Getting from Athens to Skyros

If you are heading to Skyros from Athens you are going to the most remote and most unusual of the Sporades. Skyros is an island of two completely different landscapes that meet roughly in the middle. The north is green and forested, with the dramatic hilltop Chora climbing a rocky outcrop above the port of Linaria and the Byzantine castle and monastery of Agios Georgios rising above it all. The south is bare, volcanic and wild, its own strange world. The island has its own native horse breed, the Skyrian horse, one of the smallest in the world, which roams the southern plateau. Rupert Brooke is buried here, having died offshore in 1915 on his way to Gallipoli. The carnival tradition in Skyros is one of the most extraordinary in Greece.

Take the ferry

There is no direct ferry from Athens to Skyros. The island is connected to the mainland only via Kymi, a port on the eastern coast of Evia around 2.5 hours by road from Athens. The ferry from Kymi to Skyros runs once or twice daily and takes around 1.5 hours. The drive from Athens to Kymi via the Chalkida bridge into Evia takes around 2.5 hours.

Getting there by air

Skyros has its own small airport with domestic connections from Athens taking around 40 minutes. The service runs a limited number of times per week so check the schedule carefully before planning around it.

Your best option

Fly from Athens if the schedule works for your dates. The 40-minute flight is the most time efficient approach by a significant margin. If flights do not align, drive to Kymi and take the ferry, which gives you a vehicle on the island and the full Sporades sea arrival. The drive to Kymi through Evia is a good one.