Is Skopelos Worth Visiting?

Skopelos holds more than 360 churches across an island of fewer than 5,000 residents, and that density says something about a place greener and less developed than most of its Aegean neighbors.

Skopelos sits between Skiathos and Alonissos in the Sporades, and its capital, Chora, climbs from the harbor in tiers of whitewashed houses with red-tiled roofs and wooden balconies, layered in a style that blends North Aegean and Cycladic architecture. Ruins of a Venetian castle sit above the town, and the walk up through the old neighborhood, starting from the Panagitsa Tower on the harbor's edge, passes church after church on the way to the top.

The island served as the primary filming location for Mamma Mia!, and Agios Ioannis, a whitewashed chapel perched on a rock accessible by around 100 steps, drew a sharp rise in visitors after appearing as the film's wedding scene. Skopelos also gave its name to a twisted, spiral cheese pie found in nearly every taverna on the island, a local specialty distinct from the standard Greek version, and the town's Folklore Museum and several olive oil producers near Glossa round out a food and craft scene shaped by pine forest and centuries of farming.

Milia and Kastani rank among the island's best known beaches, both backed by pine forest that runs down nearly to the waterline, while Hovolo requires more effort to reach and rewards it with white cliffs and clearer water. Glossa, the island's second town, keeps a quieter, largely car-free character with views stretching toward Skiathos, and the port village of Agnontas offers fresh seafood along a working pier favored by sailors passing through the northern Sporades.

Skopelos has no airport, so most travelers fly into Skiathos and connect by ferry, a crossing of about an hour, or take a longer ferry directly from Volos on the mainland. It suits travelers who want pine forest, real village life, and Mamma Mia nostalgia without the density of the Cyclades, and a car or scooter makes it far easier to reach the island's beaches and villages spread across its coastline.