Skopelos Greece and Abba Mamma Mia! The Movie
The Greek island of Skopelos Best Resorts and Beaches Guide
Oct 26, 2009
Skopelos is a lush island of thickly-wooded hills, fertile groves of almonds, olive trees and plum orchards producing the island’s prized prunes (the wasps seem to like them too so be prepared with repellent). It had its five minutes of fame as the fictional island of Kalokairi in August and September 2007 when Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and the cast of Mamma Mia! were in town.
But stardom hasn't turned its head and Skopelos has not lost touch with its roots. The stars have moved on but in Kafeneio Dimotiko life goes on as it always has, with the local menfolk arguing vociferously while they sip thimbles of oily coffee, smoking ferociously and rattling backgammon dice across the tables.
Skopelos Best Resorts and Bases
Skopelos Town is a real winner as a base: in daytime it's a mellow, low-key spot, but it comes alive at night. A line of little slate-roofed chapels tumbles photogenically down a steep cliff beneath the Venetian Kastro fortress, and in the maze of alleyways behind the quay are trendy boutiques, stylish handicraft shops and delis selling the island’s olive oil, fruit preserves, honey and prunes.
The whitewashed walls of the Kastro enfold tiny cobbled alleys reminiscent of a North African medina. The wooden balconies of blue-shuttered houses are ablaze with bursts of bougainvilllea and jasmine, and the tiny white 9th-century church of Agios Athanasios has 16th-century frescos worth seeing.
The road linking Skopelos Town to Glossa near the northern tip runs past good beaches fringed with clusters of tavernas and rooms-to-let that make ideal low-key accommodation for escapists. Agnondas is the best bet: fishing boats land their catch ready for dinner and there is a serviceable skinny pebble beach, but it's just a short stroll to the excellent sandy strip at Limnonari.
At Panormos, an idyllic azure bay bracketed by wooded hills offers beachfront tavernas and an inviting but busy curve of flat pebbles packed densely with sunloungers. Elios has a passable beach, but the developing resort is a touch dog-eared and characterless.
Highlights of Skopelos
The dazzling white hilltown of Glossa is a tangle of steep streets where some of the houses still have a toilet perched precariously outside on Ottoman-era wooden balconies. A short drive east, the chapel of Agios Ioannis Kastri perches photogenically above the turquoise sea atop a soaring pinnacle.
The mountain opposite Skopelos Town harbour hides monasteries and covents worth visiting. At Evangelistrias, a sign tells visitors ‘Ring the bell only once. Be suitably attired’. Inside the serene flower-filled courtyard is a chapel and a chance to buy the nuns’ intricate lacework. Also worth a visit are fortress-like Agia Barbara, and the ox-blood and white 16th-century chapel at Metamorfosis (aka Sotira).
Last but not least lovely Prodromou, with its lovely jasmine-scented courtyard garden was a site too perfect for the makers of Mamma Mia! to resist, so the wedding scene was filmed there.
Skopelos Best Beaches
Buses running to Glossa are the way to get to Skopelos’ best beaches, which all lie along the south coast. Most are equipped with tavernas and watersports. Filming of Mamma Mia! took place in different locations around the island, but Abba fans should make sure to visit Kastani beach on the southwest coast, where a set was built for filming.
The pick of Skopelos' beaches are:
- Stafylos – its scenic strip of pebbles is one of the nearest to Skopelos Town so it is predictably popular and well-frequented.
- Velanio – lies beyond Stafylos over a rocky promontory. It is a heavenly hideout beneath pine-shrouded hills. A line of huge boulders makes a handy screen for the naturist section at the end.
- Limnonari – is the island’s only genuinely sandy beach, and a glorious example of powdery white sand in a deeply-slashed bay .
Getting to Skopelos from the UK
Skopelos has no airport, so the easiest way to get there is to fly to neighbouring Skiathos and hop onto one of the frequent ferries and hydrofoils that shuttle between Skiathos and Skopelos Town. Charter airlines such as Thomsonfly, Monarch and Thomas Cook fly from UK airports to Skiathos. Scheduled airlines such as BA and Olympic fly to Athens to connect with regional flights with Aegean Airlines and Olympic to Skiathos.
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