I'm planning a trip to the island in July 2026, but I've heard that it's gotten really touristy now and all the beaches are packed. Are there any lesser-known spots, or would it be better to just move the trip to May or June instead? Has anyone been there recently?
July is definitely the peak season, so May-June will be quieter, though there's still quite a few people around by then. If you can't shift your dates, try staying not in the main tourist villages like Listvyanka, but in more remote settlements - the beaches are less crowded there, prices are lower, and you can still actually get to all the cool spots.
Don't expect to find a deserted spot right in the center of the island in July - it's like hoping for an empty beach in Sochi at the height of the season. By that time, tourist crowds have already flooded all the popular routes, and no secret trails will save you.
A friend of mine went there in early July last year and later said that even on the way out of Listvyanka during the day you can barely move. But here's what helped - he made a point of waking up before dawn and managed to hit the most famous spots like Cape Khoboy or the Three Brothers rocks when there were at most a couple dozen people there. By eight in the morning, tour buses started rolling in with tourists, and you couldn't take decent photos anymore. If you're not a morning person and getting up early is torture for you, it's more honest to shift your trip to May or June.
The second option is to pick the less touristy parts of the island. The northern and western coastlines get visited much less frequently than the eastern one, though they're beautiful and interesting too. You can base yourself in small settlements like Islánda or Uyuta instead of tourist hubs, and make trips from there. It doesn't guarantee complete solitude, but your chances of running into crowds are much lower.
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