Boats, ferries and water taxis

The Bourtzi peninsula splits the Skiathos Town waterfront in two, and the two sides do completely different jobs. Getting them the wrong way round is the classic Skiathos mistake and it costs people ferries.

Everything scheduled leaves from the east side. Everything you booked at a kiosk that morning leaves from the west.

Four mainland ports serve Skiathos: Volos, Agios Konstantinos, Mantoudi on Evia and Thessaloniki. There is no ferry from Athens or Piraeus — the Sporades are not part of the Cyclades network, and this is the single most common planning mistake visitors make.

Volos is the main gateway and the only one with genuine year-round service. The crossing runs roughly 1h15–1h25 on a high-speed hydrofoil or catamaran and around 2h20 on a conventional ferry, with two to four daily sailings in high season.

Only the conventional ferries take vehicles. If you are bringing a car, the hydrofoil is not an option regardless of how much faster it looks.

Everything docks at the New Port, on the eastern side of the Bourtzi in Skiathos Town — not the Old Port.

Skopelos is the standard island day trip, and vessels serve two different ports: Glossa/Loutraki at the northern end and Skopelos Town. Which one you land at changes the day entirely — they are a long way apart.

Alonnisos sits further along the same chain and is the gateway to the National Marine Park of Alonnisos and the Northern Sporades.

Skyros is effectively not connected. Despite being in the same island group, there is no useful Skiathos–Skyros link; Skyros is reached from Kymi on Evia. This catches people out when planning multi-island trips.

A full day, typically running clockwise: the sea caves — Skotini the dark one and Galazia the blue one — then Kastro, the abandoned medieval capital seen from the water, then Lalaria for an hour or two, sometimes finishing at Tsougria.

Ask about boat size before you pay. Larger excursion boats often cannot fit through Skotini's narrow entrance; smaller caiques and RIBs can. If getting inside the caves is the point, this is the question that decides it.

Older listings quoting €15 are out of date. €25–35 is the current-looking range.

Taxi boats run roughly hourly from 10:00, returning on the half-hour until early evening, later at peak.

Tsougria is a separate island, so it is genuinely boat-access only — a half-day rather than an expedition.

Morning departures are commonly quoted around 09:00–10:00 and afternoon around 14:00–15:00, though most people reach Lalaria as a stop on the round-island trip rather than as a dedicated run.

There are no facilities of any kind at Lalaria — no sunbeds, no bar, no shade, no water. Taking the pebbles is prohibited.

Banana, also called Krassa, is not boat-only. It is a 5–10 minute walk from the Koukounaries bus terminus over the headland, on a dirt path that forks — Big Banana one way, Little Banana, the naturist beach, the other.

The water taxi exists and is pleasant. It is not the only way in, and any guide implying otherwise is wrong.

Every excursion on this page is weather-dependent, and the weather in question is the meltemi — the dry northerly that blows across the Aegean from June to September, hardest in July and August.

Skiathos gets off comparatively lightly because the Sporades sit in the lee of the Pelion peninsula. But the north coast is where the boat trips go, and the north coast is exactly what a northerly wind hits. Lalaria in particular gets waves of several metres and a violent undertow from the swell reflecting off its cliffs.

Larger ferries keep running in conditions that stop the small stuff — most operators consider cancellation from around 9 Beaufort, but smaller high-speed craft may stop from 7.

You will notice this page names services and routes but does not list companies, sailings or departure times. That is deliberate.

Ferry operators publish their timetables on their own sites, several of which our research could not reach, and those schedules are re-set every season. Printing a vessel name and a departure hour we could not verify would eventually put somebody on a quay at the wrong time — which is a worse failure than saying less.

Operators named across the sources we did see include Hellenic Seaways, Aegean Flying Dolphins, Anes Ferries, SeaJets, Goldenstar Ferries. Treat that as a list of names encountered, not a recommendation and not a complete picture. Some are single-source; companies merge and stop trading.

For actual sailings, use a live ferry booking site for your dates, or the operator's own page. For excursions, the kiosks along the Old Port quay price and sell them on the day, and the weather forecast is more use than any advance schedule.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a ferry from Athens to Skiathos?

No. Skiathos is in the Sporades, which are not part of the Cyclades network serving Piraeus. You travel overland from Athens to a mainland port — Volos, Agios Konstantinos, Mantoudi on Evia or Thessaloniki — and sail from there. Volos is the main gateway and the only one with genuine year-round service.

Can you take a car on the ferry to Skiathos?

Only on the conventional ferries. Hydrofoils and high-speed catamarans do not carry vehicles, however much faster they look. The conventional crossing from Volos takes around 2h20 against 1h15–1h25 on the fast craft.

Where do boat trips leave from in Skiathos?

The Old Port, west of the Bourtzi peninsula, where the excursion caiques and water taxis moor. The New Port on the eastern side is for scheduled ferries and hydrofoils, and it also has the taxi rank. Confusing the two is the classic Skiathos mistake.

How much is the round-island boat trip in Skiathos?

Around €25–35 per person for a group trip of six to eight hours, taking in the sea caves, Kastro from the water and a stop at Lalaria. Older listings quoting €15 are out of date. Ask about boat size before booking — larger boats often cannot fit inside the Skotini cave.

Do Skiathos boat trips get cancelled?

Yes, in a strong meltemi — the northerly summer wind. The trips go to the north coast, which is exactly what a northerly hits, and Lalaria gets several-metre waves with a violent undertow off the cliffs. Book early in your stay so a cancellation still leaves you time to try again, and treat a cancellation as the skipper being competent.

How do you get to Tsougria island from Skiathos?

Taxi boats from the Old Port, roughly hourly from 10:00, crossing in 15–20 minutes and returning until early evening. Around €10–12 return, though sources differ on both the fare and whether some departures leave from the New Port instead. It is a separate island, so there is no other way across.