Island Hopping in Greece: Our Sporades Adventure (and where to hop next)

🌊 Island Hopping in Greece: Our Sporades Adventure (and Where to Hop Next) When you think about island hopping in Greece, it’s easy to imagine the classic Cycladic postcard: blue-domed churches, whitewashed villages, and sunsets that set the sky on fire. But instead of starting there, our journey this time took us to the Sporades Islands — two lesser-known gems that offered something completely unexpected: Skopelos and Skiathos. Having experienced their beauty, I find myself daydreaming about the next adventure. Here’s a glimpse into our Sporades journey — and where else you might consider hopping around in Greece.

✈️ First Stop: A Dramatic Landing in Skiathos Flying into Skiathos Airport is an adventure in itself. Landings here are so close to town that watching planes come and go has become a tourist attraction. From there, we hopped on a ferry bound for Skopelos — a short ride, but one that felt like slipping into a secret corner of Greece.

🌲 Skopelos: Pine Forests, Beaches, and Mamma Mia! Magic Skopelos revealed itself slowly, pine-covered hills cascading down to a harbour dotted with fishing boats and lined with simple tavernas. Skopelos Town charmed us with its maze of red-roofed houses, cobbled lanes, and history around every corner. Our days here were gloriously unhurried.

We swam at Panormos Beach and Stafylos Beach, both backed by tavernas where we lingered over fresh seafood and local wine. The food, as always in Greece, was fantastic. Amazing meat dishes, fresh vegetables cooked to perfection, and some really tasty fish and seafood. Even the Greek wine is not to be dismissed. One afternoon, we drove up to Glossa, a hilltop village with a tangle of steep alleys and breathtaking views. Our lunch here was truly memorable, with spectacular views over the Aegean Sea. It’s easy to take the bus from Skopelos town to most of the islands beaches and attractions.

For Abba fans, there’s the famous Agios Ioannis chapel, perched dramatically on a rock in the north of the island — the very church from Mamma Mia! (yes, boat tours come complete with themed singalongs). From the harbour, you can also take day trips to Alonissos, home to the National Marine Park, one of the best places in Greece for spotting dolphins and monk seals. ✨ Expect serenity, traditional villages, and beaches framed by pine forests.

🌅 Skiathos: Buzz, Beaches, and a Lively Spirit Only an hour’s ferry ride away, Skiathos was an entirely different experience. Skiathos Town buzzed with cafés, cocktail bars, and lively tavernas spilling onto the waterfront. But the island’s real draw? Its beaches. With more than 60 beaches to choose from, Skiathos is a sun-seeker’s dream. The famous Koukounaries Beach delivered golden sand and a lively atmosphere, while quieter coves like Troulos Beach gave us calm seas and a slower pace. This was our favourite one

Whilst the beaches in the south can be accessed by bus, it is well worth taking a boat tour for the day to visit the less accessible beaches on the east and north of the island, with the outstanding beauty of Lalaria Beach, with its iconic white pebbles and stone arch, the most spectacular. ✨ Expect a mix of vibrant nightlife and secluded hideaways, all wrapped up in golden sands and pine-scented breezes.

🌍 Where Else Can You Island Hop in Greece? My taste of the Sporades has left me craving more, and naturally, my thoughts turn to the Cyclades — the islands most travellers dream of. Locals often told us: “If you loved the Sporades, you must see Mykonos, Naxos, and Santorini.”

• Mykonos → Glamour and energy. Boutique hotels, stylish beach clubs, and nightlife that runs until dawn. The polar opposite of Skopelos’s calm, but that contrast is what makes hopping so fun.

• Naxos → The island that intrigues me most. Greener than its Cycladic neighbours, with mountain villages, fertile valleys, and a sense of authenticity that might remind me of Skopelos.

• Santorini → The Greece of postcards: whitewashed villages, caldera views, and unforgettable sunsets. Yes, it’s busier and more touristic, but there’s a reason it tops so many bucket lists.

Beyond the Cyclades, there’s the Ionian Islands on Greece’s western side:

• Corfu → Venetian charm, a UNESCO-listed old town, and excellent restaurants.

• Paxos & Antipaxos → Tiny, tranquil, with olive groves and Caribbean-blue coves.

• Kefalonia → Rugged and dramatic, home to the spectacular Myrtos Beach and the pretty fishing village of Fiskardo.

Or, if you’d like something different again, the Saronic Islands (close to Athens) make for an easy hop, or you could pair Crete and Rhodes with a stop in Karpathos for a mix of big-island culture and wild beauty.

✨ Two Faces of Greece

As I reflect on our time in the Sporades, I realize how much it gave us: quiet beaches, pine-scented breezes, and a slower, more intimate kind of island life. The food was incredible, the hospitality warm, and the rhythm of the days unhurried. And yet, I know our next island-hopping adventure will give us something entirely different — maybe glamour, maybe history, maybe dramatic volcanic cliffs. But that’s the real beauty of Greek island hopping: no two islands are ever the same. Each has its own rhythm, its own flavour, its own way of capturing your heart.

For your Greek Island holiday I can plan your route, arrange your flights and take care of all your accommodation and ferry requirements. Skopelos and Skiathos have already stolen a piece of my heart. Why not see if I can now find a little bit of Greece that can steal a piece of yours.