Skopelos
Photo: Lazar Krstić / Pexels
The Verdict
The greenest island in the Aegean, with a harbour town in tiers of white houses and beaches the pines come right down to.
Why go
Pine woods run down to the beaches here in a way they do almost nowhere else in Greece, and the chora climbs a hill in tiers of white houses around more than a hundred small churches. It is still a farming island — plums, almonds, wine — and it has a second, older town at Glossa in the north. The west-coast beaches at Milia, Kastani and Panormos are pebbly and pine-backed, with Stafylos the easiest swim from town. The film crews came for the greenery and left; the island absorbed them.
Understand the place
The garden of the Sporades — pine forest to the waterline, an amphitheatre of a harbour town, and beaches that stay quiet outside August.
Where to swim
Beaches
Kastani Beach
A sandy, pine-backed bay on the west coast of Skopelos, the best-known swimming beach on the island and the busiest.
“The beach from the film: sand, pines, a bar at the back of the sand, and a great many more people than Milia next door.”
Milia Beach
A long pebble beach in a wooded bay on the west coast of Skopelos, with pines coming down to the stones and a taverna at one end.
“The best pebble beach on Skopelos: deep clean water, a taverna under the trees and nothing built along the shore.”
Stafylos Beach
A compact pebble and sand bay five minutes from Skopelos Chora, flanked by pine-covered slopes.
“The closest good swim to Skopelos Chora: a small pebble bay with pines on both sides and not much else.”
Towns & villages
Skopelos Chora
The harbour town of Skopelos, built in tiers up a hill, with more than a hundred small churches and tavernas around the port.
“An amphitheatre of white houses above a harbour, a church on almost every corner, and steep lanes between them.”
Glossa
Skopelos's second town, built along a ridge above the port of Loutra, with sea views across to Skiathos and tavernas around the square.
“A stone village perched above the north coast with the widest view on Skopelos and the little chapel from the film up the road.”
Easy to combine with
Logically reachable by transport. Confirm current ferry/flight schedules before booking.
Nearby
Sources
Booking links
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