We’ve been on the island of Alonnisos a week already and could easily stay a month. We all love it! Alonnisos island is “the most remote of the Northern Sporades island group, and home to the National Marine Park of Northern Sporades, a refuge for rare seabirds and the Mediterranean monk seal, Monachus Monachus”. We chose it because it is more remote and therefore less crowded and because we are hoping to spot some dolphins, sea turtles and monk seals. No luck so far but fingers crossed….

Once we got to our accommodation on Friday, Olivia and Steffen made a good observation. They said they wished we had the apartment from Athens (a spacious 3 bedroom place with a large living room and great balcony) with the pool from the Skiathos hotel (picture perfect) in the current location (Old Village Alonnisos with many restaurants, shops, a bakery and small market within walking distance and small winding paths with amazing views around each corner throughout the village). But alas, it is not so. And as they say in real estate: location, location, location. So we are very glad that our longer stay is here. 

The ferry from Skiathos to Alonnisos was about 2 hours long and we stayed occupied reading, playing games and enjoying the views.

We have two separate studios, each with a small kitchen and small balcony. One room has four single beds and the other has a double bed and a single bed so we put the teens together and then Steffen and I share with Luisa. We decided to take the table from our room down to the other balcony to make a place where we could eat meals together al fresco, albeit a little bit squished.

On the first day we looked on google maps for a good beach and found one not too far from the port. We can take the hourly public bus down from our perch in the village to the port so we ventured out. The walk from the bus stop in the port to the beach was about 25 minutes and while hot and a bit hilly, it was well worth it! We spent hours swimming, jumping, eating snacks, playing games and relaxing at Spiaggia di Kremisma. What a beautiful spot! 

The next day we headed down to the port area again to make some arrangements (boat rental, car rental) and asked a local for a beach recommendation. She suggested Paralia Spartines. This one was less popular with our crew. First of all, it was a much longer hike with more ups and downs. And then the beach had more waves and the water was a bit more murky. We stayed and did much of the same as the day before, but all agreed that the beach the day before was much better. 

The following day we decided to try a beach that we could walk to from our hotel, Paralia Megalos Mourtias. It was only about a 25 minute walk but completely downhill, which was great on the way there! As soon as we arrived, we all agreed that a taxi home was the only option. But first we spent several hours relaxing at Meltémi on the most comfortable sun loungers in the shade with breaks to swim, play games and have cold drinks. When we arrived we were disappointed that there were no loungers on the beach available, but it turned out to be so much better to be completely out of the sun and under the shades. We rated this beach the same as the first beach, even though they had very different vibes. Though I can confidently say, if we hadn’t taken a taxi home, this would have been the most hated beach ever. 🙂 We finished the day with some delicious pizza at Al Diavolo Alonnisos Pizza with amazing views.

On Tuesday we decided to head back to the first beach. It was an easy walk with a protected little bay and some great cliffs for jumping. About an hour or more after we got there, our nephew/cousin wasn’t feeling well, so we packed up and made the way back to our hotel. That night and the next day we took it easy. We had a rest day, though we were mean parents and took the girls’ iPhones/iPod/iPad away from them from 10am-7pm, forcing them to craft, read and play games. They also started working on their travel journals which is fantastic. (When we packed up our house last month I came across the girls’ travel journals from our European big trip and it was so wonderful to read them! A very special souvenir.) We also spent some time helping our nephew/cousin rearrange his travel plans so he could head home early. We are sorry to see him go but can understand. And we are so glad he was here for the time he was!

Finally, yesterday we visited another new beach, one that exceeded our expectations. We didn’t have much time between brunch (we eat a late breakfast with all these teens!) and the ferry that Steffen and our nephew/cousin would take back to Skiathos, so we decided to try the beach right at the port in Patitiri. I didn’t have high expectations but we ended up loving it. It had a small strip of rocks where you could relax with plenty of shade and the water was clear and refreshing. And there was a lot to look at (boats coming in and out and people watching) and it there was very little walking involved! The kids loved that there were toilets, restaurants snd shops right there. After some swimming, we met up with Steffen for a late lunch and finally, bid our nephew/cousin farewell.

A wonderful week full of sunshine, salt air and family–my favorite things!