Skopelos to Alonissos Day Trip-Must or Bust?
This summer, I was fortunate enough to find myself staying on the beautiful island of Skopelos in the Sporades islands for an entire month! Though the trip wasn’t entirely vacation (you can read about my Workaway experience here), I immediately set to work putting together an itinerary of things to do on the island when I discovered boat tours to nearby Alonissos island. On my next day off, I hopped on a bus headed to Skopelos Town and boarded the Sporades Queen, Alonissos bound. If you are planning a Skopelos visit in the near future, be sure to read this post and decide for yourself if a visit is a must or a bust!
Cost and Tickets
The tour itself cost 25 Euros per person, which in my opinion was a fair price for an entire day from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM, soft drinks, coffee, and water included. Tours begin and end in Skopelos Town, and there are several companies which offer packages, all of which have nearly identical itineraries.
The Skopelos Queen was the cheapest and also featured a “glass bottom,” which, in reality, was more like a few small panes of glass at the bottom of the boat which I spent zero time peering into.
Be sure to make reservations in advance during high season, as spaces do fill up.
Old Town Alonissos
After departing Skopelos town and putting some pretty great views of the harbor behind us, we headed through the marine park on the way to Alonissos. Early on, there was some commotion where a few lucky passengers apparently saw dolphins, but other than that moment there was little wildlife to be seen along the way, although the surrounding cliffs and islands made the journey pleasant.
The first stop is the port of Alonissos, where you can opt to pay the extra 4 Euros to take the bus to the Old Town, which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND, as the port is newer and far less quaint.
After a short bus ride, we were dropped off in the Old Town and given free time to explore, which I filled with shopping (there was a cool old antiques store Robert de Nero apparently stopped at!), taking in the views, and sipping a freddo cappuccino before catching the bus back to port.
Beaches
The Sporades Queen then makes stops to two different beaches. I quite enjoyed the first beach. Its luxury feel, seaside tavernas, and straw-topped umbrellas had a distinctly resort vibe, though the large stones of the beach were a little rough on my feet.
After a seafood lunch, we piled back onto the boat and headed to the second beach. This was, to be honest, not my favorite. Though it was more secluded and less touristy, the presence of fellow boat tour passengers diminished this effect, and I found much of the beaches in Skopelos to be far more pleasant.
The one unique thing about this beach was the placement of the surrounding islands which enclosed the beach in a cove, giving off the feel of a lake as opposed to a body of water in the Aegean. I honestly felt like I was on Lake Mead in Arizona, as opposed to a Greek Island!
Overall Thoughts and Recommendations
On the whole the day was pleasant, however, it was certainly not my favorite day in the Sporades. I more or less went for the experience, as it seemed silly to spend 1 month in the Sporades and not venture out to an island I’d been staring at nearly every day for 1 month.
If you are planning on spending over a week or two in Skopelos and are looking for something to do, then go for it, but if you have a shorter visit, I’d stay skip it and enjoy a day in Skiathos, or another day on the paradise that is Skopelos instead.
Thinking about going or have you been on the tour yourself? Let me know what you thought of Alonissos or feel free to ask me a question in the comments below!
For more on Skopelos, check out these posts!
- How I Spent 1 Month In Greece (Almost) For Free!
- My ATV (Miss) Adventures in Skopelos, Greece
- 10 Ways To Bring The Magic of Mamma Mia! To Your Skopelos Visit
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