The island of Skiathos in Greece is just as beautiful as the photos! It has everything you can dream of for a vacation; beaches, perfect temperatures, beautiful colors everywhere you look, great tasting food, shopping, the sounds and smells will forever be engraved in your memory.

It’s truly a place you could vacation at and find something everyone will enjoy. I loved that the only thing we had to “plan” was getting to the island and hotel reservations but the rest was whatever you felt like doing at that moment. It was so relaxed! We rented atv’s and explored the whole island in a week, we had an unforgettable time.

I’d love to go back someday when the kids are a little older and introduce them to the island. There are some activities that are must do on the island but for the most part, do whatever you feel up to. Just keep in mind a lot of the island was only accessible by those atv’s; a lot of loose dirt, sand and narrow roads.

1.Go into town! Be sure to walk the streets of the town, shop, eat at one of the outdoor restaurants, try one of the fish pedicures, look at the beautiful colors and architecture. Look for Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russel or Kate Hudson they love vacationing on Skiathos 😉

2.Take a Mamma Mia tour! Skiathos was a filming location as well as the next island over on Skopelos. They have tour boats that you can catch right from town and no need for reservations.

3. Take a tour boat to Lalaria beach. We didn’t actually get to go on this tour boat but wish we did, the beach is only accessible by boat.

4. Mediaval Castle Ruins. This place was beautiful and very fascinating, very cool to see all the ruins of the village and the castle. The views were to die for! Just be warned it is a bit of a hike and the road to the parking lot is a bit rough on the car.

5. Kastro Beach. By far our favorite beach, we visited a couple times on our trip. Although it was a bit of a hike to get to and from, it is well worth it. They do also have those tour boats that come by but if you are capable of doing the walk I suggest doing it as the crowd is scarce after the tour boats leave. You can see the castle ruins and village from the beach, there is a working taverna right on the beach that serves tasty food and beverages. The lawn chairs were free just first come first serve, small pebble on beach and the water was a little cold at the time.

6. Skiathos has over 50 Churches. Whether you’re religious or not, the churches and monasteries on Skiathos are so beautiful and worth a trip. Some are still in service and you can quietly walk into and some are closed down and you can just walk around the property. You’ll find benches, shade, beautiful plants and fresh spring water to drink at a few churches. Some of my favorite memories were just driving the atv’s around the island with no itinerary and arriving upon a church tucked into the woods, it was peaceful.  7. Be sure to take a drive to watch a sunset and/or sunrise over looking the ocean. You won’t be disappointed! We found this beautiful view just randomly driving, isn’t it just dreamy?

8. Koukaniers Beach – this is popular beach but probably because it’s one of the most accessible beaches on the island, no rough roads or hikes. Sandy beach lined with umbrella pines, rental chairs/parasols, water sports & bars. Water was warm here and comfortable to swim in.

9. Agistros Beach. Another beach we really liked but again it had a rough (but beautiful) to road to get to. It had lawn chairs/parasols to rent, a beach taverna with good food and drinks, small pebbles but warm water. We did see a few naked people at this beach but chances are you might see that at any beach.

10. Evangelistria Monastery. We happened upon this monastery on one of our drives and so happy we did. Founded in 1794 and it’s still served by four resident monks to this day. It was so beautiful and amazing to see it all operating. Out of respect they supplied black cloths to wrap around your shoulders if they were showing and the monks were so welcoming people into their home.

Skiathos is such a beautiful island and I hope you get to visit it some day! If you haven’t already? All the above are great suggestions for things to do while on the island but like I mentioned go to the island without a strict itinerary, leave room to explore.

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