How to Get to Skopelos Island, Greece: A Complete Guide

Planning a trip to the Sporades islands in Greece? Do you want to know how to get to Skopelos Island? Keep reading for the ultimate guide to getting to Skopelos from Skiathos, Athens, Thessaloniki, and beyond.

The beautiful island of Skopelos is a must-visit destination in the North Sporades islands in Greece. Often overshadowed by other Greek islands like Santorini, Corfu, or Mykonos, Skopelos is a stunning island with pine forests, emerald waters, and colorful towns.

In recent years, Skopelos has become increasingly popular, most probably due to Mamma Mia movie fame, yet it’s still a relatively quiet island with stunning beaches, great hiking, and delicious local food.

Will you need to make a little extra effort to get there? Yes, you will. Is it worth it? 100%.

In this guide, learn everything you need to know about getting to Skopelos for that perfect summer Greek island getaway.

*This ‘how to get to Skopelos’ travel guide contains affiliate links meaning I might make a small profit if you choose to book at no extra cost to you. This helps me to keep providing you with top-quality content for free.

Things to Know Before Planning a Trip to Skopelos

↠ There is no airport in Skopelos. The closest airport to Skopelos is Skiathos International Airport (JSI)

↠Direct flights to Skiathos generally run in the summer months from June-October.

↠ If you’re coming from Athens or Thessaloniki the trip will more than likely take 5+ hours but this does depend on bus and ferry schedules.

↠Flying to Skiathos and then taking a ferry to Skopelos is the fastest and easiest way to get to Skopelos.

How to Get to Skopelos Island: Ways to Travel to Skopelos

The most common way to get to Skopelos is by ferry or boat. As the island has no airport, this is really the only option. If you’re coming in from further afield than the Northern Sporades Island group, I suggest flying to Skiathos on a domestic or international flight, the popular island that’s located next to Skopelos, and then taking a ferry.

Plane

The island of Skopelos is green and hilly and due to its challenging geography, there’s no suitable place for an airport.

The closest international airport is located on the island of Skiathos, just next to Skopelos. You’ll find connections from the UK, Germany, Sweden, and Italy as well as domestic flights from Athens and other Greek cities. From Skiathos’ Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport, you can transfer to Skiathos port and then to Skopelos via ferry.

Otherwise, you can also fly to other airports in Greece such as Athens and Thessaloniki, and continue from there.

You can find flights to Skiathos departing from many European cities during the summer season. The Sporades islands are an extremely seasonal destination and between June and October, the summer season, many airlines will be operating direct flights to Skiathos.

Outside the summer months, you might find it difficult to find direct flights to Skiathos. If this is the case, your best bet might be to head to Thessaloniki and take a ferry from there.

Airlines such as Jet2, SAS, Wizz Air, Olympic Air, Aegean Airlines, Ryanair, and EasyJet all fly routes to Skiathos from various European destinations. In the summer months, you can find direct flights to Skiathos from the UK, Italy, Sweden, Austria, Greece, Germany, and Serbia.

To find the ideal connection to Skiathos from your home base, it’s best to use a flight comparisons site like Skyscanner or Kiwi Flights to search for the best possible options and dates. Note that flights might not be available every day so it helps to be flexible.

Ferry

Taking a ferry to Skopelos is the only way to get there and unless you decide to visit Skopelos on a private tour, you’ll need to hop on a ferry for the last leg of the trip.

There are two main ports in Skopelos; Skopelos town and Glossa (Loutraki). Skopelos town is the most popular option and gives you direct access to the main hub of the island. If you’re planning to rent a car or a scooter to further explore Skopelos, taking a ferry to Skopelos town is the best option.

There is no direct ferry from Athens or any other Greek Island group like the Cyclades. You can’t get on a ferry to Skopelos from Santorini or Mykonos for example.

Bus + Ferry

If you find yourself flying into Athens or Thessaloniki there are some other options for reaching Skopelos that involve a bus and then a connecting ferry.

You can take advantage of the ferry connections between Skopelos and mainland Greece at Volos, Agios Konstantinos, and Mantoudi. As there is just one daily ferry from Thessaloniki to Skopelos, you might instead want to take a bus to Volos and then the ferry to Skopelos.

Alternatively, if you’re coming from Athens, you might also want to take a bus to Mantoudi and then the ferry from there to Skopelos.

Tour

If you’re already on an island in the Sporades group and you want to visit Skopelos for the day, you can get there on a day tour as well as take the ferry.

Some of the most popular Skopelos Tours are the Mamma Mia tour which will take you to all the famous filming spots from the movie like Agios Ioannis Church and Kastani Beach. Other boat tours will take you all around the island to find the best local spots.

I’d highly recommend going on a small group tour as some of the Skopelos boat trips can get quite big (80+ people). You’ll be able to find most of the boutique, private boats docked here in Skiathos which offer tours to Skopelos.

This Skopelos Mamma Mia Tour from Skiathos is one of the best day tours in the area.

Make sure to check out some of the below boat tours if you’re also visiting Skiathos and prefer visiting Skopelos on a day trip.

How to Get to Skopelos from Skiathos

Presuming you’ve landed at Skiathos airport, you’ll need to make your way to Skiathos port before taking a ferry boat to Skopelos.

Once you’ve exited the terminal you can take a local bus or taxi to the port. Taxis cost about €10 and take about 5 minutes to get to the port. It’s not far at all, just 2km.

If you have more time you can take the local bus. Buses depart every 30 minutes and cost €3 per person. Buses will drop you off here. From there it’s a 2-minute walk to the ferry port.

Make sure to check the ferry schedules from Skiathos to Skopelos here. I find Ferryscanner to be one of the best sites for checking Greece ferry schedules and booking tickets. In the summer season, it’s also a good idea to book your ferry tickets in advance.

Getting from Skiathos airport to Skopelos is very easy but it might take longer than you think due to connection schedules. You might find yourself waiting around for a while. If this is the case there are plenty of things to do in Skiathos town to keep you busy while you wait.

Skiathos town is tiny and you don’t have to go far to see some of the best of it. If you have luggage, there’s a left luggage facility in Skiathos town here.

Read more: Best things to do in Skiathos Town

Once on the ferry, it will stop first in Glossa/Loutraki and then Skopelos Town. If you’re heading on a day trip to Skopelos from Skiathos, you’ll probably want to get off at Skopelos town.

For those staying in Neo Klima or Palio Klima, you’ll want to get off the ferry at Glossa. If you’re staying in Skopelos town then get off there. The crossing to Skopelos town usually takes about an hour. On some ferries it can take longer so make sure to check the journey time before booking your ferry ticket.

How to Get to Skopelos from Athens

Bearing in mind that there are no direct ferries from Athens to Skopelos or even Skiathos, you’ll need to find an alternative route, either by air or land.

The easiest and fastest way is to catch a domestic flight from Athens to Skiathos. Check flight timetables on Skyscanner here. There are generally many flights per day during the summer months operated by Aegean Airlines, Sky Express, and Olympic Air.

If you decide not to fly, you can also go overland from Athens to Skopelos. You can take a bus from Athens to Volos, Agios Konstantinos, or Mantoudi and then take the ferry to Skopelos. Generally speaking, Volos has the most departures but before departing it’s worth checking all the ferry departures from all three ports to see which one works best for your itinerary. Check ferry schedules here.

From Athens airport take a taxi to KTEL Liosion bus station. From there you can take a bus to Volos. Buses leave every two hours and the trip duration is around 4 hours. You can also try taking a bus to Agios Konstantinos or Mantoudi too if this fits in your schedule.

How to Get to Skopelos from Thessaloniki

When it comes to getting to the Sporades Islands, flying to Thessaloniki is better than going to Athens. Flying into Thessaloniki can really reduce your travel time.

There are many direct flights to Thessaloniki from other European cities during the summer months.

From Thessaloniki airport, you can take a taxi or the X1 bus to Macedonia Intercity Bus Station. Then you can take the bus to Volos which takes about 2.5 hours.

From Volos, you can take the ferry to Skopelos. During the summer months, there are four daily ferries.

Alternatively, you can also take a ferry from Thessaloniki Port to Skopelos. Sea Jets Superrunner Jet ferry runs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 7 am. The journey time takes about 4 hours.

It might mean you need to spend the night in Thessaloniki but I guess that’s a great excuse to see the rather underrated northern Greek city.

How to Get to Skopelos from Other Greek Island Groups

From other popular island groups like the Cyclades (Santorini, Mykonos, Milos, etc), the Dodecanese ( Rhodes, Kos), or the Ioanian (Corfu, Zakynthos, etc) there are no direct ferries to Skopelos or the Sporades. This is because the distances are just too large.

If you want to visit Skopelos from other Greek Island groups you’ll most probably need to fly or take a ferry to Athens before then transferring to Skopelos.

For this reason, I recommend sticking with one island group per trip to Greece as travel between them isn’t very easy. Well, unless you’re ready to spend quite a bit on domestic flights as you’ll need to connect in Athens.

Skopelos Ferry Schedules and Tickets

To plan your trip I highly recommend using Ferryscanner which gives you all the ferry options on one page. It means you don’t have to check each ferry company’s website individually. You can then easily book your ticket depending on the ferry that suits you most. 

Check ferry schedules and book your ferry tickets here. 

FAQs About Getting to Skopelos

How to Get to Skopelos from the UK?

Skiathos and Skopelos see many visitors from the UK as flying from the UK is easy and generally hassle-free. There are direct flights from London, Manchester, and Edinburgh and Jet2 seems to be the most popular option from the UK.

TUI also operates flights from the UK.

How to Get to Skopelos from the US?

American visitors will need to connect in Athens in order to get to Skopelos. From your nearest airport in the US, fly to Athens and then connect for a domestic flight to Skiathos.

While this is the best option, if flights to Skiathos are unavailable you can also fly from Athens to Thessaloniki and continue by ferry from there.

Can I fly to Skopelos?

No, you cannot fly to Skopelos are there is no airport. You can fly to Skiathos and take a ferry from there.

How far is Skopelos from Athens?

How long it will take you to get from Athens to Skopelos really depends on how you choose to get there.

If you choose to fly from Athens it could take you as little as 2 hours to get from Athens to Skopelos. That’s if your flight arrival time lines up nicely with the ferry departure time.

If you choose a bus and ferry option it can take up to 8 hours to get to Skopelos depending on which departure port you choose and the type of ferry available.

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How will you choose to get to Skopelos? Have any questions about how to get to Skopelos? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you.

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