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Alonissos was a very pleasant
surprise in every aspect after spending a week on another Sporades island, Skiathos. After the noisy crowds, it was heavenly
wonderful to arrive to this small place where time seemed to have stopped. Arrived around 2 o’clock in the afternoon
and found all the shops and cafés closing for the siesta... After stepping out of the hydrofoil it was amazing to see so many
people offering their hotels for accommodation, offering leaflets and advertisements. Competition is hard and sometimes even
aggressive since the tourists are still few on this island, you just have to try to make most of it. Alonissos is like a sleeping
beauty, waiting to be found by the masses of holidaymakers.
But that is unlikely to happen, luckily. There is no airport on the island, the
closest one is on Skiathos, and it takes about an hour by hydrofoil to get here. Not so many travellers are keen to travel
any extra, even though you might find something totally new and unspoiled if you did make the effort. Connections to other
Sporades islands are very good and there is at least one daily going to Thessaloniki and even more to Volos. But it’s
not entirely a bad thing that big crowds don’t find their way here. The island is able to maintain its own Greek character
and keep the prices more reasonable. Skiathos is getting outrageously expensive, while Skopelos is still resisting hard. Alonissos
has absolutely nothing to worry about and it’s not missing a thing; hotels are excellent in both quantity and quality,
as well as in prices, restaurants are few but more authentic, shops are also few but adequate, environment is still alive
and can hold it like that despite the few tourists. Travellers like myself, we will find our way here and do know to appreciate
and are thankful for its peace and quiet.
Alonissos main port and town is Patitiri. It’s small but has a nice pebble
beach at the end of harbour behind the dock and a small fishing port on the other side. There is another port, a bigger one,
on the build at the other end of the harbour, behind the fishing port, for big ferries to dock, for bigger crowds... Even
so, Patitiri is very compact and has some nice features. The centre is the harbour, with the excursion boats and small shops
and ticket offices. In the evening you will find people selling excursions to the Marine Park and nearby beaches behind their
small tables by the pavement. There are two main streets heading inland from the harbour, one to Old Alonissos, Chora and
the other one to Steni Vala. Most of the shops and other services are by these two roads. Patitiri is built on hillsides and
has a lot of stairs and roads seem to go always uphill. Bus goes to Old Alonissos all day long, as well as to Steni Vala.
Marine Park is probably the
main attraction of this region and Alonissos is a big part of it. More about the Park you can find through a link at the top
of this page. Alonissos has very little of interest if you think about history or other cultural activities. Alonissos offers
a perfect setting for a nice, quiet holiday with sea, sun and relaxation. It’s easy to do nothing here. There are some
very nice walks around the town, best one to Old Alonissos and beaches beyond it. You can take a boat to some beaches or visit
some nearby islands; excursion boat will take you also to visit the Marine Park. Evenings are best when just sitting in a
restaurant and watching the time go by.
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