30th May 2025

Hi

I was inspired to visit Skiathos by an article I read in the Jet2 magazine a couple of years ago highlighting a solo holiday there. I hadn't visited Greece since Rachel's 50th birthday which was in Crete about fourteen years ago. On my eight previous visits to Greece I hadn't been in this part which is located in the Sporades archipelago to the east of the Greek mainland.

On 1st May I drove to Manchester and caught up with sister Rachel and brother in law Brian for the evening

Friday 2nd May

The holiday package was with Jet2 Holidays. The flight from Manchester to Skiathos takes three hours and forty minutes and was relatively uneventful apart from the short runway at Skiathos where the pilot jammed the anchors on viciously! We all got quite a jump. More on that airport later.

The transfer from the airport, which is close to Skiathos town, to my hotel took about twenty minutes. I stayed at the Almira Hotel in Troulos, as recommended in the article referred to. Troulos lies along the east west highway which runs along the south coast of Skiathos. Although it is up an unprepossessing dusty road off the highway, the hotel was excellent and family run. George and Anna were fantastic hosts and along with Costas, George (2) and other staff looked after guests with a high degree of service. I asked about scuba diving and George arranged for me to speak to a diving company who came to see me at 0900 the next morning. Great service! I ate in the hotel restaurant and would recommend it.

Saturday 3rd May

I met Keven and Beverley from Ocean Blue Diving School based in Skiathos Town. I signed up for two dives on Monday coming. Shortly after I met up with the Jet2 rep and signed up for an island hopping trip and a wine tasting experience. Unfortunately we were right at the start of the season and the island sailing trip which takes small groups did not start until the day after I left.

I decided to explore some of the west part of the island and had just missed a bus (they are every half hour). I was only travelling three stops and a taxi driver taking his daughter to an appointment was amenable to a negotiated price and took me from stop 20, where my hotel was to stop 23 where the start of my trek began. I would strongly recommend the following trip to anyone who likes a bit of not too strenuous walking.

I walked through the Mantraki Forest which was very beautiful, for about thirty minutes to Elia Beach on the north coast. There was no one on it apart from some guys fixing up a shack to serve tourists when the season takes off. I walked the length of this lovely beach and then headed west to Mantraki Beach which my taxi driver had advised me was the best of the beaches in this area. Again, it was mostly deserted apart from locals cleaning up the debris on the beach from the winter and organising tourist serving points. Had a bracing swim in the chilly early May waters!

From Mantraki Beach I walked down the west coast passing Cape Ag. Eleni and the beach of the same name. The colours of sand, sea and forest were amazing, with views over to the Greek mainland. There were lots of flowers along the way and my thanks go to Donald Gillies for identifying them for me. The whole walk took only a few hours. This was one of the best experiences of the holiday and when you check out the photos I think you'll want to cover the same excursion.

When you cross the road from the Almira hotel down to the Troulos beach there are four tavernas to eat in and I had an excellent plate of sardines for dinner with a mandatory side plate of olives.

Monday 5th May

After a quiet day chilling at the hotel I caught the bus to Skiathos Town and met dive masters Keven and John at Sifiri Beach in the town. The service provided by Ocean Blue was excellent and rather cushy as all the equipment was set up for us in advance. I dived with two English girls (Anna and her sister, sorry forgot your name!) and the dive masters from a small rib. Our journeys for the two dives were no more than about twenty minutes in the boat from shore and the sites we visited were called Repi and The Aquarium. It was nice to be back under the water for the first time this year. From a diving experience viewpoint it was unremarkable in terms of things to see, but we got great service from Keven and John and I think any diver would want to try at least a day's diving on this island. Point to note: in early May the water is baltic for diving, even for a Scot!

In the evening I visited the Sunrise Taverna near my hotel and had some delicious swordfish. Loving the seafood here!

Tuesday 6th May

The local bus costs three euros to travel the full length of the south coast or two euros for a shorter journey. Great value. I travelled from my hotel into Skiathos Town and at the bus terminus caught a smaller bus up into the hills for 15 minutes to visit the Evangelista Monastery. Being up in the hills the views from the Monastery are great. There is an excellent museum with a fabulous collection of black and white photos from the 1950s which show how much Skiathos and the way of life has changed since then. Everything was well maintained and being Greece there are numerous cats populating the buildings. There is a place to have lunch or coffee and I got the thickest slice of chocolate cake I have ever been served. Including journeys up and down the hills this trip will take up about three hours of your time from start to finish.

After my trip in the hills it was time to hit the beach. I travelled the full length of the island to Koukanaris Beach on the west side. This was the busiest beach I had been to so far, very shallow to start with and a nice sandy bottom. A must visit if you like beach life.

Dinner was at the Victoria Taverna, which was about fifteen minutes' walk from my hotel heading east. I had Beef Stifado which was tasty with succulent chunks of meat, although a bit too salty. As with all the food places visited, the service was excellent and friendly.

Wednesday 7th May

I spent the first part of the day exploring Skiathos Town, prior to my scheduled wine experience trip later in the day. Neighbours John and Jackie from Newcastle are regular visitors to Skiathos so kindly gave me some pointers. I started by gathering with a few tourists at the end of the airport runway where the plane comes right over your head. To be honest it was a bit underwhelming as the plane which came in from Athens was very small! I think it would be better with a tour plane but I had spent enough time on the 'experience' so headed off into town as I couldn't be bothered waiting for the next flight. An optional experience I would say.

In Skiathos Town I climbed the hill to Agios Nikolaos Church. I didn't get into the church but the views over the harbour are great. Walking along the front you come to a peninsula called Bourtzi which is between the Old Port and the new port area where the cruise boats leave from. It has a Navy Museum on it which I didn't visit but there is a café at the far end which is a great point for chilling and looking over the bay. The site dates back to the 13th Century when there was a fort situated there. I'm going to recommend a visit to a Traditional House located within the town. It is run by a family of two sisters who have been in possession of the building going back to their great grandparents. A family member gave me a guided tour. It has an amazing collection of personal artefacts and furniture, most of which tell a story. Anyone into local histories or family histories will not be disappointed with a visit to this house and the hour or less it will take to go round it.

In the late afternoon we were picked up by a transport to take us to the Parissis Winery, which is even further up in the hills than the monastery. However that meant that the views were even better and the late afternoon into evening timing was ideal for photographs. The owner gave us a lovely tour which took us through the history of what is a relatively new business and laced it with personal stories of family over the years leading to the current set up. A story well worth hearing.

To be honest Greek wine is not the best. We tried four whites, a rose and one red. I found them to be passable given the circumstances but I don't think most of us would be buying some to take home. The nibbles provided were quite acceptable and the company was very sociable. On a personal note I didn't come to Greece to drink French or other wines you can get back home so I had the local wines during my stay and had no real issues. A half litre carafe is about 6-8 euros where I was eating so no complaints price wise. Overall I really enjoyed this evening and hope that with support the wines hopefully will continue to grow in quality.

Thursday 8th May

My last full day and time for an island hopping boat trip booked with Jet2. I was picked up at 0850 and got back about 2000 so a very full day indeed. First stop was the Island of Skopelos from which we sailed to the nearby Island of Alonnisis, before returning to Skiathos.

Arriving in Skopelos the town we sailed into is a stunning sight. We got off the boat for a couple of hours and I tried the famous local cheese pie which is of course lactose free. Recommended for lunch!

Alonnisis is a smaller island. We landed at the port Patitiri and made our way by bus up to the Old Town from which we had great views. On the way back to Skiathos we stopped for a swim at a beach which I think was called Kastani. On the day we saw some stunning coastlines and it is well worth checking out the two islands as part of a holiday in Skiathos.

Skopelos has a modern story in that the film Mamma Mia was shot there. Hence a boat trip featuring a lot of Abba music and a party atmosphere is the main attraction for many and to see the film locations. If you are visiting and don't want that, the other option would be to take the ferry which will probably be much cheaper.

Reflections on a visit to Skiathos

If I had my life over again I would probably have booked for ten days. There is so much to do and I only scratched the surface of the walking activities available. There are so many little nooks and crannies to be explored, mostly with a lovely small and mainly uninhabited beach at the end. I would like to return for another visit.

It is a tossup whether to stay in Skiathos Town and go out to beaches and walks from there or whether to stay more rurally like I did. There is a vast variety of places to spend your evening in the town and you would be spoilt for choice. However where I stayed in Troulos I could also have visited a different eatery every night but away from the buzz of town. I was told by regular visitors that there are a limited number of places with pools in the town so if you want that option you are probably better staying outside of the main drag. Buses were every half hour and I'm not sure if the frequency increases in high season. I thought availability was good and always prefer to go when the crowds are less in number.

For a rural location I do recommend the Almira Hotel in Troulos. I have already mentioned the great service provided. George and Anna run a great operation and fellow travellers were very friendly. Finding people who are on repeat visits was encouraging.

Anyway I think I'll close this blog with the usual exhortation to enjoy the photos. I will be happy to receive any feedback as always

All the best

Murdo