Straight after graduating and packing my life in boxes again, my boyfriend and I went on our first holiday alone together to the idyllic island of Skiathos. It had some of the best sand beaches I have ever been on, was featured in Mamma Mia (yes, I sang along) and hosts a renowned gyros place. Truly the ideal place for a chill couple's holiday 💕
Getting there:
This part was probably the least comfortable of all. To get to Skiathos you can either get a connecting domestic flight from Athens (the quickest but most expensive route) or you can suck it up and spend the night in Athens and catch the 6.30 am Jeta Tours bus to Agios Konstantinos port where you proceed to sit on a slow ferry for 3 hours until you get to Skiathos. Jeta Tours do student discounts and take care of the bus and ferry tickets, which ended up being 60 odd euros for a return ticket. I was also pleasantly surprised by how nice the bus was and not at all busy so we had plenty of room to ourselves. Snacks and a FRIENDS season are necessary!
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Where we stayed:
Since we booked last minute, accommodation options were few and mostly unimpressive - that is if you're not looking to fork out more than a grand for 7 days. We were lucky to find Angelo's place on booking.com for a reasonable price: we had our own little apartment with a great comfy bedroom, a balcony to hang our towels and swimwear on, kitchen, living room and bathroom, all of which were newly refurbished and cleaned EVERY DAY. The latter aspect was heaven for me. There's nothing I hate more than having sand everywhere and not feeling clean after sweating and wearing sunscreen all day. It also looked very cute from the outside and was tucked away perfectly on one of those typically Greek winding streets overlooking whitewashed houses, close to the center and within walking distance to Megali Ammos beach and a free carpark.
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Getting around:
3 years ago we had been to Mykonos and though the island was fab and I have lots of great memories, when someone says Mykonos I instantly remember the quad bikes we rented. 😂It was such a great way to be independent in where we went, keep it cheap and see basically every corner of the island. Oh and since we were in Greece they said it didn't matter if you had a licence - score!Fastforward to 2018 and they - at least on paper - smarted up. There were lots of forums saying that good quad rentals won't rent to under 25s who don't have a bike licence and we were worried we would have to stick to the pretty limited bus service along the south coast of Skiathos. Luckily, we found that most quad rentals simply want you to be responsible and over 22. Demitri's grey hair and glasses took care of the appearances and so they let us rent one, which also came with a very handy boot for all our beach stuff or shopping. 🙌We used a company called Alpha Rentals and paid 120 euros for 6 days, so I'd highly recommend.
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Where we went & ate:
In Skiathos town
Megali Ammos was the local beach - quite narrow and you could only put beach towels down at the end of the strip but the water was great and there were lots of tavernas and water sports to choose from. Exantas was our fave. They did amazing lunch sandwiches and also some great cocktails which you could enjoy whilst watching the sun set from the terrace above the beach. Romance or what?
It's quite hard to miss the 'city center' since it's mostly 2 streets that separate the old port from the new. The old port is obviously slightly more picturesque and you get a nice view of the Venetian fort which is now a museum and the Bourtzi bar and restaurant. I'd say it has a sophisticated over-30s kinda vibe, and it has the added bonus of having the steps that go to a private 'beach' where you can go in the sea (there were A LOT of sea urchins there so unless you have the rubbery shoes I'd suggest you admire from the shore).
Alexandros Taverna was a favourite of ours', only a couple of minutes away from our place. It had a super authentic feel to it, with the tables taking over the small square, shaded by the huge mulberry tree and listening to father-and-son bouzuki music all whilst eating delicious fuss-free Greek food. A truly special place!
Last but not least is No Name, a gyros place that is apparently one of the best in Greece. Sadly they had a family issue which meant they were closed for 7/8 days when we were there BUT we managed to test them before catching our ferry back to Athens. It gets 4 👍from us.
Of course this list is not exhaustive of everything we saw and ate in Skiathos town but they were definitely the most memorable. As ever, the best method is to get out there and explore by foot, you're sure to stumble on some cute street or family-run taverna. 👇
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Around the island
Named one of the top beaches in the world, Koukounaries nature reserve is stunning. Think golden soft sand, crystal clear water, natural shade from pine trees and plenty of space for towels. Alternatively, 2 sun beds + umbrella are 8 euros, a bargain for how great this beach is. On top of that there's an ace gyros place just around the corner from the beach called Under the pine tree, because it is under a massive pine tree, obviously. They do simple grills and salads but they are super tasty and always fresh.
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These photos above were snapped on Big Banana beach. Don't be fooled because it's actually not as nice as it looks since the beach has been bought by a very fancy hotel nearby and they've done a bad job at making it accessible and friendly for non-hotel customers. There are no amenities and the bar there isn't great, but it was an experience since the rocks you can see above are the only thing separating it from a very popular nudist beach, aptly named Little Banana.
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This scenic drive along the NW coast of Skiathos was incredible. The dust-roads were practically empty and went from following the rocky coast with spectacular views over the sea and Krifi Ammos beach to meandering through the pine tree forest. We stopped for lunch at the small taverna on Krifi Ammos where we had the catch of the day fish, straight from the sea, followed by a quick dip in the sea to freshen up. It doesn't get more authentic than this.
This scenic drive along the NW coast of Skiathos was incredible. The dust-roads were practically empty and went from following the rocky coast with spectacular views over the sea and Krifi Ammos beach to meandering through the pine tree forest. We stopped for lunch at the small taverna on Krifi Ammos where we had the catch of the day fish, straight from the sea, followed by a quick dip in the sea to freshen up. It doesn't get more authentic than this.
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We stumbled upon St Alexander church completely by accident since it was at the end of a bumpy country lane, hidden amongst olive tree orchards on the edge of the cliff. It is probably my favourite place in Greece so far, just so unique and unspoilt and serene. The chapel seemed to be rarely used but the architecture of the terrace going on two levels with eyelets to overlook the bay beneath was something I had never seen before. It is so worth the drive there!
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The Kastro ruins are the oldest part of historical Skiathos, having been inhabited and used as a fort before the current Skiathos town was built. It's currently not in the best shape ever and there isn't a lot of information available once inside. Actually the only souls you'll see here are some very friendly goats that jump about from one ruined building to the next. It's still an interesting site to see, historically speaking, and it has some very dramatic views of the coast. If you arrive early enough you could also climb down to the bay and have a little swim there!
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There are numerous companies that do Mamma Mia themed boat tours around Skopelos and Skiathos, we picked the one that left on the day that suited us best. We left from the old port in Skiathos at 9 am and came back in the early evening. The best part: they played all the ABBA songs on the boat ride there, much to Demitri's annoyance since I just had to sing along. 😆The first stop was the Chapel up on the rock where Sophie gets married in the film. I don't know how that poor donkey did it in the movie, but the climb up there wasn't exactly easy. Definitely worth it for the views, but you're bound to share the experience with the tens of other tourists that came off the same boat as you.
The second stop was Skopelos town where we had 2 hours to walk about and find lunch. We found an article that described it as 'chic but sleepy', which we thought was an extremely accurate description of the town. The white church was definitely the prettiest but the whole experience of Skopelos was tainted by the fact that EVERY restaurant we had found on Tripadvisor was opening only for dinner. Bad form considering the masses of tourists that were running around like headless chicken looking for the very same thing....
The third and last stop off the boat was on Skiathos's rocky Lalaria beach, which can only be reached by boat. This is one of the biggest perks of this particular boat tour combo we took, because otherwise you'd have to get two separate boat trips: one around Skopelos and one around Skiathos. It's definitely a dramatic landscape, it looks like you've been dropped on a beach on the moon. It's also very big which means you can leave the crowds behind and find a more secluded spot. Compared to the other beaches, Lalaria was pebbly and deep and a lot less calm so we only dipped in and out. The rest turned into a photoshoot 😅
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It's very unlike me to recommend churches to visit but this one was not at all creepy - a big compliment for any orthodox church. Historically, Evangelistrias monastery is where the first Greek flag as we know it was designed and woven. Beyond that, it is a haven of tranquillity and beautifully restored and maintained. There are flowers everywhere, cats at every step and a really nice gift shop in the annexe where the old olive oil press used to be. The monks here also make their own liquor out of the fruit and herbs they grow, which make for a great souvenir for home. If you're undecided you can go up to the little guest house/cafe they have and sample some of their flavours.
If you've stuck this far, a very big thank you for reading. I want to say that a blog post about Bali will be coming soon, fingers crossed 👀
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