Skiathos travel tips: the most important information for your holiday

Are you planning a holiday on the Greek island of Skiathos? Here we have summarized all the important information about getting there, getting around, accommodation, excursions and much more for you. Whether you are planning a relaxing beach holiday or island hopping in the Sporades: With our Skiathos travel tips you are well prepared!

#1 Getting to Skiathos Island

Direct flights to Skiathos are offered from Munich, Frankfurt am Main and Vienna in the summer months. The flight time is about 2.5 hours. In the low season, you can also fly to Athens first and take a domestic flight to Skiathos from there. On the portal Skyscanner* you will find suitable flight connections:

➲ To cheap flights to the island*

Alternatively, you can take the ferry from the Greek coastal city Volos to Skiathos. Especially in the low season, it is a good idea to arrive by ferry. The crossing to Skiathos takes between 1.5 and 2.5 hours, depending on the type of ship (catamaran or car ferry).

There are cheap flights to Volos and Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki is located about 2.5 hours from Volos. At Volos Airport, you can rent a car for the onward journey. However, clarify in advance with the rental company whether taking the car on the ferry is contractually permitted.

➲ To direct flights to Thessaloniki*

➲ To direct flights to Volos*

#2 Ferry connections to Skiathos

There are regular ferry services from various Greek ports on the mainland to Skiathos, including Volos (Thessaly), Agios Konstantinos (Central Greece) and Mantoudi (Euboea). Journey times vary between 40 minutes and three hours, depending on the departure point and type of ship. The fastest ferries are the Seajets catamarans.

→ Skiathos Island can be reached regularly with the following ferry companies in the season:

• Seajets
• Aegean Flying Dolphins
• Olympian Ferries
• Sporades Lines (Petroula)

During the season, Skiathos is also reliably connected with the neighbouring islands of Skopelos and Alonissos by various ferry companies. The island can thus be wonderfully integrated into a Sporades Island Hopping.

In high season, it is worth taking the ferry tickets for Skiathos to book early, as the places can be booked up quickly. The easiest way to do this is through our partner Ferryhopper*:

➲ To the ferry booking with Ferryhopper*

#3 Hotel tips for Skiathos

Skiathos has so far been spared from large all-inclusive resorts. Around Skiathos town and in the south of the island you will find numerous apartment complexes, boutique hotels and exclusive villas with private pools.

Here we spent the night on Skiathos

Skiathos Holidays Suites & Villas in Vromolimnos

We couldn’t have imagined a more beautiful place to stay on Skiathos. The small, family-run hotel is located in a quiet location directly behind the beach of Vromolimnos. Our junior suite was modern and tastefully furnished and offered a wonderful view of the countryside and the sea from the balcony.

The large sunbathing lawn of our Skiathos hotel invited guests to relax with numerous seating options and cool drinks and small snacks were brought directly to the seat. The breakfast in the garden of the hotel was varied and super delicious every morning.

The entire team is friendly and committed and has contributed significantly to the fact that we felt very comfortable here. The beautiful sandy beach of Vromolimnos right on the doorstep is also wonderful for swimming, even for small children.

→ About our partner Booking.com* you will receive more information about our hotel Skiathos Holidays and you can check availability and prices right away:

➲ Book Skiathos Holidays*

Recommended accommodation on Skiathos

Enclosed we have put together a personal selection of other beautiful accommodations on Skiathos with very good guest reviews, which are ideal as a starting point for exploring the island (links to Booking.com*):

• Tramontana House 1*
• Eumorphia Studios & Apartments*
• Skia Premium Key Collection*
• Thalassa Cape Hotel*

→ Via Booking.com* you will find many accommodation on Skiathos and you can check prices here:

#4 Rent a car for Skiathos

The island of Skiathos is wonderful to explore by rental car. Especially to reach the numerous beaches of the west coast and the remote Mandraki Forest, it is recommended to take a car rental on Skiathos. In the high season, it is worthwhile to rent a vehicle in advance, e.g. via Discover Cars*:

➲ Book your rental car for the island here*

For exploring the island of Skiathos, a scooter or quad bike is theoretically sufficient. Sporty holidaymakers go straight to e-bikes or mountain bikes, which are rented out by local providers.

Bus travel on Skiathos

For its size, the island of Skiathos is equipped with a surprisingly well-developed bus network. There is a bus stop on almost every stretch of coast and at every major hotel. These are neatly numbered from north to south.

A large part of the villages and sights of the island can therefore also be explored very well by bus, although in the summer months with a high occupancy rate of the buses from Skiathos is to be expected. The prices per trip are relatively low.

→ Current bus routes for Skiathos can be found on the website of the municipality: Bus timetable of the island

#5 Places to visit in Skiathos

With a length of only 11 km and a width of 4 km, Skiathos is a very small and manageable island. Accordingly, there are not many highlights to discover, which is why Skiathos is also wonderful for a relaxing beach holiday – as long as you visit the island at the right time (see #8 Best time to visit).

The highlights of Skiathos are definitely the Lalaria Beach and the Kastro of Skiathos. We also really liked the Evangelistria Monastery with the neighboring café, which looks like an oasis of peace. Below is a summary of the most important Skiathos attractions:

• Skiathos Town
• Koukounaries Beach
• Kastro Skiathos
• Evangelistria Monastery
• Lalaria Beach
• Mandraki Forest and Beaches
• Planespotting at the airport

#6 Skiathos Excursions and Tours

If you are planning a holiday in Skiathos, you should set aside at least one day for a boat trip, because the coast with its many scattered islets is really worth seeing.

We decided to go on a trip with Skiathos Cruises to the small Tsougria Island, to the beautiful beach of Lalaria and to Kastro Beach and can highly recommend this tour (in the low season!).

Even if you don’t visit the neighboring islands of Skopelos and Alonissos as part of island hopping, it’s worth taking a day trip there to get a first impression of the islands.

Please note that some tours may be fully booked a few days in advance. About our partner GetYourGuide* you can find suitable Skiathos tours and check availability and prices here:

➲ To the boat trip to Lalaria, Kastro and Tsougria*

➲ To the sailing trip with lunch*

➲ To the Skopelos and Alonissos boat trip*

#7 Skiathos restaurants: Our recommendations

If we’re honest, Skiathos has rather disappointed us culinarily. The island has adapted too much to the tastes of international holidaymakers. Pizza, pasta, burgers and co. are on almost every menu. Typical Greek cuisine, which is still homemade and above all creative, is rather rare on the island of Skiathos.

When looking at the prices of the taverns on Skiathos we were visibly disillusioned. Even on Mykonos or Milos we didn’t eat so high-priced in the hinterland! The quality of the food in many restaurants on Skiathos usually fell by the wayside or simple Greek tavern food was marketed as a gourmet dish, although the taste was not particularly convincing.

The sad reality on Skiathos is: Tzatziki comes out of a can in many places and costs at least 7 euros on the entire island. The Greek farmer’s salad was often completely unimaginative – a sliced cucumber, a tomato, cheap supermarket feta and a few onion slices, for a proud 12 euros.

Nevertheless, we tasted our way through many taverns and restaurants on the island of Skiathos and were able to discover one or the other culinary pearl. We will tell you a small selection of them below:

• Kioupi, Vromolimnos
• Antama Meze, Skiathos Town
• Athos Café, Moni Evangelistria

Want more restaurant tips for Skiathos?

→ In our Google map you will find all the cafés and taverns on the island that we have tested and recommended, as well as our best Skiathos travel tips:

Our Skiathos tips on Google Maps

Skip hours of research and get our Skiathos Map with 110+ spots:

🏖️ Dream beaches & hidden bays
🍽️ Restaurants, tavernas & cafés
🏛️ Must-see highlights & ancient sites
🗺️ Worthwhile spots & insider tips
🚘 Practical info like rentals & parking
♾️ Lifetime access & updates

To Skiathos Map →

#8 Best time to visit Skiathos

For a week we were in the middle of May on Skiathos and were still able to enjoy the peace and quiet of the previous season. Almost all facilities were already open, but the island’s beaches were not yet overcrowded.

If you’re planning a hiking holiday, May is the ideal month: nature is lush green, many things are in bloom and the temperatures are pleasant for hiking. However, the sea is still cool in May and it can rain occasionally.

Locals have told us that it is on Skiathos from July supposed to be very crowded, so that the island is bursting at the seams in summer. Thousands of tourists cavort in the smallest area. The beaches are completely overcrowded, the streets of Skiathos Town (Chora) are congested and you need a reservation for almost every restaurant in the evening.

If you want to experience Skiathos from its beautiful side, avoid the period between mid-June and mid-September as much as possible. From mid-September, some peace returns to the island. The sea is still very pleasant for swimming and the daytime temperatures are usually still sunny and warm.

October on Skiathos often becomes more unstable, individual rain showers move over the islands and at the beginning of October many facilities close, so that the season is coming to an end. Until the end of October, hikers can still enjoy the beautiful nature quite undisturbed, but must expect that many things are already closed.

→ More articles about Skiathos and numerous Sporades travel tips can be found at:

• Sporades Blog – The archipelago at a glance

FAQ Skiathos: The most important questions

Is Skiathos worth a trip?

Skiathos is the ideal starting point for Sporades island hopping. A trip there is especially worthwhile in the low season. Then you can enjoy the green island with its golden sandy beaches completely undisturbed. Are you a Hellas connoisseur and lover of quiet, authentic islands? Then you can safely skip Skiathos and visit only Skopelos and Alonissos.

When is the best time to visit Skiathos?

The best time to visit Skiathos is from mid-May to mid-June and from mid-September to early October. While spring is perfect for hiking and cycling, autumn is a wonderful place to enjoy the warm sea.

Is Skiathos very touristy?

Yes, mass tourism has also found its way into Skiathos. From mid-June to mid-September, the island is very crowded and not suitable for a relaxing holiday. If you have the opportunity, you should switch to mid/end of May or the end of September.

How to get to Skiathos Island?

In the season, there are direct flights from Munich, Frankfurt and Vienna to Skiathos. Alternatively, you can reach the island via Athens on a domestic flight or from Volos by ferry. From Thessaloniki, you can also travel by rental car to Volos and then take the ferry to Skiathos.

How many days do you need on Skiathos?

You need about 3-4 days for Skiathos. Since the island is very small and manageable, most of the sights can be explored in a few days.

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