Skiathos

Blessed with some of the Aegean’s most exquisite sandy white beaches, backed by rippling hills carpeted in scented pines and olive trees, Skiathos is the most developed of the Sporades. The beautiful beach-fringed south coast is filled with walled-in holiday villas, hotels and apartments, and from June to September, when the island fills up with sun-seeking Greeks and northern Europeans, prices soar and rooms dwindle. Seek out Skiathos' elegant monasteries, hidden-away churches and hillside hiking paths, however, and you'll still catch a glimpse of its soul.

Skiathos Town, on the southeast coast, is the attractive main port with a small cobbled old town of narrow whitewashed alleys. The only other settlement is tiny south-coast Troulos, 8km southwest.