Travel and Holiday Guide for the Greek Island Of Skiathos.

Our Skiathos Greece Travel, Holiday and Beaches Guides are full of information about the various things you can do and see whilst on Sciathos.

The following pages contain information based around our holiday on Skiathos during July 2007 - therefore where prices and bus times and so on are mentioned these apply to this period and obviously may change especially the "prices".

Travelling to Skiathos. Many people from Northern Europe heading to Skiathos on holiday fly in on charter aircraft - the flight time from Gatwick England for instance is around 3.5 hours. The airport facilities on the island are quite limited - something you certainly notice when leaving since the queues of holidaymakers waiting to go through the various luggage scanners can be horrendous - they only have two scanners and everything has to be checked. The departure area only has perhaps enough seating for several 100 people at best and since Skiathos airport can only handle probably at the most 3 aircraft at a time this can be pretty congested too.

Anyway back on the best bit which is getting and going there for your holiday, the landing experience is quite something - aircraft have to really slam on the anchors and use every inch of the small runway otherwise it's wet feet.
Once through the usually quick passport control you are then shipped off by coach to your holiday accommodation. However it might be worth checking out the option of making your own way to your apartment rather than using the holiday company transit. We booked on the web and got the option to remove or pick various options. We always remove the hot meal since it is in our view expensive and rubbish on holiday charter flights - better just to take some nice crusty rolls or similar.
Another option we had was to remove the transit coach - at UK Pounds 7.50 each way i.e. UK GPB30 for the two of us we removed this and instead just got a taxi. Skaithos is a small island with most accommodation close to the main coast road - our taxi was 15 Euros which got us to Troulos Bay - no doddering about on the coach for ages - we were there in 15 minutes. On departure you need to remember to book a taxi at least the day before leaving since on "fly days" they are often heavily booked and thus hard to find. The above is a nice relaxed way to start your holiday in Skiathos and you save quite a bit of money too.

Getting Around. There is an excellent bus service which runs along the coast road between Skiathos Town and the far end of Koukonaries/Banana Beach - these buses start quite early in the morning and finish around 0100hrs with usually a bus every 20 minutes. They do get packed with typically busiest times Skiathos Town to Koukonaries between 10:00 and 11:30 and Koukonaries to Skiathos Town 17:00 hours through to 20:30hrs (the latter are people leaving the beaches plus others heading into Town for the evening). There is also a limited mini-bus service from Skaithos Town which goes up to the Monastery - we think this leaves at 10:15 most days but you need to check this further.
Taxis ply their trade along the main road often driving just ahead of the buses as they try to get customers waiting at the bus stops - the fare is around 10 Euros but agree it first if you use a taxi. The taxi drivers will try to get as many other passengers in as they can (stopping at other bus stops on the way) and you have to be a little firm about this - if necessary tell them you will just get out again else you might find 6 or 7 of you packed inside.
Car, Jeep and Scooter Hire and the Roads and Tracks. The main tarmac road on the Island runs from the airport to Koukonaries - the main hazard are the taxis who seem to drive like maniacs at times but generally driving is ok. There are very well graded tracks which run round (and across) the island from Koukonaries through to the main beaches on the less populated parts like the lovely Mandraki Beach etc. - these are perfectly fine for cars to use as well as scooters. Lots of people do seem to hire the far more expensive jeeps as well (safari experience... certainly a very dusty experience..?) but with one exception the track surfaces are flatter and generally better than we find on our English roads around Oxfordshire - few potholes and broken surfaces- therefore cars are a lot more comfortable and of course you can leave things in a car out of sight in the boot. The one exception is the last couple of kilometres down to Kastro - this track is driveable by car but is pretty rough in places. In July we had a Saxo for one day which was 30 Euros with all insurances - we were also told a scooter would be around 10 Euros a day (many holiday insurances do not cover any accidents on scooters we believe so think on that before hiring a scooter). We understood jeeps to be around 45 Euros a day - whichever you chose we found that the hire companies were willing to negotiate a price especially where payment was in good old cash.

Food and Drink. The food and choice on offer on Skiathos we found to be excellent - with well cooked and presented main courses varying from lamb, beef, pork and veal through to various fish choices. The main courses were huge and we soon gave up thinking of having any starters though the temptation - although we were pretty full up - to have a nice Greek yoghurt with a good lashing of wild honey or similar proved a little irresistible at times. The house reds and whites were very drinkable too - note we mainly used various tavernas along the main road areas outside of Skiathos Town - in the Town prices especially on the front were quite a lot higher and in our view not nearly as good value. Typically a main meal plus sweet and then a jug of house red cost us about 30 Euros (expect to get your jug re-filled and maybe an ouzo or two as a gift as well especially on subsequent visits.)

SKiathos Town and Harbour.

Sciathos Town itself is quite compact in shape with the sea front full of tavernas and cafes as well as many pavement stalls and shops selling items that vendors seem to think tourists are anxious to want to buy for some reason - i.e. lots of supposedly cheap t-shirts and other bric-a-bac. There is a street going from the harbour straight into the middle of the town which is for pedestrians only (except of course noisy scooters whizz about through it all the time) - this area again has a variety of tavernas and shops plus you will find the Bank of Greece a little way in where you will find an ATM.

If you care to wander a bit further away from the main tourist shops there are plenty of small streets and alleys to enjoy - these are often adorned with potted and veranda flowers and look quite picturesque.

Skiathos is on one of the main Greek Island Ferry routes - some boats coming in from the mainland and others linking the various islands. They come and go frequently - the way that a large GA Ferry Captain runs his ferry in and then just swings it round and reverses and parks is worth watching - lots of skill there. Another frequent visitor is the red Vodaphone ferry - the notable thing about this is the speed it goes - once clear of the harbour it's more like a power boat.
There are often quite a few people with suitcases/luggage wandering and waiting around the harbour area in Sciathos Town - the island provides international airport facilities for it's close neightbours of Alonissos and Skopelos - access to these islands for people coming on holiday is often via the Flying Dolphins which operate from Skiathos Town Harbour.

There is also a hydrofoil service operating - these "Flying Dolphins" which offer a fast passenger service to and from the neighbouring Greek Islands of Alonissos and Skopelos. There are also quite a few day trips which start out from the harbour - from trips out to the other close islands to round the island days out. The airport at Skiathos is quite close to Skiathos Town with the start of the fairly short runway located at the edge of Limin Bay and the airport terminal itself is around 2km. from the harbour. Taxis are usually available from near the main ferry terminal and the Island's main bus station is around several 100 metres further along the front.

Walking. There are not a lot of paths on the Island - we did as usual do a lot of hiking whilst on holiday in Skaithos but this was mainly on the tracks up in the mountains and hills - although hot out there the lovely forests and often cool sea breezes did make walking really enjoyable and because of the amount of tracks available you can easily make circular walks from anything of 4 or 5 kms to 20kms. We have a variety of walking ideas which can be found via Skiathos Holiday Walks topic.

Hazards. Two problems spring to mind - one of them being the infernal wasps. These quite small insects could be found all over the island and were a real nuisance during daylight hours - we were told that 2007 was particularly bad year for them. Open a can of Fanta or eat some fruit and they were at times really onto you - and the sting from them is particularly painful with real pain for several hours and then on and off pain for several days unless you get the sting out quickly.
The other hazard and one we were eventually extremely close to (Troulos Bay area) was forest fires - the rubbish tip caught light and eventually a 5km stretch of the island was ablaze. As the fire spread we could see huge flames and the smoke was horrendous - at times and over a period of more than 12 hours 3 helicopters and 6 sea planes at a time where dropping water onto the fire and people were having to be evacuated from the area.
All over the hills and mountains are signs asking people not to smoke yet the next day following the fire and whilst we were walking on another part of the Island near Mandraki a jeep went by on the track and out was thrown a still alight cigarette butt - so stupid. Even casually thrown glass beer bottles etc are a real hazard and can easily set off a fire. There are several photos of the fire above and having been so close to this (as well as one on Samos a few years ago) quite simply please be fire conscious and think whilst out on any of the Greek Island's lovely but very vulnerable forests.

 

Visiting Kastro whilst on Holiday on the Greek Island of Sciathos.

Kastro is sat on a high cliff which protrudes out over the sea and is a natural fortress - it's located at the high northern part of Skiathos. It was originally settled during the 14th Century because of the threat from pirates on the lower coastal part of the island.
Initially under the control of the Byzantine empire it was also occupied by the Venetians and then the Turks, then the Venetians again until the Greek State was formed. The town was also protected itself by the use of a drawbridge the remains of which can still be seen - eventually Kastro was abandoned around 1830.
There are still many ruins scattered around the hillside showing that the population at one time must have been quite large. There were also a lot of churches in Kastro and several of these have now been restored with more slowly being sorted out as money permits.

There are two ways to reach Kastro - daily excursion boats leave Skiathos and visit Kastro as part of their itinerary. Note that the boats leave you on the small pebble beach (which has a small seasonal taverna) and you then have a considerable climb up a twisty steep path to reach the town itself which can easily take 20 to 30 minutes. In July and August you also need to take account of the high temperatures which makes stiff climbs twice as difficult.
The other way to the Kastro is via road - well it's mostly track in fact and when we went to Kastro in July 2007 we did so reasonably easily by car. The most direct way is to use the road leaving the coastal road at Bus Stop 9 - this heads north almost directly towards Kastro via Aghios Konstantinos. The last 1.2 kilometres of track which descend into the parking area near Kastro are in quite a rugged state - if using a small car when you return you need to just probably get into first gear and simply keep the car going - any hesitation and you may get stuck on the loose surface.

The last several 100 metres from the parking area are by a wide rocky footpath - remember to take a bottle of water with you when heading into Kastro itself since it always seems to be incredibly hot there.

 

Skiathos is a beach lovers paradise with all types of gorgeous beaches available including several naturist beaches and generally all of them are easy to reach on this Greek Holiday Island.

The various coves, bays and beaches alongside the main coast road between Skiathos Town and Koukonaries are all served by very frequent buses or you can either walk or take a taxi to them if you wish. At the top of the island (at the end of the bus route) there is the famous Skiathos Banana Beach so well known by nudists but in truth the naturist area on the beach is not too big and gets packed. Generally speaking all of these beaches have full facilities like beach chairs and umbrellas and also tavernas and cafes are around.
Perhaps much nicer and certainly more peaceful are the beaches on the other side of the island such as Mandraki - these Skiathos beaches are generally undeveloped and much wilder however there are still a few chairs/sunshades plus usually at least one taverna on them. This part of Skiathos Island and it's beaches are now reachable by a reasonably surfaced dirt track and when we visited in July 2007 these tracks were easily driveable even by car.
Beachwear - nudism naturism etc.. As mentioned Skiathos is well known for it's naturist beaches in particular Banana Beach however generally speaking naturists are not to be seen along the main coast road beaches apart from the odd person hiding away on tiny rock shelves/inlets - topless for men and women is of course quite normal.

The photos below are of some of the beaches with various comments as necessary and are in a clockwise direction starting at Troulos - we did not get to visit all of the beaches on the Island - there are after all quite a lot of them. Although we do not use sunshades/chairs at the time of our holiday (July 2007) a sunshade and two sunbeds was on average 8 Euros per set. Also note that especially on the Mandraki beach side of the island tavernas may not be open early in the season.

Troulos Beach - Bus stop 20. A really nice sandy beach - several tavernas plus beach chairs and umbrellas.

 

Maratha - get off at Bus stop 22 and then it's a fairly short walk down the main road to reach the beach.
As is normal along the main coast road this sandy beach has chairs and sunbeds etc plus somewhere to get food and drink.

 

Koukounaries - bus terminal (26) - quite a famous Skiathos beach situated in a fairly large bay - the sandy beach is full of sunshades and chairs (which are far to close together for our liking). All the usual amenities - the beach gets really busy in July and August as do the buses which take you to and from it

 

Strofilias Bay Beach - reached from the bus terminal you have to walk out of the car park and up the concrete road which heads towards Banana Beach however very shortly take a left hand small road on the left. Climb up the road to reach the derelict Xenia hotel - go to the right hand side of this concrete eyesore and then take a descending path and some steps to reach this lovely fairly secluded and treelined sandy beach - chairs and sunshades and a taverna available. The beach is an amazing contrast to it's big neighbour (Koukounaries) and far nicer.

 

Krasa-Banana Beach - from the bus sterminal (26) and then a very steep climb up a concrete road, then a hot and dusty walk down to the beach area via scattered even dustier olive trees.
The naturist part of the beach is on the left side of the beach after some rocks - this area is actually quite small so in peak season you probably need to get there early. In fact most of the beach area is sort of allocated/populated by non-naturists.

 

Aghia Eleni Bay - Bus stop 25 then turn off right on a tarmac road - perhaps a 10 minute walk. The beach is very popular with local Greeks and really busy on weekends. The beach has several tavernas plus sunshades and chairs are all available - we noted that one taverna plays loudish music at times particularly on Sundays. There is a fair bit of parking available but it's usually jammed out on weekends so you need to get there early.

 

Krifi Amos - Hidden Beach. The first of a series of really nice and wild beaches. Although you still have chairs and sunshade the beaches are less populated and much more scenic. The beach is reached by a well graded dirt track which goes round the coast from near Aghia Eleni. The beach is known as hidden beach but it is sort of quite easily spotted - there is a path which takes you down quite steeply to this beach. This beach is also popular with locals and gets busy on Sundays

 

**Many people hire jeeps and cars to go over to the next couple of beaches but leaving a hire car/jeep parked whilst you spend the day on the beach is quite an expensive option.  You can actually walk to Mandraki etc. easily enough from bus stop 23 - there is a shady path (in fact 3 of them) which cross the island and are more or less flat. Although sandy underfoot in places (perhaps use pumps rather than flip flops..) this is only a 20 to 25 minute stroll to reach the dirt road on the far coast.

Mandraki Beach. Further on round on the dirt track you arrive at one of the lovliest beaches on the island - Mandraki. The sand and part shingle beach has one taverna plus some beach chairs and umbrellas. The sea is beautiful to swim in and because of it's size the beach rarely gets very busy. On both ends of the beach expect to find naturists.

 

Elias Bay - the next large beach after Mandraki and another of our favourites to visit. One Taverna plus a few chairs - loads of room for naturists at either end of the beach which is mostly sand. The beach however can be very weedy especially after several days of rough seas and strong winds. The other issue is that this beach did become very afflicted with wasps and we eventually gave up using it and used Mandraki instead which was a little better.

 

Agistros Beach - these nice unspoilt beaches just keep arriving as you go round Skiathos - again a sandy but smaller beach than it's neighbours and also this beach can be weed affected after high seas and winds. As with all the beaches on this coast there is a small taverna plus some shade/chairs.

 

Meghalos Aselinos - another beautiful Skiathos sandy beach surrounded by small cliffs covered in greenery - the beach never seemed to get very busy when we visited from time to time during July 2007.

There is a fairly large taverna on this beach - probably because quite a few day-trip boats frequently arrive.

 

Mikros Aselinos - as it's name suggests it is a smaller version of it's next door neighbour - it has a taverna where you can get a salad and a cold drink and there are a few chairs for hire - the sea is particularly colourful and nice to swim in on this beach.

 

Ligharies Beach - really scenic sandy beach with it's surrounding high tree-lined slopes. During the week there is usually the opportunity for naturist swimming and sunbathing here since it remains fairly quiet - and even quieter if you decide to take a wander along the rocks to visit one it's several little beachlets.

 

Kechrias Bay - pretty much the last beach reachable from the coastal dirt road - one end of the beach is shingle and the other has more sand.
The beach gets quite busy at times especially on weekends - there is a taverna plus beach chairs/umbrellas available.

 

Kastro Beach - ours are photos from above this stoney and fairly small beach since we were at Kastro as part of a long walk to view the old churches and ruins. With a significant walk down to get to the beach and a therefore even more significant climb back up we did not go this time. There is a small taverna on the beach and day trip boats arrive from Skiathos from time to time.

 

Limin-Skiathos Bay - located on the far side of Skiathos Bay this tiny strip of beach is either reached by boat or you can walk on a small road near the runway and boatyard and shortly take a really nice path which wanders along just above the shoreline for a while. In fact this is a really small beach and probably is not a beach when the tide is in.

 

Skiathos Town Beaches - a really long beach area starts from Sciathos Town often with the main coast road nearbye. There is lots of holiday accommodation and hotels located along here and the beach area gets busy. You will needless to say find plenty of tavernas available, jet ski and so on plus sunbeds and umbrellas for hire. Beaches along here are named Meghali Amos, Mitikas and Vasilias although they are all pretty much joined together in reality.

 

Tzaneria is where the beaches along the coast out of Skiathos Town become more coves rather than long open beach areas. This sandy beach has all the usual amenities and there is quite a busy jet-ski, powerboat ride setup there too.
If you walk either side of the main beach there are various little beach areas which are a bit quieter.

 

 

Our other Skiathos Topic is about various walks, monasteries and churches on the Island or how about Skiathos's close island neighbours of Skopelos and Alonissos?.

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Other Resources
Skiathos by Greeka
Skiathos Greece Travel Guide from Greek Island Postcards
Walking the Greek Islands Loads of Greek Island stuff on Harald's Site

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