39°10’N; 23°29’E … SKIATHOS
You can either fly to Skiathos or fly to Athens get the ferry from Volos or Agios Konstantinos, these operate year-round, during the summer months there are also departures from other ports including Mantoudi and Alonissos. The ferry from Volos runs regularly and takes between 1.5hrs and 3.5hrs depending on the vessel you book. We don’t recommend renting the car and taking it on the ferry, it’s much much cheaper to pick up your rental car when you arrive at the port in Skiathos. For those of you flying there is an international airport in Skiathos with an Alma car rental desk there for your convenience.
Located in the verdant Sporades Islands north of Athens, Skiathos is only 12 kms long and 6 kms wide and over 44kms of coastline but celebrates beaches, hiking, boat trips, scuba diving, cycling, cultural highlights and culinary delights!
Like the rest of Greece the island of Skiathos is steeped in history, but we are actually planning a visit to this island for another reason … laid back relaxation – going at our own speed rather than trying to visit as many museums/monasteries/ruins/churches as we can possibly squeeze in. We are going in search of fresh air, sunshine, beaches, reading and great food! With over 60 beaches to choose from, with beautiful translucent cerulean waters making them some of the beaches the best in Greece, Skiathos was the obvious choice for this trip. It’s very easy to see how Skiathos earned its nickname the boomerang island, you will just want to keep going back!
Here’s a quick snippet of history for you though – the first flag of Greece was created and hoisted in Skiathos in 1807! That’s a huge claim to fame for such a small island.
There is an abundance of choices for accommodation from budget through to luxury and on our search for something different we found a private house with its own pool tucked away in the hills called Villa Erifili. It may not be a luxury 5* hotel with all the facilities but when you want peace and quiet and relaxation, this stunning villa ticks all the boxes! And despite being tucked away, everything is still only approx. 30mins drive at the most. Worth every minute. So, we decided that this would be our choice of accommodation and our base for the week, but of course it might not be yours.
First let’s visit Skiathos town, be rude not to!
So Skiathos town is a thriving town full of fascinating historic pockets, narrow alleyways, old and new town and a very busy harbour/marina – new and old again. You have the charming labyrinth of streets in the old town which offer an abundance of shops and eateries. The harbour – the new one is home to the marina – is a bustling area which you would expect and at night is when it really comes to life.
Be sure to pay a visit to the Bourtzi – the Bourtzi is a small venetian sea fortress built on an island right opposite the town and now has a causeway to join it to Skiathos town, it’s pedestrianized and is used mostly for entertainment including ….. an open-air cinema! It also has the ‘loo with a view’ so definitely worth a visit (in both ways). You can grab a cocktail, watch the sun go down and watch a movie – they often show Mama Mia and just behind the New Harbour are steps up to the little church, Agios Nikolaos, and this is a film location for Mama Mia, where Sophie sends the letters to her potential fathers. Even if you are not a Mama Mia fan, it’s worth the walk up for the stunning panoramic views over the town, especially at sunset – there are so many ways to spend sunset on the island and this one is very special. Remember to stock up with food and drinks if you have a fridge in your accommodation – a good idea is to freeze a bottle of water over night to take to the beach the next day.
Now obviously it’s impossible to visit every but for the purpose of this trip, relaxation, we will be avoiding most of the more popular beaches, in search of beautiful little Cays where you can swim, read and generally blob in the sun.
One of the nearest beaches to the villa, at only 4kms away we have Xanemos Beach. Now that seems like the most obvious place to start doesn’t it … but actually it probably isn’t. In fact, it’s probably the photo we have all seen where it looks like the aircraft is about to land on the beach, the beach is located right at the end of the runway. So, we think we will pass on that one 😊 BUT just 5 min walk from the airport your will find Amaretto café where you could grab a coffee and watch the drama of the flights coming and going, so that’s worth a visit to see first hand how talented pilots land aircraft without blowing bystanders into the sea, hitting the fence and stopping the plane on a very short runway. Very entertaining.
Day 1 – First day we figured you need to ease your skin into the sunshine so we are suggesting a leisurely breakfast at the café at the Monastery Evaggelistria then heading to the beach. Remember to stock up with snacks, fruit and water to take with you when you are heading off to beaches with no facilities. After breakfast head up to Nikotsara beach, small little cove with some pebbles and sand and quite secluded. Tonight, head into Skiathos for dinner to start working your way through the menus on offer!
Day 2 – Today head south to Fulvia’s Beach for the morning, having lunch up the road at one of the tavernas that are just a few minutes away, then heading a bit further west to Katharina beach for the afternoon. Fulvia’s should be good for snorkelling because of the rocky outcrops around it, as does Katharina. Katharina doesn’t have any parking or easy access so you will need to park up on the road and walk and climb down an overgrown woodland track (there is a rope to help), but as the main tourist beaches are either side, it’s your desert Island paradise – worth the effort!
Day 3 – This morning head straight to Paralia Mpanana – Banana Beach. It’s going to be busy, but today is watersports day – well we had stand-up paddle boarding in mind, lot of fun and relaxing once you get the hang of it. And there is a bakery just up the road where you could grab some delicious pastries and of course a coffee. There’s really nice taverna on the beach so you don’t have to take lunch or go far for it. After the ‘thrills’ of SUP if you want to go somewhere less busy you could nip round to the next bay, aptly named little Banana Beach – Mikron Mpanana .. but be prepared, it’s a nudist beach! For those of you who are not keen to show off your birthday suit you could either stay on the main beach, or head to the next bay up, Agia Eleni, where you will be treated to an amazing sunset and cheaper drinks than on Banana beach apparently 😉
Day 4 – We thought a ‘blobbing’ day was in order, well even more blobbing than other days, so have decided the destination today is Krifi Ammos beach on the east coast – it’s a beautiful bay in a quiet little cove and has a taverna so there is food, drink, toilets etc all you need to stay for the day. Swimming, sunbathing and reading is on the agenda for today.
Day 5 – The original plan for today was a relaxing, sunbathe, swim and read day, but in case you don’t come back to Skiathos you probably should do something else. So today you are going hiking. Skiathos has a Magical Forest Walk – often called the Enchanted Forest – a forest full of ancient pines, a creek, ruins etc. First though we are heading to the top end of the island, up to the Byzantine Castle of Skiathos (less than 20 min drive). It dates back to 1360 and was used to hide from Turkish pirates – they would pull up the drawbridge and fire the cannons! The inside is quite spectacular and there are simply amazing views from the castle. After that we are heading into Ourania’s Place, for breakfast, then head down to the 18th century Kechria Monastery and just past there is where the walk begins (there are a number of hikes on Skiathos, this is just one of them).
The walk will take you through the ruins of olive and water mills which outdate the monastery by more than a thousand years. The forest has earned its name of magical because it is so enchanting – with ancient trunks, gnarled mystical tree roots and huge great ferns. There’s a gurgling brook just to finish the tranquillity – there is in fact an underground river, so the island is watered from above and below, which explains why it is so lush. (it’s about a 5hr walk from the monastery so you will need to get a taxi back to the car, take money with you)
You could also go herb hiking, you will find a number of herbs growing wild including oregano, fennel, lemon balm, sage, St John’s wort, Camomile, wild Mallow and bay laurel. Either on your own or take a guided hiking tour with Ortwin Widmann (widmann@otenet.gr) who is an encyclopedia of the herbs and what they are used for. He has written a book about hiking Skiathos, so definitely worth a read if you intend to do more hiking.
Day 6 – Today we think is the day for a boat trip. With the 2 harbours, a marina and fishing, boat life is pretty common in Skiathos and there are always boats going somewhere so we saved this towards the end as a special treat! Drive to the port to get a boat round to Lalaria beach and also Kastro Beach. It can be a bit chaotic with vendors selling tickets for these boat rides so probably best to read their flyers and boards in the evening when they are not there so you can make a decision without the pressure of anyone in your ear. Then you can pick a time and boat that suits, some do a drop at Kastro but not all, so make sure if you want to stop there too that the boat you choose does offer that.
Day 7 – your last day …and you only have a half day so we figured you could head into Skiathos to do some last minute souvenir shopping (can’t have too many bottles of ouzo can you?) and breakfast, then going to laze around the pool for the morning topping up the tan before you head off to the port in the afternoon for the ferry over to Skopelos .. see you there later!
As always we hope you have enjoyed this trip and look out for our next trip where we explore Skopelos. μέχρι την επόμενη φορά!
Sources and credits:
Wiki
Themediterraneantraveller.com
Highheelsandabackpack.com
Alwaysonboard.it
Tripadvisor
1island64beaches.com
Discovergreece.com
