Glossa

The village of Glossa is nestled into the hillside on the northwest part of Skopelos.

Glossa, which derives its name from the Minoan Knossa, sits about 200 metres above the small harbour of Loutraki.  The site has been inhabited continuously from antiquity to the present day.  Eleni’s House is located centrally within walking distance of the cafe, bakery, shop and restaurants.

Loutraki

It’s a 20 minutes’ walk down the hill to Glossa’s harbour, Loutraki, where the ferries dock.

Loutraki is the second harbour of the island (after Skopelos Town). It is also a great place to have a drink or dinner at one of the waterside tavernas (Flisvos is our favourite) and watch the ferries and sailing boats coming and going.  Loutraki is also the nearest beach to Eleni’s House.

Mamma Mia!

The famous Mama Mia! church of Agios Ioannis is only a 15-minute drive from Glossa.  It’s a beautiful tiny church.  There is a cantina there and a small beach that provides some of the best snorkelling on the island.

A wonderful place to walk and explore…

Skopelos, Skiathos and Alonnissos are the principal islands of the Northern Sporades group, of which Skopelos is the largest.

Skopelos Island is dominated by two main mountains – Mt Delphe (660m) and Mt Palouki (546m) – the larger part of the island is covered by dense forests of pine, Holm oak and plane trees, which often run all the way down to the sea.

Windy roads and cobbled donkey paths crisscross through the forests between natural springs and tiny chapels. Some of these have been maintained by Skopelos Trails who have a Facebook group and regularly arrange volunteers to clear and signpost the paths.

The island numbers approximately 6000 inhabitants, mostly living in the capital, Skopelos town, and in the villages of Glossa, Loutraki and Elios. 

The architecture is also different from more southern islands, the houses have tiled, apex roofs; snow is not unknown in the winter here! 

Whilst tourism is undoubtedly an important industry for the island many people live and work here all year round and proudly defend a more traditional Greek way of life.

Getting around

Car hire is recommended if you want to explore the whole island particularly out of the main summer season.  In June, July, August very good bus service runs regularly backwards and forwards from one end of the island (Loutraki) to the other (Skopelos Town) passing all the main villages and beaches.  Even if you have a car its fun to make the entire round trip by bus at least once, so that you can enjoy all the fabulous views from bus height.

Eating Out

There are many places to eat in the village depending on the season – from the widely-renowned Agnanti’s restaurant, a simple kebab at Louki’s half way down the village, or Dimitri’s delicious family taverna by the Glossa bus stop at the lower church square.

Flisvos is great for fresh fish - on the waters edge as far west as you can go once in Loutraki port.

And there are many other good waterside tavernas in Panormos, Agnondas and one at Milia beach.

Anna’s in Skopelos Town is a favourite walled garden special treat.

Menus are invariably written in both Greek and English. Cash is used mostly.

Loutraki

Loutraki is the closest beach to Eleni’s House. 20mins downhill via the donkey path and a steep walk back up! Or catch the bus at Glossa lower square.

Perivolu

A beautiful 50 min walk through forests is well worth the time to get to this beautiful beach. You can drive a longer way round too if its too hot to walk! There is a small beach hut cafe under the trees open in the summer months.

Armenopetra

This quiet arc of a beach of fine shingle can be seen from the balcony of Eleni’s House towards the south.  There are no sun beds or umbrellas here, nor any cafés or cantinas, but good peaceful swimming here.  It is a long and steep track from the main road if you do not have a car or scooter.

Kastani

This is where the beach scenes were shot in Mamma Mia!.  A fancy bar area has been built, with grass, decked areas, quality loungers and parasols.  The music played can be a bit loud and in high season boats of visitors invade now and again, but there is plenty of space round to the left once on the beach and the sand is the finest on the island.

(Kastani is the main header image above.)

Milia

Our favourite and one of largest stretches of beach on the island. Divided in two by a rocky outcrop, Milia has shade under pine trees, sun loungers and parasols available for hire throughout the season.  There is a friendly family run taverna and a beach bar open to provide drinks and other refreshments.

Panormos

The road pass close to the beach here and Panormos is a lively place, with a supermarket and a number of family-run tavernas right on the beach.  Its perfect for having a dip, sunbathe, order a drink, go back in the water, have a meal and end a perfect day watching the sun go down over the islets, Skiathos and the far-away mainland.  

Limnonari

The name derives from the Greek word for lake – limni – which aptly describes its unusually calm, blue-green waters, which are ideal for swimming.

Agnondas

This is another hamlet with tavernas bordering the narrow beach.  There is also a sizeable jetty here which is used by fishing boats and sometimes the ferries as an alternative to Skopelos Town when the northeasterlies blow too hard.

Staphylos

Towards the south of the island, this is probably the most commercial beach for people staying in Skopelos Town, which is just four kilometres away. But there is a quiet naturist swimming beach - follow the path at the far end of Staphylos over to Velanio Beach and walk to the far end, past the deck chairs and tall rocks. The cape between Staphylos and Velanio Beach is an important archeological site of the Mycenaean period 1600-1100BC (the finds are now in museum in Athens).

Not on the bus route, there are plenty of other beaches too:

Glyfoneri

This small beach is right next to Skopelos Town, easy to walk to, towards the northwest.

Glysteri

This is further northwest still, this beach is at the end of a beautiful valley and situated in a lovely bowl of a small bay.  There is also a taverna there.

Kastri and Agios Ioannis

Legend has it that one night a fisherman from Glossa saw a white light shining at the top of this steep rock.  When he investigated he discovered an icon of St John the Baptist, which was put safely in the nearby church of Evangelistria.  The following day, all were surprised to find that the icon had disappeared, only to be found again at the top of this rock.  So they decided to build a small church and a few monastic cells on this lovely spot, and to plant a few olive trees.  A very peaceful place, it is worth climbing the 105 steps to visit it.  Now, of course, it is often referred to as the Mamma Mia! church.