The island of Skiathos belongs to a broader complex of islands, called the Northern Sporades, an Archipelago consisting of Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonnisos, Peristera and Skyros, as opposed to the Southern Sporades, a name corresponding mainly to the Dodecanese islands.
The actual name “Sporades” means scattered islands, depicting the result of the great eruption of the volcano of Santorini, around 1600 B.C
The island of Skiathos is best known for its beach of Koukounaries, nominated as the most natural beach in the Mediterranean Sea.
The unbelievably crystal clear water of the sea is perfectly matched by the dreamy imagery of the pine forest.
This picture also justifies the name of the beach, since Koukounaries, in Greek, means pine trees.
In general, Skiathos is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Greece, where thousands of visitors from all over the world choose to spend their holiday every summer.
The closest city is Volos, a major Greek port, from where there is a frequent ferry service to Skiathos. International visitors can fly straight to the island, landing on Skiathos International Airport.
Apart from the beach of Koukounaries, other beautiful beaches include Aselinos, Megali Ammos, Kechria, Kanapitsa, Mantraki, where the golden sand and the colorful water of the sea inspire a sense of relaxation and splendor.
The fine, perfect lines of the coast, the hills and the pine forests are beautifully bound together.
The visitor may feel that they are created by a divine painter, with the highest skill.
The beauty of the natural environment is the island’s true heritage, creating a sense of eternity, an earthly paradise, where man realizes his infinitesimal role within nature, his littleness in the face of nature’s grandiosity.
Free from personal, family and business concerns, the visitor is welcome and indeed encouraged to indulge in the joy of a stress-free way of living, to mingle with the locals, whose life is still untouched by the rush of the modern materialistic civilization.
Finally, the natural history of Skiathos provides a very useful example, showing the vanity of human efforts, the outcome of which will always depend on the natural phenomena (e.g. a volcanic eruption).
However, nature always rises from its ashes, as well as man does, providing a sense of continuity and natural environmental eternity, which should be the cornerstone for every human evolution.