Let the journey begin
Skiathos for first timers
Here at Drink Eat Travel Repeat, it’s not often we travel back to a place where we have travelled before; however, Skiathos holds a special place in our hearts, and we travel back here on a yearly basis. Skiathos is a Greek island situated in the northwest of the Aegean Sea.
It is best known for its beautiful beaches, cobbled side streets and its stunning old port.
We started travelling to Skiathos back in 2014 when it was just the two of us travelling. However now, our family has grown a little and our most recent visit was June 2025 where we travelled with our three children. Our three boys, love to visit the island and its nice to have some familiarity for them to, especially for our three year old, Rocco, who is diagnosed with nonverbal autism, and therefore finds comfort in routine.
Our knowledge on Skiathos is quite extensive so we are going to break the blogs down into more digestible sizes. The first part of the blog we are going to chat about is where to stay!
Where to stay!
We have stopped in many different areas on the island with many different types of accommodation. As a whole, for us, we prefer to stay close to Skiathos town as on an evening we like to have a walk and have some food and drinks. We are fans of the hustle and bustle and feel like Skiathos town is a unique place.
When we have stopped at other places on the island (Troulos and Koukounaries) although they are beautiful, they are similar to other Greek islands we have visited in the past, so it feels like you could be anywhere. There are quieter areas but still have plenty bars and restaurants and some of the beaches are nicer at these places than they are in the town. It’s just our preference.
If you have mobility issues its best to stay right in the town itself as some of the hotels/apartments/villas just slightly out of the town (maybe a 5/10 min walk) generally are up or down steep hills whereas directly in town, it is all flat.
A hotel we would recommend in the town itself is Bourtzi Hotel. This is situated on the main street running through Skiathos town, Papa Diamanti. Beautiful Modern Clean, nice (slightly compact) pool area and lovely café bar out the front. Worth to note that children under 14 are unable to stop here so we cannot visit here currently but for some people not having young children running round sounds perfect.
We tend to stop just out of town with a slight walk into town. A hotel we recommend with amazing views and an easy walk to town is Poseidon villas. Poseidon has just recently been renovated to a high standard and now has rooms with private plunge pools on the balconies. Views from Poseidon look over the town one way and then the other direction can see Megali Ammos beach. There truly are some stunning views here, and a lovely pool area for the family. Although its easy to walk into town here, coming back is another story. Poseidon is situated on top of a rather large hill, therefore walking back on an evening can be a challenge, many times we have opted to walk to the taxi rank instead. In more recent years we have chosen not to stay here with the pushchairs as we feel the uphill walk with the two prams would be hard work.
Villas
On a few occasions we have rented out villas which has been ideal with young children, having our own space which is much larger than a hotel room. One villa that is situated a stone’s throw away from Poseidon villas, is called Villa K. This villa I would recommend as my favourite place to stop on the island. It boosts 5 large double bedrooms that are all ensuite large living and kitchen area, games room, wine cooler room and private pool and a very well-presented outdoor space. However, this beautiful villa comes with a very hefty price tag, where a week here can easily be £15k+. if you are travelling with extended family of friends and can spilt the cost can make it more cost effective but if you are just travelling as a small family, we believe you would find something more cost effective elsewhere.
Another villa we have stopped at 3 times is Sky Sea Resort. This resort has a total of 7 villas, 4 large villas with pools and 3 smaller villas with hot tubs. The villas here are just immaculate. Modern with all the necessary facilities. The views are out of this world and the hosts (who are an Italian family) cannot be more accommodating. The only thing that stops us staying here each time we stay is the location. In order to get the amazing views you have to be pretty high up, and therefore you cannot walk into town as its too far and too steep. Therefore, a car here is essential and as we both like to have a beer on an evening, driving isn’t a great option, and if we taxi it there and back every day it gets pretty costly. Also worth to mention that depending on month of travel, if in peak season July/august then taxis can be in high demand so you may have to do some waiting around for them.
The beach...
Another area I would like to mention to stay where we often stay now with the babies, is on Megali Ammos beach area. This is the closest beach to town and there are many apartments and hotels in this area. Walking to town is good from here, there are some hills but not as severe as Poseidon and Villa K. We manage here with the pushchairs fairly easily. Megali Ammos beach is not a favourite of ours but its nice. Lots of lovely tavernas, a nice sandy beach and a calm sea. Can’t ask for much more for the children.
People have asked us if there are any larger hotel complexes, there are but not in the town. We have stopped at Elivi previously, which is the opposite end of the island to the town but is a stunning hotel, amazing restaurants, beautiful pools amazing beach. It’s a stunning property just a little too far out to where we like to be.
Conclusion...
There are so many things to consider when it comes to choosing where to stay, and most of it is personal choice to what you want from a holiday, overall, we would recommend to stay close to town as this for us is what makes Skiathos such a special place.
