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Route · 7 days · one-wayYacht charter route · Sporades

Volos via Skopelos.

Sail seven days from Volos through Trikeri, Skiathos, Alonissos, Skopelos, the Sporades Marine Park and quiet Pelion anchorages.

The route

Day-by-day route

Click any pin on the map or any day in the route summary below to see that day's stop, story and photos.

Trikeri
Day 1

Volos → Trikeri Island

An easy twenty miles south through the Pagasetic Gulf to the island of Trikeri, the Pelion cliffs standing over your starboard side all afternoon.

Distance

17 NM

Sailing

~3.4h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

May – early October (peak Jun – Sep)

Duration

7 days

Departure

Volos

Sailing area

Sporades

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

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The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 7
Trikeri
1
Day 1

Volos → Trikeri Island

This first leg eases everyone in. Twenty miles of flat gulf water gives the crew time to sort out lines and lunch before anything demanding. The Pelion peninsula runs the whole way along to starboard, its slopes dropping steeply into the sea, and the wind inside the gulf stays kinder than out in the open Sporades. We usually reach Trikeri by mid-afternoon. The little island sits right at the gulf's mouth, and its harbour holds well on sand in four to six metres, sheltered whichever way the breeze turns overnight. Once the anchor is down, walk up the ridge to Panagia Evangelistria, a whitewashed monastery from 1734 that looks back over the water you just crossed. Back at the quay, order the saganaki shrimp and let the first evening go slow.

Things to do

Climb to Panagia Evangelistria monastery (1734)

Snorkel the rocky shore off the harbour

Order saganaki shrimp at the quay

Wander Trikeri's stone-paved village lanes

Mooring tip

Anchoring in Trikeri harbour is free and holds on sand at four to six metres, with all-round shelter. If you would rather tie up, the village quay has a handful of slots at roughly EUR 15-25 a night.

Koukounaries
2
Day 2

Trikeri Island → Koukounaries

Leaving the gulf, you feel the open Sporades for the first time. The meltemi can fill in from the north by early afternoon, so we like to be off Koukounaries before it does. The bay sits on Skiathos's southwest corner, its long arc of soft sand held in by pine woods that come almost to the waterline. Anchor on sand in four to six metres; the holding is good and the headland cuts the northerly. Row ashore and walk the Strofilia wetland trail behind the beach, where herons and the odd flamingo work the shallows. If the crew wants livelier water, paddle round to Banana Beach, which has no road in. Later, the beach bars at Achladies do a decent sundowner without the town crowds.

Things to do

Swim off Koukounaries' golden sand

Walk the Strofilia wetland flamingo trail

Paddle to road-free Banana Beach

Sundowners at Achladies beach bars

Mooring tip

Koukounaries is a free anchorage on sand at four to six metres, protected from the north. If the meltemi swings or you want shore power, Skiathos town quay takes you stern-to for a fee.

Alonissos
3
Day 3

Koukounaires → Tzortzi Bay (Alonissos)

Today you cross into the National Marine Park of the Northern Sporades, the largest protected sea area in Europe and the last stronghold of the Mediterranean monk seal. Keep an eye out on the passage; sightings are rare but not unheard of. Tzortzi Bay cuts into Alonissos's west coast, a calm notch that holds on sand in five to seven metres with good cover from north and east. Just off the entrance lies the Peristera wreck, a merchant ship that went down in the fifth century BC with its full cargo of amphorae still in place. You can only visit it with a licensed dive operator, but knowing it's down there adds something to the swim. Ashore later, the hilltop lanes of Old Alonissos are worth the taxi up.

Things to do

Swim the sheltered sand of Tzortzi Bay

Dive the fifth-century BC Peristera wreck

Astakomakaronada (lobster pasta) in Patitiri

Wander car-free Old Alonissos village

Mooring tip

Tzortzi Bay anchors free on sand at five to seven metres, sheltered from north and east. For a secure overnight with services, Patitiri harbour is the stern-to alternative. Note the Park rules: no spearfishing anywhere inside.

Kira Panagia
4
Day 4

Tzortzi Bay → Kira Panagia

This is the day the trip goes quiet. Kyra Panagia has no village, no road and no quay, just an island the Marine Park keeps for the birds and the seals. Planitis Bay on the north coast is why boats come; a narrow entrance opens into an almost enclosed lagoon that shrugs off any northerly, with the anchor biting sand in five to seven metres. There is nothing to buy here, so provision well before you leave Alonissos. Once you're settled, hike the half-hour up to the Panagia Monastery, a Byzantine foundation tied to Mount Athos that still watches over the bay. The snorkelling along the rocky edges is some of the clearest on the route, and dusk over an empty anchorage is the reason people sail the Sporades.

Things to do

Anchor in the enclosed Planitis lagoon

Hike to the Byzantine Panagia Monastery

Snorkel the clear rocky shallows

Watch dusk over an empty anchorage

Mooring tip

Planitis is anchor-only and free, holding on sand at five to seven metres with near total shelter. The island has no water, fuel or shops, so top up at Alonissos first. Park rules ban beach fires and spearfishing.

Skopelos
5
Day 5

Kira Panagia → Skopelos

Skopelos is the greenest of the Sporades, its hills shaggy with pine right down to the shoreline. The run west is open water, so watch the afternoon northerly and reef early if it builds. Skopelos town wraps around its harbour like a theatre; you tie stern-to on the quay, well covered from the north, with cafes and bakeries a few steps from the boat. Try the local plum products and the island's cheese pie while you're ashore. The headline excursion is Agios Ioannis Kastri, the tiny chapel on its rock stack that stood in for the wedding scene in Mamma Mia, a short drive up the east coast. Below it, Kastani Beach is where much of the film was shot, and it swims as well as it photographs.

Things to do

Visit the Mamma Mia chapel, Agios Ioannis Kastri

Swim at Kastani Beach film location

Taste Skopelos plum pie and cheese pie

Wander Glossa's terracotta-roofed hillside lanes

Mooring tip

Skopelos town quay is stern-to at roughly EUR 25-40 a night, sheltered from the north but exposed to a rare southerly. Loutraki below Glossa is the quieter alternative on the northwest end.

Kiriaki
6
Day 6

Skopelos → Agia Kiriaki

After the islands, Agia Kiriaki feels like stepping back a few decades. It's a small fishing settlement on the southern tip of Pelion, where a traditional shipyard still lays down wooden hulls the old way and only a couple of tavernas front the quay. The approach is 15 miles of usually easy sailing, and the cove takes an anchor on sand in four to six metres with cover from the north. The slopes above are thick with olive groves, some of the most fragrant on the mainland, and a footpath climbs through them if the crew has energy left. Order the spanakopita and finish with honey and thick yogurt. There's little to do here beyond eat, swim and watch the boatbuilders work, which after a week of sailing is exactly the point.

Things to do

Watch caiques built at the working shipyard

Spanakopita and honey yogurt at the quay

Snorkel the rocks north of the cove

Walk the olive-grove path above the village

Mooring tip

Agia Kiriaki anchors free on sand at four to six metres, sheltered from the north. A few village quay slots run EUR 15-20 a night, but there are no lazy lines, so carry a long line ashore.

Volos
7
Day 7

Agia Kiriaki → Volos

The last leg retraces the gulf, an easy 15 miles north with the Pelion again on the beam. There's no rush, so break the passage with a swim; Agios Ioannis, on Pelion's east side, has clean sand and usually calm water in the morning. Volos Marina sits at the very head of the Pagasetic Gulf, big and well protected, with full services and a fuel berth at the entrance. Refuel before you tie up, then take the stern-to berth on the lazy lines. Once the boat is squared away, the Volos waterfront is made for a last evening: pull up a chair at a seafront ouzeri, order grilled octopus and a carafe of tsipouro, and toast a week that ran from mountain gulf to marine park and back.

Things to do

Morning swim at Agios Ioannis beach

Refuel at the Volos Marina fuel berth

Grilled octopus and tsipouro at a seafront ouzeri

Stroll the Volos waterfront promenade

Mooring tip

Volos Marina is stern-to with lazy lines at around EUR 40-60 a night, with full shelter and services. Refuel at the entrance berth before mooring, and confirm your handover slot a day ahead.

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