Alonissos Travel Guide: Marine Park, Patitiri to Chora, Seafood and Sailing Trips

The fishing boats come into Patitiri with the day’s catch, and by the time the tavernas along the harbor set their tables the menu has already been decided by the sea. Up the hill, the old village of Chora looks back over the water toward Skopelos. Alonissos is a small Aegean island of pine, fishing boats and boat trips, where the waters around it are a protected Marine Park and the pace follows the ferries.

Paved alley of the old village of Alonissos, in summer · Illustration

Where is Alonissos and what is it like?

Alonissos sits in the Aegean Sea as the third member of the Northern Sporades, after Skiathos and Skopelos, and it lies 2 miles east of Skopelos. It is a long, narrow island with its main port, Patitiri, in the southeast, and it feels like a place built around the harbor, the hillside village above it and the sea beyond.

Patitiri is where you arrive. The ferries, catamarans and hydrofoils tie up here, the taxi rank stands near the bus stop opposite the Alkyon Hotel, and the main street holds a bakery with pastries that people go out of their way for, a scattering of jewelry shops and the tavernas behind the town beach.

From the harbor, a well-marked footpath climbs the hill to Chora, the Old Town. The walk takes around an hour and is fairly steep at times, so it rewards a walker with a view over the roofs and the water.

What defines Alonissos is not a long list of sights but the sea around it. The surrounding waters are declared a Marine Park and conservation area, created to protect the monk seal that breeds in the region, and they are considered the cleanest in the Aegean. That gives the island its character: boat days, swimming stops, fish on the plate and evenings in a tavern.

It is less suited to anyone who wants an airport on the doorstep or a busy shopping street. There is no airport on the island, and the souvenir shops are modest: Greek jewelry is common, though many of the colorful sea shells on sale are imported and have nothing to do with the island.

What is there to do in Alonissos?

The things to do on Alonissos are mostly about the water, the old village and the table. What sets it apart from its neighbors Skiathos and Skopelos is the Marine Park, which shapes how people spend the day at sea.

Sailing trips and the Marine Park

A daily sailing trip leaves to circle the island or to visit the nearby deserted islands, and this is the outing that explains why people choose Alonissos. The Marine Park exists to protect the monk seal, and in the areas where approaching is permitted, swimming, looking at the sea bed, amateur photography and filming are allowed.

The sea caves around the island are where seals live, but the seals are shy, so treat a sighting as a pleasant surprise and not something to count on. What you can count on is the scenery: coves reached only by water, pine-covered shores and the empty islands that give the trip its feel of being a long way from anywhere.

Beaches on the east side

Alonissos has a variety of beaches, as the other Sporades do, and most of them lie on the east side of the island. Patitiri has its own town beach with bars and tavernas on the strip behind it, which makes it the natural place for a swim before lunch.

For something more remote there is Megali Ammos, an isolated, unspoiled beach on the northwest coast that is described as really wonderful. It is the kind of place you go to for the setting more than for any facilities. Pair it with a rental moped or car, since the island has no regular public transport outside the tourist season.

The museum in Patitiri

The Alonissos museum stands in Patitiri, in a bright, relatively new stone building to the left of the town beach. To reach it you go past the bars and tavernas behind the beach and up the steps at the end, and the door is at the top. It is the largest privately owned museum in the Greek islands.

Exhibits fill the lower ground, ground and first floors, a lift serves all floors, and a coffee shop sits on the second floor. It makes a good stop in the middle of a day of walking and swimming, and since it is in the port you need no transport to reach it.

Fish, lobster spaghetti and pastries

Most restaurants on Alonissos serve only the day’s catch, so any fish dish is a good order, and the portions at the tavernas are usually generous. In Steni Vala, Kyria Tasia’s tavern is famous for its lobster spaghetti, and her sister serves a dessert called Soultana in the coffee house next door.

In Patitiri, the bakery on the right side of the main street has delicious pastries, which suit a morning before a boat or a walk up to Chora. Follow the same logic at every table: ask what came in today and order that.

How many days do you need in Alonissos?

Alonissos has few formal sights, so the time goes to boats, beaches, the walk to Chora and meals, and more days simply mean more of the same, taken slower.

In a short stay, arrive in Patitiri, walk the harbor and the town beach, visit the museum up the steps and eat fish at one of the tavernas. Climb the footpath to Chora for the view, and take the daily sailing trip around the island or out to the deserted islands. That covers the core of the place without rushing.

With more time, the east-side beaches deserve a few separate visits, and the remote Megali Ammos on the northwest coast becomes a proper outing. A trip to Steni Vala for lobster spaghetti and Soultana dessert gives an evening a destination. You can also spend a day in the marine waters, with a swim in a spot where approaching is permitted.

Alonissos also works as one stop in a chain. From Patitiri, ferries, catamarans and hydrofoils connect to Skiathos, Skopelos and Skyros, and to Volos, Agios Konstantinos and Thessaloniki on the mainland. Skopelos lies only 2 miles away, so adding it or Skiathos to a trip is straightforward on the map, and the island makes a natural base for a Sporades route.

Where to stay in Alonissos

Visitors base themselves in Patitiri, the main port in the southeast. It puts the ferries, the taxi rank, the bakery, the tavernas, the town beach and the museum within reach on foot, and it is the starting point of the footpath up to Chora. It suits anyone who wants to step off the boat and be settled, and who prefers not to depend on transport.

Chora, the Old Town above the harbor, is the choice for a stay in the village itself, with the view over the water. The trade-off is that it sits uphill from the port.

A taxi from Patitiri harbor to the Old Town takes about 5 minutes and costs €5, but early in the morning or on public holidays the fare may be doubled to €10. The new car park just past the entrance to Chora has ample free parking if you arrive by car.

Ikion Eco Boutique Hotel serves a traditional, freshly prepared breakfast and provides free internet access, luggage storage and facilities for business travelers.

Steni Vala, home to Kyria Tasia’s tavern and the coffee house next door, is another place to know when choosing where to base yourself, since you can plan a meal there whichever area you pick. Mopeds can be rented in Patitiri and go where cars cannot, which makes it easier to stay a little away from the port.

How do you get to Alonissos and get around?

You reach Alonissos by sea, since there is no airport on the island. Travelers can fly to Skiathos in peak season, or to Athens or Thessaloniki, and then take a boat.

The port of arrival is Patitiri. From there, ferries, catamarans (the flying cats) and hydrofoils (the flying dolphins) run to Volos, Agios Konstantinos, Thessaloniki, Skiathos, Skopelos and Skyros. Which of these suits you depends on where you are coming from, and the route is always written between Patitiri and the other port.

Walking, taxis and mopeds

In Patitiri you can do most things on foot. The footpath to Chora is well marked, takes around an hour and is fairly steep at times. The taxi rank is opposite the Alkyon Hotel, next to the bus stop, and a ride from the harbor to the Old Town takes about 5 minutes and costs €5, doubling to €10 for early-morning trips or on public holidays.

Mopeds can be rented at the port of Patitiri for €10-15 per day. They can go to places cars cannot, including the twisted, narrow streets of Patitiri itself. Anyone planning to reach the far-off beaches such as Megali Ammos should think about wheels.

Buses and parking

Outside the tourist season there is no public transport on Alonissos. The single bus stop in Patitiri, next to the taxi stand opposite the Alkyon Hotel, sees no service then, because the bus is used for the school run. That makes a taxi, a moped or your own feet the way around.

If you drive, the new car park in Chora, just past the entrance to the village, has ample free parking. From there the old streets are for walking, with the view over the water as the reward.

When is the best time to visit Alonissos?

Outside it the public bus does not operate, so getting around gets harder, and the airport on neighboring Skiathos takes flights in peak season. If your plan includes boat trips, beaches and a flexible way to move around, the tourist season is the time to be there.

The daily sailing trips around the island and to the deserted islands, the Marine Park swimming and the tavernas serving the day’s catch all belong to those months. The park was founded by Presidential Decree on May 16, 1992, and the protection of the monk seal is the reason the waters stay a draw.

Alonissos does not have a single festival that dominates the calendar, so the rhythm of a visit comes from the ferries, the weather and the sea. Because the island is small, even peak season is a matter of a fuller harbor and busier tavernas, and the walk up to Chora gives the same view whenever you go.

Good to know before you go

Euros are the money on Alonissos, and the souvenir shops deserve a little scrutiny. Many brand-name T-shirts, towels and handbags in tourist shops may be fakes or unlicensed, and the colorful sea shells are very often imported. For something made with more character, Geko (Silver & Art) in Patitiri Port sells bags, sandals, silk scarves and wooden necklaces and bracelets, and is described as having by far the most unique and beautiful pieces on the island.

Sources

Wikipedia, Alonissos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonissos), checked October 12, 2026
Wikivoyage, Alonissos (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Alonissos), checked October 12, 2026
Wikipedia, Alonnisos Marine Park (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonnisos_Marine_Park), checked October 12, 2026