Sailing in Sporades

The (Northern) Sporades (Greek: Βόρειες Σποράδες)[1] are an archipelago along the east coast of Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea,[2] in the Aegean Sea. It consists of 24 islands, of which five are inhabited: Alonissos, Skiathos, Skopelos, Peristera and Skyros.[2]

Administratively, the islands are split between the Greek peripheries of Thessaly (most islands) and Central Greece (Skyros).

Alonissos, Alonisos or Alonnisos (Greek: Αλόννησος) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. After Skiathos and Skopelos it is the third member of the Northern Sporades. It is 3 km (2 nm) E of the island of Skopelos. Alonissos is also the name of a village on the island, as well as the municipality that encompasses the island and the village.

The village of Alonissos is located on the southern part of the island. It is locally known as Chora. The main port of the island is located in the southeast and is called Patitiri. There is ferry and hydrofoil service from Patitiri to Volos, Agios Konstantinos, and Thessaloniki on the mainland and to the islands of Skiathos, Skopelos and Skyros. The bay at the southern end of the island is also called Alonissos.

The Municipality of Alonissos includes the other islands of Adelfoi, Gioura, Kyra Panagia (Pelagos), Peristera, Piperi, Psathoura and Skantzoura.

Skiathos (Greek: Σκιάθος, Latin forms: Sciathos and Sciathus) is a small island in the Aegean Sea belonging to Greece. Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Northern Sporades group of islands. The mainland of Greece and Magnesia lie to the west, while the island of Skopelos lies to the east. The name of the island dates back to ancient times.

The Municipality of Skíathos includes the islands of Tsougria and Tsougriaki, and of the islets of Maragos, Arkos, Troulonisi and Aspronisi. Total land area of the island is 50 km². The major settlement on the island is the town of Skiathos (pop. 4,988 in 2001), while other settlements are Χanemos (195), Kalyvia (179), Troulos (159), and Koukounaries (126).

Despite its small size (under 50 km²), Skiathos is a popular tourist destination. It has over 60[1], chiefly sandy, beaches scattered along the coastline of about 44 km.

Skopelos (Greek: Σκόπελος) is a Greek island in the western Aegean sea. Skopelos is the largest of several islands which comprise the Northern Sporades island group. The island is located east of mainland Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea and is part of the Prefecture of Magnesias in the Periphery of Thessaly. Skopelos is also the name of the main port and the municipal center of the island. The other communities of the island are Glossa and Neo Klima (Elios). The geography of Skopelos includes two mountains over 500 meters; Delphi (681 m) in the center of the island, and Palouki (546 m) in the southeast. With an area of 96 km² (36.6 mi²) Skopelos is slightly larger than Mykonos (85 km²) and Santorini (73 km²). The nearest inhabited islands are Skiathos to the west and Alonissos to the east.

Peristera (Greek: Περιστέρα, feminine form of pigeon), also Aspro, locally Xero (meaning dry), is a Greek island in the Sporades. It is administratively part of the municipality of Alonissos and is also directly east of the island of Alonissos. The 1991 census read three inhabitants, making it one of the smallest municipal district in the Northern Sporades. The tiny settlement became abandoned in the mid to late-1990s. The 2001 census reported a population of five inhabitants.

Skyros (Modern Greek: Σκύρος; Ancient Greek: Σκῦρος) is the southernmost island of the Sporades, a Greek archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC and slightly later, the island was known as The Island of the Magnetes where the Magnetes used to live and later Pelasgia and Dolopia and later Skyros. At 209 km² it is the largest of the Sporades, and has a population of about 3,000 (in 2003). Skyros is one of the municipalities that are not part of any provinces in Greece.

1 week cruise

•  SKIATHOS-GOURNES
•  SKIATHOS-KOLIOS
•  SKOPELOS-TOWN
•  ALONISSOS-PATITIRION
•  ALONISSOS-VALA
•  SKYROS
•  SKIATHOS-TOWN

2 weeks cruise

•  SKIATHOS-MARATHA
•  SKIATHOS-GOURNES
•  PLATANIA
•  TRIKERION
•  PALAION TRIKERION
•  VOLOS
•  AHILION
•  SKOPELOS-LOUTRAKION
•  SKOPELOS-TOWN
•  ALONISSOS-VALA
•  ALONISSOS-PATITIRION
•  SKYROS-LINARIA
•  SKYROS-PEFKOS
•  EVIA-KYMI
•  SKIATHOS-TOWN