Koukounaries Bay, Skiathos
Panormos Bay, Skopelos
Steni Vala, Alonissos
Agnontas Bay, Skopelos
Peristera islet anchorage, Alonissos
Climb the steps to Agios Ioannis sto Kastri chapel, Skopelos
Snorkel the National Marine Park waters off Alonissos for monk seals
Sail past the Kastro ruins above Skopelos Town
Dive the Peristera wreck, Greece’s first underwater museum
Take a boat to Lalaria Beach’s white pebble shore and rock arch, Skiathos
Skiathos Old Town and the Bourtzi fortress islet
Skopelos Town’s tiered white houses
Alonissos’s Old Village (Palia Alonissos)
Glossa, Skopelos’s hillside village above the Pelion coast
Evangelistria Monastery, Skiathos
May through September covers the reliable season, with June and September the sweet spot: warm enough to swim comfortably but without July and August’s peak crowds and heat. The Sporades sit more sheltered from the meltemi than the Cyclades or Dodecanese, so conditions here tend to stay gentler and more consistent through the height of summer.
Skiathos National Airport (JSI) is the only one in the group with direct international flights, and only in the summer season, from April to October. Outside that window, or for guests continuing on to Skopelos and Alonissos, Volos on the mainland is the usual gateway, with a short ferry crossing covering the last leg to the islands.
Koukounaries Bay on Skiathos and Panormos Bay on Skopelos are both well sheltered and popular first stops, with tavernas ashore. For something quieter, Steni Vala on Alonissos sits right at the edge of the marine park and makes an excellent base for an early morning snorkel before the day’s first tour boats arrive from Skiathos.
Five to seven days is enough to cover all three main islands, Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, at an easy pace with time in hand for the marine park and a couple of beach days. It’s a compact, low-key cruising ground compared with the Cyclades or Dodecanese, so it also works well as a shorter add-on to a longer Greek itinerary.
Yes: most of the 2008 film was shot across Skopelos and Skiathos, and the wedding scenes centre on the tiny chapel of Agios Ioannis sto Kastri, perched on a rock reached by more than 200 steps from the sea. The chapel itself was too small for the full wedding party, so the production built a larger replica at Pinewood Studios for the interior scenes. Fans still climb the real steps every summer.
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