybe take a walk or read. It’s relaxed and peaceful.”

And this isn’t just a short-term experiment. “Oh yes, this is forever,” Renae confirms.

“We’ve bought a 4,600-square-metre plot of land overlooking the sea for less than the price of a one-bedroom flat in Bedfordshire. We’ll build our home here.”

From late March onwards, the family will settle into a two-bedroom property for €500 (£430) monthly, within easy reach of ferries, beaches, a marina and freshly caught seafood, complete with a balcony laden with orange, lemon and mandarin trees.

“Our neighbour gives us all the olive oil we need, and we’ll help him with the harvest,” she beams. “Everyone helps everyone. It’s a real community.”

Renae continues to return to Britain for work commitments and visits with her two older daughters, aged 22 and 23, but the UK is no longer where she calls home. “I’ll always come back,” she says. “But this, this is where we’re building our life.”

And for those observing from a dreary British settee, questioning whether it’s achievable? “I’m not saying everyone should do it,” she says. “I’m saying I did, and I’m finally happy.”

Greece’s coastguard says 26 other people have been rescued from Aegean Sea as search-and-rescue operations continue.

A boat carrying migrants and asylum seekers has collided with a Greek coastguard vessel in the Aegean Sea near the island of Chios, killing at least 14 people, the coastguard says.

The incident occurred around 9pm local time on Tuesday (19:00 GMT) off the coast of Chios’s Mersinidi area, Greece’s Athens-Macedonian News Agency (AMNA) reported.

The coastguard said 26 people were rescued and brought to a hospital in Chios, including 24 migrants and two coastguard officers.

It said it was not immediately clear how many others had been on the speedboat.

Seven children and a pregnant woman were among the injured, Greek media reported.

A search-and-rescue operation involving patrol boats, a helicopter and divers was under way in the area, AMNA said.

Footage shared by Greece’s Ta Nea newspaper appeared to show at least one person being brought from a boat docked next to a jetty into a vehicle with blue flashing lights.

An unnamed coastguard official told the Reuters news agency that the collision occurred after the migrant boat “manoeuvred toward” a coastguard vessel that had instructed it to turn back.

Greece has long been a key transit point for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa ‌and Asia trying to reach Europe.

In 2015 and 2016, Greece was on the front line of a migration crisis, with nearly one million people landing on its islands, including in Chios, from nearby Turkiye.

But arrivals have dropped in recent years as Greece ‌has toughened its asylum seeker and migrant policies, including by tightening border controls and sea ‌patrols.

The country has come under scrutiny for its ⁠treatment of migrants and asylum seekers approaching by sea, including after a shipwreck in 2023 in which hundreds of migrants and refugees died after what witnesses said was the coastguard’s attempt to tow their trawler.

The European Union’s border ‌agency said last year that it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece, including some allegations that people seeking asylum were pushed back from Greece’s ‍frontiers.

Greece has denied carrying out human rights violations or pushing asylum seekers from its shores.

THERE’S a forgotten utopia among the 200+ Greek islands crying out for Brits to come and enjoy its untouched beaches, mouth-watering gyros and beers aplenty.

Karpathos may be the 15th largest Greek island but the population is only about 6,500, so it flies relatively under the radar — a paradise for off-grid explorers.

You’ll spot mainly Italian and Dutch tourists, although the majority of hotel and restaurant staff speak perfect English.

And they are thrilled to have us here, unlike some destinations where anti-tourist protests are in full force.

“We love the Brits, we want the Brits,” one restaurant owner told us.

Perhaps the reason it remains so off-grid is the long journey there.

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

Although Karpathos has an airport, there are no direct flights from the UK, which leaves only two options: flying in via Athens, or jetting into Rhodes and taking a ferry.

We opted for the latter, hopping on a smooth easyJet flight from Gatwick for our first leg before whizzing over by boat.

If the journey sounds too hellish to do in one, you can break it up into stages.

It was my first time visiting Greece and I wanted to see some of Rhodes, so we stayed one night in the main hub before moving on to Karpathos.

Rhodes is undeniably beautiful and has lots to offer but in my short time there I couldn’t help noticing how samey it felt.

Tourist-trap shops, restaurants that want to get you in and out fast and a bit too heavy on the drunken booze scene.

Karpathos is relaxed and uncrowded — and we were grateful for it

Karpathos, by comparison, is relaxed and uncrowded — and we were grateful for it.

The boat trip takes four hours with Blue Star Ferries, stopping at a couple of other islands on the way. But we didn’t mind soaking up the blue skies and seeing the sights as we went.

Karpathos’s main town centre, Pigadia, is where most of the action happens, with a number of family restaurants, bars and shops, all of which are easily walkable.

But to get the most out of the island you’ll want to hire a car. Just beware of the winding roads!

Karpathos may not boast a lively nightlife, but what it does have is a gobsmackingly gorgeous selection of beaches.

There are more than 110 to discover — some of the smaller ones don’t even have names.

We arrived at a tiny hidden one with the sort of crystal clear waters I’ve only ever seen in Hawaii

And you can quite easily stumble across a beach and have it completely to yourselves.

We arrived at a tiny hidden one with the sort of crystal clear waters I’ve only ever seen in Hawaii.

Another five-minute drive down the road and you’ll come across another, then another.

Some of the sandy beaches are flanked by restaurants and places to grab a beer, like Lefkos and Limniatis, while most of the pebble shores tend to be deserted.

Take your pick, the world is very much your oyster here.

It’s hard to choose a favourite among the dozen we visited but Achata Beach wins.

I love how it’s swallowed by mountains and has hardly anything surrounding it.

You can rent a lounger for 20 euros and there’s a bar serving food and drinks straight to loungers.

Away from the sunloungers, there is a range of coastal activities for all the family, dotted along the island.

We took a windsurfing lesson one day, guided by patient surfing pros. Another day we embarked on a bumpy motorboat trip, which took us to the uninhibited Saria Island, to the north of Karpathos.

Women in charge

As well as seeing the beautifully remote landscapes, we snorkelled through a cave soaking up the sight of colourful fish in the most breathtaking setting.

For those seeking more culture, the mountain village of Olympus is a must, with narrow paths and old houses built into slopes.

You’ll see women dressed in traditional embroidered clothing — and this is one of the rare places in the world where women are traditionally in charge.

Go to Olympus in the later part of the day to avoid the surge of visitors and you’ll get one of the best unobstructed views of the sunset ever.

And what goes perfectly with sunsets? Sundowners. I’ve never been more satisfied, in terms of choice, quality and price when it comes to drinks and dining.

Restaurants are largely family-run establishments bursting with genuinely friendly people desperate for you to try some traditional grub. And meals cost far less than in a chain eatery in the UK.

You can stick to the familiar burgers and pasta, but if you’re looking for a local speciality I highly recommend the saganaki, a slab of cheese pan-fried, giving it a golden-brown crispy crust.

My favourite came from the Maxim family restaurant.

Zucchini croquettes were another top pick; Orea restaurant does them best.

Oh, and did I mention the tiropitakia — feta cheese wrapped in a flaky pastry drizzled with honey? I could go on.

Best of all, everything is made with sharing in mind so you don’t have to miss out on anything.

As for drink, don’t be surprised if the owner comes to have a shot of Akai with you at your table.

But for something a bit softer there’s beer and Greek lager such as Mythos for only a few euros.

Maybe Karpathos has more of a party atmosphere than it first let on . . . 

A sun-drenched island in the Ionian Sea that boasts “sugar-white beaches” and “turquoise waters” could be accessible for as little as £23 and has beers for just £1.75

A Greek “delight” that draws comparisons to the sun-kissed Caribbean could be accessible for as little as £23, with beers for just £1.75. A snorkelling hotspot with lush forests, mountains, vineyards, and coves, the Ionian island of Kefalonia has reportedly gained in popularity and boasts “sugar-white beaches” and “turquoise waters”.

Indeed, the sun-drenched island lies between the popular destinations of Lefkada and Zakynthos and offers curious visitors spectacular scenery, along with the much-loved Mediterranean climate.

If you choose to travel during certain months, you could also find some tranquillity. According to Metro’s Charlie Sawyer, April and May tend to be less crowded, and by late April, temperatures can reach up to 20°C.

Charlie wrote: “The cost of flying to Kefalonia depends on how flexible you are, but there are several deals available. For example, flying with easyJet from London Gatwick on Thursday, April 9, for a week-long trip, would right now set you back £88.

“Or if you’re happy to ditch a checked bag and seat reservation, you could fly easyJet out from any London airport one-way to Kefalonia on Wednesday, April 15, for just £23.

“Once you’ve arrived, grab a local beer, which will only set you back £1.75.”

Some of the local highlights include the capital, Argostolion; the brightly coloured village of Fiscardo; the Melissani and Drogarati caves; the picturesque village of Assos; and Ainos National Park.

Despite its many attributes, Kefalonia sees less than half the number of tourists that visit Santorini each year—755,929 international guests compared to Santorini’s 1,543,796, according to data from Fraport Greece.

It’s reportedly also loved by celebrities and royals, with famous visitors including The Prince and Princess of Wales, along with their three young children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

Last year, the Waleses were said to have spent time sailing around western Greece, stopping at a number of local destinations, but are believed to have enjoyed most of their time in Kefalonia.

Travel experts at Iglu Cruise said: “Kefalonia is a fantastic holiday destination, often regarded as a hidden gem of Greece. During the summer, you’ll find fewer crowds compared to popular islands such as Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, or Corfu, making it perfect for those looking to unwind and relax.”

Notably, the Nicolas Cage and Penélope Cruz film Captain Corelli’s Mandolin was filmed on the Ionian island, with other celebrities reported to have visited, including Demi Moore, Tom Hanks, and Madonna.

A popular area for yachting, another famous name linked to the island is Kylie Jenner (known from Keeping Up with the Kardashians), who, in July 2025, brought her family to Kefalonia on a superyacht while visiting islands around Greece.