Beaches, beaches, more beaches (Skiathos)

Member Name: Ali72

Product:	Skiathos
Date:	25/05/05 (6138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful scenery, Safe beaches

Disadvantages: Short runway, Main beaches can get crowded

Location

Skiathos is a Greek island situated just off the mainland, to the northeast of Athens. It is part of the Sporades group, in the Aegean Sea.

Getting there

Skiathos is well served by the major UK tour operators, although it is not as ubiquitous in the mainstream brochures as say Corfu or Kos. This is somewhat surprising, as along with Corfu, it was one of the first islands to develop international tourism; however, large parts of the island are designated nature reserves and development has been tightly controlled to prevent any “costa-like” high-rise eyesores, and this may explain the relative shortness of accommodation. Another reason may be that Skiathos is a popular holiday destination for Greeks themselves.

We travelled with First Choice. The flight was direct from London Gatwick and took around three and a half hours. I had heard about the famously short Skiathos runway, so when we were advised to fasten our seatbelts I pulled mine tight. We flew over the island and made a steep bank back round to the left, which gave us an excellent view of the stubby concrete strip protruding, it seemed, straight out into the sea. As we descended, only the sea was visible and I wondered whether everyone else was also thinking “I hope I see land out of that window soon!” I needn’t have worried. We touched down, the pilot threw the engines into reverse thrust and we lurched unceremoniously off the runway onto a stand. I must admit though, that this is probably not a landing to be experienced by anyone already scared of flying!

The return flight took an extra hour, as the runway is too short for the plane to be able to take off fully laden with fuel, and we had to make a re-fuelling stop on the mainland, which admittedly was a bit of a pain.

Climate

Being one of the more northerly islands, Skiathos is slightly cooler than some of its Mediterranean counterparts. However, it is not so far north that the winds make it unpleasant. We visited in early June, and the temperatures were around 22/23 C; on two afternoons, the skies were overcast and it rained briefly, but was not cold. If you visit during the peak months of July and August you can expect no rain and long days of sunshine. The climate makes for a very green island, with plenty of forests.

Resorts

We stayed in the “resort” of Koukanaries, at the far south west of the island. I say far, but in fact the island is fairly small and nowhere is really far at all. The transfer from the airport, by Skiathos town on the east side, to Koukanaries took approximately 40 minutes. The road connecting the two is the main (only decent, tarmac) road on the island, and almost without exception, tourist accommodation is in one of the hamlets along it.

Attractions

People come to Skiathos for a beach holiday, and we were no exception. We had decided to stay in Koukanaries because of its reputation as “the best beach in Greece” and while I can’t absolutely vouch that’s true, it’s a pretty fine place to be. The beach is a long, sweeping crescent of fine golden sand backed by pine trees. Behind the beach is a lake, and all the accommodation is located off the road that travels around it. The air is filled with the sweet scent of pine…and mosquitoes. We needed plenty of repellent on this holiday.

On the shore itself are a number of small wooden snack bars, the only sign of mass tourism being the Palace hotel, which overlooks the beach at one end. Oh, and the massive number of sunbeds filled with tourists! Koukanaries beach did seem to suffer from its own success, as during the day it filled up not only with people staying in the area, but with people who had travelled down from further along the coast.

In fact, it was very easy to visit any of the beaches along the south coast, as there was a frequent bus service running along the main road, which cost less than £1. However, we did smile smugly as we walked back to our accommodation, because there tended to be a bit of a crush queuing for the bus at the end of the day.

The best beach that we discovered was Banana beach, which was a short walk over the headland from the end of the main road. Due to the walk, it tended to be slightly quieter, and was an excellent place to watch the sun set while sipping a cool drink from the solitary taverna there. We had heard that it also tends to be the unofficial nudist beach, although we didn’t see any evidence of this, just a few topless sunbathers. Maybe we didn’t explore far enough…

To visit the beaches on the north side of the island, you must either be prepared for a long walk (serious hikers only), hire a car/jeep, or take a boat. We opted for the last option, and booked a day excursion through the rep at our accommodation. This was quite expensive, around £30 each, but we discovered that we could have travelled into Skiathos town and booked a trip independently for much less. However, the day trip was great fun; the highlight was stopping at Lalaria, a white pebble beach that can only be accessed by boat, and another isolated cove for lunch and swimming off the boat. You should note though, that if you are travelling with children (as we will be when we return next year!) that the beaches to the south are very safe, with gently shelving sand, whereas the northern beaches are less safe and have some strong currents.

Watersports were available from one end of Koukanaries beach, and also some of the other southern beaches.

But, when you are beached-out, what else is there to see? Skiathos is not blessed with the archaeological remains typical of other parts of Greece, but there are two Monasteries that welcome visitors. We visited the Evangelistra monastery, which was high up in the hills to the north of Skiathos town. A local bus runs out there five times a day, and it was worth the visit for the views and the tranquil setting. You could also visit, by excursion boat, the ruins of Kastro, which used to be the largest town on the island.

There are plenty of walks into the interior of the island, but that seemed a little too energetic for us.

There is the usual tourist shopping to be found in Skiathos town, and in the old town there are tiny winding streets to explore. It’s a very pretty place full of white houses with red roofs. The town is also where the only nightclubs can be found. The holiday companies also offer trips to Athens from the island, but it is still a three hour drive from the mainland port if you go by “flying dolphin” (hydrofoil) so an internal flight is needed if you only have a day to spare. We didn’t travel off the island because we actually had a visitor, my sister-in-law, who lives near Athens and travelled over to see us.

If, however, you want yet more beaches, it’s also possible to catch a boat to one of the smaller neighbouring islands, where the beaches may be less crowded than along the main south strip of Skiathos.

Eating / Drinking / Nightlife

As I mentioned above, the only really lively nightlife is in Skiathos town itself. Nightlife in the other tourist areas mainly consists of leisurely eating and drinking in tavernas or bars, which suited us down to the ground. The food at the taverna adjoining our accommodation (Myrtia) was excellent, so we didn’t have to venture too far! The island’s speciality was a sweet dish made from almonds and half a ton of sugar, but all the usual Greek suspects were on offer. My sister-in-law, being a “local”, thought that the food was outrageously expensive, and * ahem * negotiated a discount, but it seemed reasonable enough to us, especially after several glasses of ouzo.

Summary

In summary, this is a fantastic place to go for a relaxing beach holiday in the sun. Admittedly, the island doesn’t have a great deal of industry apart from tourism now – just some olive and almond farming – and many of the inhabitants go back to the mainland during the winter months. This means that perhaps there isn’t the voyeuristic opportunity to see “Greek life” that there is on some other islands, but the people are still friendly and welcoming, the pace of life slow, and the scenery spectacular. Most importantly, despite the crowds, it’s quiet! We have booked to return next year with our children.

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