Skiathos is a small island of about 5500 inhabitants located within the Sporades archipelago and next to Skopelos, in Greece. Skiathos has a variety of attractive spots spread throughout its territory and many interesting things to do at its two main cities: Koukounaries and Skiathos Town.
An important part of the territory of Skiathos is covered by forests, and some of the inhabited areas are deforested spots. Nowadays, the densest forests of Skiathos are located towards the south eastern area of the island, while most of the inhabited spots can be found towards the north.
The island of Skiathos is communicated with the mainland of Greece with a few sea routes that connect it with Agios Konstantinos, Thessaloniki, and Volos. Besides this, Skiathos also has an airport located at its north eastern area, which is often the preferred transportation method by many tourists who wish to approach from places that are not directly connected to the island.
One of the first important historical events in the past of this island took place during the Persian Wars, around the year 480 BC. During this époque, the fleet of the King of Persia arrived to the coast of Skiathos after being damaged in a storm. A Greek fleet that followed the Persians got defeated and they remained in the island for a short period of time when they were beaten during what is known as the Battle of Salamis.
It is also interesting to know that this island was often the target of pirates during the middle Ages. Another interesting fact tourists should know about Skiathos is that, due to the great amount of pine forests it counts with, during the 18th century this island became a very relevant ship building center and became, after this, well known in the Aegean Sea.
There are many different attractive spots visitors can meet in Skiathos. Among these places, we can name, for example, the Lalaria beach, Kokounaries, the town of Skiathos, Kastro, and the Monastery of Evangelistra. Due to its history and beauty as well as to the important amount of visitors this island receives, around 1965, the Greek National Tourism Organization named it to be a development zone for tourism.