Skopelos

Skopelos lies between Skiathos and Alonnisos in the Northern Sporades. Pine forest covers most of the island and reaches down to the water, and the main town climbs the hill above its harbour in white houses and stone lanes.

Many people know it from the film Mamma Mia!, shot partly on the island. The wedding chapel is Agios Ioannis sto Kastri, on a rock above the north-east coast.

Of all the Sporades it is the island we would choose first: green to the waterline, calm enough to feel far away, and full of bays like Panormos and Agnontas that are best reached by boat.

Skopelos takes three of the seven days, more than any other island on the route. After a full day crossing from Halkidiki, the first night is in harbour on the island.

The next day we sail to Agios Ioannis, climb the steps to the chapel and swim below the rock, then spend the night in the natural harbour of Panormos. Day four is for the paddleboard and a quiet bay, and ends in the fishing village of Agnontas. Day five starts with a swim at Stafylos beach before we cross to Alonnisos.