Take a chance on these islands
rooms, including 32 suites, are spacious and comfortable, with fridges, flatscreen TVs and Wi-Fi. The family rooms on the ground floor have pools for private dips.
For supper, you can eat in the oceanside restaurant, but we opt for the gazebos on the beach, where we dip our toes in the sea, then sit down at a candle-lit table laden with fresh giant prawns, salads and more local rose.
But don’t just stop at Skiathos; the other islands are all different in
FIONA WEBSTER
was a guest of Olympic Holidays, who offer a 10-night island hopping holiday for £1,959 per person (based on two people travelling), including five nights’ B&B at the Skiathos Princess Hotel and five nights’ B&B at the Marpunta Resort, Alonnisos. The package includes return flights from Gatwick, transfers and baggage. Call 020 8492 6868 or visit
olympicholidays. com. letsferry.gr
For ferries see character and well worth seeing.
We hop on a £10 ferry – you can book in advance or at the harbour – which stops at different islands on the way, including Skopelos, where the hillside harbour is dotted with whitewashed houses and terracotta roofs. Ninety minutes after leaving Skiathos, we are docking in Alonnisos, a hilly island in the middle of a marine park. It measures just three miles by 12 and boasts pine tree-lined cliffs, coves and beaches.
We’re staying at the Marpunta Resort, part of the Santikos Collection, where the 104 rooms are actually little individual whitewashed houses set in the hillside to resemble a traditional Greek village.
My first visit is to the pool, where the morning aqua Zumba class looks a little too active for me. Opting for the beach, I am soon tempted into the water. A hotel minibus runs into Skiathos old town. Here, narrow lanes of houses painted purple and pink lead to a hilltop bar, where we sip Greek beer and drink in the views of the island and the Aegean.
The food at both the Princess in Skiathos and Marpunta in Alonnisos is fabulous. Menus are made up of fresh local ingredients prepared by respected chefs and their teams.
Our supper starts with a crisp green salad with olive oil and feta