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HOW TO GET ABOUT

There are buses that serve Skopelos town and its area, all the way up to Glossa (the second main village of the island) and then down to the second port (Loutraki). The daily timetable is written on a large board next to the “bus station” (ie. the space where the busses stop) next to the large parking area, at the port. You pay the bus driver as you get on or the bus conductor when the journey starts and prices will vary due to your destination like at home. However, it is much more reasonable.

Taxis also stop here near the port area and will take you to where ever you wish to go and if they are not too busy that day you can arrange with them to be picked up from your chosen destination. They may even give you their mobile number so that you can call them to arrange a pick up. They will offer a flat rate to the destination;
There is a catamaran, a fast catamaran, ferryboat and hydrofoil (Flying Dolphin) service connecting the Sporades islands with Volos and also with Agios Konstandinos. The times of the services tend to change very often. It takes about 25 minutes to reach Alonissos (the next island) by hydrofoil, 50 minutes to reach Skiathos and about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to Volos. Agios is slightly less. Ferryboats do take quite a bit longer to reach there destination. In the high season there is also a service to Thessaloniki; During the months of July and August, there are extra hydrofoil services connecting the above regions and extra stop off points on the mainland. It is the Greek holiday season however, so boats and Dolphins get extremely full and sometimes tickets are impossible to find!

There are a number of products that Skopelos and the Sporades generally are known for and differentiate this area from any other Greek destination. Skopelos is very famous for its plums and prunes, its almonds and it’s own type of feta cheese pies (tiropittes) and spinach and cheese pies (spanakopittes). Embroidered pieces, ceramics and other preserves and natural products such as their honey are also well known here. In antiquity the island was very famous for its wine; this is not really the case now however the local barreled wine in most of the traditional tavernas is very palletable. The Sporades and the Volos and Pelion mainland areas generally, are famous for tsipouro (this anise-based alcoholic drink), jarred fruit sweets and preserves and dried herbs. These foodstuffs can be found in local mini-markets, or supermarkets, and also in sweet shops (zacharoplasteion) and some bakeries (fourno). Some of these may be more reasonabe than others; usually those products that have been carefully and beautifully presented and are produced in a sort of ‘cottage industry’ style, tend to be more expensive.

Some of the most important herbs that can be found in this area are camomile, “mountain tea”, oregano, thyme and many more. These herbs are wonderfully aromatic in flavour and help to make food incredibly tasty; some can also be used for more medicinal purposes, also for aiding digestion or promoting relaxation and general wellbeing.

The fact that these wonderful herbs are growing on the hillside means that all the livestock that graze freely on the mountains have a very healthy free life before the goatherd or shepherd takes them for their last walk! With this in mind, apart from the vegetarians who may be reading this, everyone must try some local lamb or goat, as the flavours of the meat are really superb. Most traditional tavernas will serve this (in a nice lemon/oil sauce) or you could buy some from the local butcher, if you have full kitchen facilities or better still a traditional stone outside oven to barbeque! There are three butchers in Skopelos; one is on the ‘ring road’ on the opposite side of the road to the Health Centre, next to a small mini-market. The other two are in the back streets of the town itself.

Fresh fish can be bought from the little fishing boats in the morning sometimes, if
you get up early and go down to the front. Other than that a small red van sells fish
on thefront too, around 9 or 10 o’clock most mornings in the summer; he usually drives the length of the island to sell in Glossa too. If you get a chance to go to Alonissos
(the island just next door to Skopelos - 25 mins away on the flying dolphin), the
fishmongers on the harbour front (tucked away in the right hand side corner) sells
wonderful fish. The fresh tuna steaks from there are a real treat if grilled out in the
open! (it may be a bit smelly to bring back on the hydrofoil with you however!).

If a television is provided in your accommodation, or if you do not have a television but still feell the need to catch up with the latest events in the world; then you can visit the local kafeneio or cafeteria. Here there is usually a TV set provided; these days a large screen is showing satellite channels. Please bear in mind that Greece’s mountains interfere with reception so you may not be able to receive all the channels you want. There are numerous television stations in Greece many of which broadcast programmes in English without dubbing them. Apart from the state owned channels (ET1, ET2 and ET3), Greece’s major private television channels are Antenna, Mega Channel, Star Channel and Alpha. The movie and sports fans will be delighted to find that there are two major cable channels called Filmnet and Supersport that show non-dubbed foreign movies and all the major sport events 24 hours a day. These two channels will rarely be received by hotel or other accommodation television sets, but, as mentioned above, a number of cafeterias have large-screen TV sets that broadcast these cable channels.

News in English is broadcast on at least four stations: Antenna (38 & 45 UHF) broadcasts the CBS Evening News every morning at 06:50 and if you have Satellite reception, CNN, BBC World and Euronews broadcast throughout the day and night. In case you speak and understand Greek, you can watch the main news broadcast of the day at 20:00 on most of the major Greek channels.

BBC World Service

A Guide to Programmes in English

How to Listen

You can tune in to English Programmes on short wave and via satellite. In some places, you can also listen on long wave, medium wave or FM.

The dials on some sets may be marked in kilohertz (kHz) or megahertz (MHz) or metre bands(M band). To help you find your way around, here is a conversion chart:

kHz Metre Band MHz
3900-4000 75 3.90-4.0
5950-6200 49 5.95-6.20
7100-7300 41 7.10-7.30
9400-9900 31 9.40-9.90
11700-12100 25 11.70-12.10
13600-13900 21 13.60-13.90
15100-15600 19 15.10-15.60
17700-17900 16 17.70-17.90
21450-21750 13 21.45-21.75

Central & Eastern Europe

frequencies are in kHz
metre Am midday Pm
49 - - 6180
49 6195 - 6195
31 9410 - 9410
25 12095 12095 12095
19 - 15565 -
16 - 17640 -

Tips for better short wave reception:

Remember to change frequencies according to the time of day.
Try all the frequencies and see which gives the best reception (this may vary).
Try higher frequencies during the day i.e. (those above 15MHz) and lower frequencies after dark.
If the reception is unsatisfactory on recommended frequencies, try those directed at neighbouring areas.
Make sure the radio aerial is fully extended and pointed vertically.
Try using the radio near the window or by an outside wall. Outdoor reception is usually the best of all.
Connect an outside aerial (even a length of plastic-covered wire may help).
The latest radios with digital tuning make it possible to call up the BBC frequencies precisely and store the best ones in a memory.

The BBC World Service broadcasts the news on the hour daily.

Also Superstar in the Greater Athens area (93,4 FM) broadcasts in English around the clock.

Although in the past on Skopelos, the islanders and the Greek tourists from Athens and other mainland areas would feel that they could just park anywhere; times are changing. There is now a specified large parking area at the port on the waterfront which has been (up until now) free. We hope that it will remain so.

Greek Post offices are generally open from 07:30 to 14:00 Monday to Friday. However, on islands such as Skopelos, you may find that the post office opens later and closes earlier than advertised depending on how busy the postman and his staff are! Skopelos post office, unlike some in larger areas was not offering an exchange facility, this could alter in the future however.

Stamps can be bought over the counter in post offices. Usually shops that sell postcards also sell stamps too. The cost to send a post card anywhere in Europe is currently 180 Drx. Other places where you can buy stamps are usually mini-markets, newsagents or kiosks.

Post boxes are bright yellow and have E.L.T.A written on them, they can be seen directly outside post offices, in prominent positions on high streets and in the more remote villages usually outside the local kafeneion. On Skopelos waterfront there are a number of these yellow post boxes

All banks are open from 08:00 to 14:30 Monday to Thursday and 08:00 to 14:00 on Fridays. Banks will exchange all types of currency, Travellers’ Cheques, Eurocheques and you can usually get a cash advance on credit cards. You must always take your passport with you when exchanging money in a bank. Please have in mind that some bank branches offer the service of immediate cash transfer through Commercial Union.

Most banks have ATM’s located directly outside the main entrance. Most major bankcards can be used to draw out cash at the ATM’s. There are signs that indicate which credit or debit cards are accepted e.g. Cirrus, EURO, Visa, Mastercard etc.

Many travel agents, tourist offices, car hire agencies, hotels and shops also offer exchange facilities. Always take your passport with you and check exchange rates and commission charges beforehand as these vary from place to place and tend to fluctuate throughout the season. In most licensed foreign exchange outlets, the commission charges range around 3%, but while this the norm, it cannot be considered as the rule.
The Greek unit of currency is the euro and denominations in the widest circulation are notes of 5, 10, 20 and 50 and coins of 5,10, 20 and 50 c ents.
The three banks on the water front of Skopelos town all offer ATM facilities. The Commercial bank is at the far end of the promenade (near the marina), the National bank of Greece is central and the Agricultural Bank of Greece is at the top end (near the port and the parking area).

Generally speaking reception for mobile phones on Skopelos is good, if you stay in open areas near to the sea. Some mobile phone networks are more powerful than others in certain areas of the mountain.
To use a public phone box, you will need to buy phonecards - the phone boxes do not take change at all. Tele-cards can be bought in supermarkets, in the περιπτερα (periptera or kiosks) dotted around Skopelos Town or from the OTE building on Galatsaniou Street in the town itself. Newsagents and tobacco shops also sell these ‘telecartes’..
Card phones are quite straightforward to use, initially the message on the screen may appear in Greek; to change the language you can press the ‘I’ button. The credit amount on your card will then appear on the screen. You can then start dialing. To phone home to the UK you need to first ‘key’ in 0044, omitting the first ‘0’ from the local area code and continue as normal.

To phone other Greek regions, you do need to use the area code.
Here are a few which you may find of use:

Area Code Area
210 Athens
231 Thessaloniki
2421 Volos & Nea Ionia
2423 Kala Nera, Afissos, Lefokastro, Milies, Horto, Milina, Platanias
2424 Skopelos, Alonnisos
2426 Tsangarada, Agios Ioannis, Chorefto, Mouressi, Damouchari
2427 Skiathos
2428 Volos suburbs (Agria, Nea Anchialos, Airport, Portaria, Makrinitsa,
Lechonia, Platanidia)

After your phone call is finished, replace the handset and wait for the electronic sound before removing your card. If you remove your card before you hear this sound you are standing the risk of losing the remaining airtime on your card. If your card is running out while you are calling someone and you want to insert a new card without having to hang up the phone, follow the following steps:
wait until you hear the noise that warns you that your card is running out,
press the “K” button, wait until the remaining amount on the screen goes to zero,
remove the old card, and
Insert the new one.
The International operator number is: 161

To dial the UK use 00 44 then the telephone number minus the first zero of the STD code.

Greek menus tend to offer various English spellings of their dishes, but you will get an idea of what to order from the following.

STARTERS – ΟΡΕΚΤΙΚΑ

Taramosalata – Taραμοσαλάτα A fish roe dip made with garlic, onion, breadcrumbs, oil and lemon juice.
Tzatziki - Τζατζίκι A wonderful garlic dip, traditionally made with yoghurt and cucumber.
Melitzanosalata - Μελιτζανοσαλάτα An aubergine dip made with garlic, onions, lemon juice, fresh herbs and sometimes, mayonnaise.
Feta - Φέτα Delicious milky cheese.
Dolmades - Ντολμάδες Stuffed vine leaves often served with egg and lemon sauce.
Tiropitta - Τυρόπιτα Cheese pie made with filo pastry.
Spanakopitta - Σπανακόπιτα Spinach and feta cheese pie made with filo pastry .
Saganaki - Σαγανάκι Deep fried cheese served with a wedge of lemon.
Scorthalia - Σκορδαλιά Another garlic dip made with mashed potato, served cold as an accompaniment to fish or as a salad.
Gigantes - Γίγαντες Butter beans cooked in seasoned tomato, onion and garlic sauce.

MAIN COURSE - MEAT

Mousaka - Μουσακάς Layers of aubergine and minced meat, topped with bechamel sauce.
Papoutsakia - Παπουτσάκια Baked aubergines filled with mince, topped with cheese.
Keftethes - Κεφτέδες Deep fried meatballs flavoured with garlic and herbs.
Stifatho - Στιφάδο Meat stew flavoured with red wine, garlic, bay
leaves, onions and tomato.
Kotopoulo - Κοτόπουλο Chicken can be served in a number of ways, ask the
waiter or see the menu for details.
Loukaniko - Λουκάνικο Spicy sausages.
Katsiki - Κατσίκι Roast kid, specially served at Easter.
Yemista - Γεμιστά Stuffed vegetables, mostly tomatoes or peppers and
occasionally courgettes. Sometimes the filling
includes mince but not always, so if you are a
vegetarian check before you order.

VEGETARIAN FOOD

For those of you that do not eat meat you are lucky that a wide range of vegetables are available in Greece but these are mostly dependent on the season. Salads are also widely available, as are dishes involving beans like fasolakia or gigantes. You may like to order a selection of starters as your main course as this is totally acceptable in Greece, in fact it is the Greek way!

Generally in Greece but mostly in the villages the idea of vegetarianism is still somewhat foreign and you will often be encouraged to eat something that has “just a little bit of meat” in it! Persevere and explain that eating meat is like going against your religion it will work eventually.

FISH - ΨΑΡΙ
Garithes - Γαρίδες Prawns, usually king size and cooked in garlic.
Astakos - Αστακός Lobster.
Kalamarakia - Καλαμαράκια Baby squid, deep-fried in batter.
Barbounia - Μπαρμπούνια Red Mullet, pan fried or grilled, served with oil and
lemon.
Chtapothi - Χταπόδι Octopus, boiled and served with oil and vinegar or
grilled.
Ksifias - Ξιφίας Swordfish - meaty, dense and filling.
Kakavia - Κακαβιά Greek fish soup.
Atherina - Αθερίνα Whitebait.
Marithes - Μαρίδες A larger, sardine size, whitebait. Very nice.
Kollios - Κολιός Mackerel, usually grilled.

SALADS - ΣΑΛΑΤΕΣ
There is a wide variety of salads served at the eating establishments in Greece. These are perfect for a light lunch, or as an accompaniment to your main meal.

Choriatiki - Χωριάτικη Greek salad, fresh tomatoes, onions, cucumber, olives and feta cheese. Usually doused in olive oil and sprinkled with herbs.
Lachano - Λάχανο Freshly grated cabbage, which needs a generous dose
of olive oil and lemon. Sometimes served sprinkled
with grated carrot.
Fasolakia - Φασολάκια String beans in a tomato and herb sauce.
Tuna salad - Τονοσαλάτα Served either as a dip with mayonnaise or as a full
size salad with the tuna resting on a bed of lettuce,
onions and cucumber and topped with mayonnaise.
Chef’s salad - Σαλάτα του Σεφ Carrot, cabbage, lettuce, onions, cucumber, cheese
and ham, topped with garlic mayonnaise.
Chorta - Χόρτα Boiled greens similar to spinach. Served with oil and
lemon.

DESSERTS - ΓΛΥΚΟ
The tavernas in Greece do not, as a rule, serve desserts or coffee. Fruit is more usual and often more refreshing. A visit to one of the cafes or to a zacharoplasteion may be necessary if you would like to indulge and where you might like to try one of these:

Baclava - Μπακλαβάς Filo pastry with chopped walnuts and cinnamon, topped with honey syrup.
Kadaifi - Κανταίφι Something resembling shredded wheat filled with
almonds and cinnamon and topped with honey.
Galactoboureko - Γαλατομπούρεκο Milk custard pie enclosed in filo pastry and topped with honey syrup.
Chalva - Χαλβάς A very traditional sweet made with wheat, olive
oil and almonds.
Ice Cream - Παγωτό Available in many, many varieties and often made
with full cream.
Tira Misu - Τιραμισού Allowing for the influx of Italian tourists and the
strong Italian influence in the country it is not
surprising that this is widely available.
Yoghurt - Γιαούρτι Very frequently you will be offered yoghurt as a
dessert usually topped with honey and walnuts.

Occasionally the waiter will not tell you about all the different sweets on offer and they may not be on the menu either, so it’s a good idea to ask in case they have something nice stashed away!

DRINKS -ΠΟΤΑ
Ordering drinks could not be easier - most of them are the same as at home. Maybe if your feeling adventurous you could try one of the following.

Metaxa - Μεταξά 3, 5 and 7 star, the famous Greek brandy is wonderful
after a meal.
Ouzo - Ούζο Made from grape skins, stems and pips and tasting of
aniseed. Can be drunk neat or with anything else you
choose to mix it with. Rumour has it that if you were
drunk on ouzo the night before and drink a glass of
water the next day the process starts all over again.
Retsina - Ρετσίνα Wine matured in pine barrels allowing the resin to seep into the wine that gives it its particular flavour. A great accompaniment to a light lunch.
Local Wine - Κρασί Χύμα Served by the kilo or half kilo in whatever containers
are available. The taste varies tremendously and local
wines can be red, white or rose.
Beer - Μπύρα For Beer think lager! Imported lagers are widely
available; for a Greek lager try Mythos.
Greek Coffee - Ελληνικός Καφές Strong and thick, an acquired taste but worth trying
at least once. Drink it with the same amount of sugar
you would your normal coffee. Sketo - no sugar, Metrio - one sugar, and Glyko - two sugars.
Nescafe Frappe - Καφές Φραπέ Ice cold instant frothy coffee served as you like it.
The best hangover cure yet invented!

This area of Greece (especially Volos) is famous for an anise based alcohol drink called tsipouro. Tsipouro is a bit stronger and clearer than ouzo, mainly due to the distilling process that is followed for its production. Skopelos (and the Sporades generally) are also serving this local drink in places named “ouzeri” or “tsipouradika” that serve this local drink or ouzo with the accompaniment of “meze” (small plates with snacks, something equivalent to the Spanish tapas). One such ouzeri is situated on the paralia (waterfront) near to Thalpos Agency and a cafι bar called ‘Anemos’; usually just older men are sitting out and around this shop. However as the summer starts up properly both men and women will be enjoying an ouzo or tsipouro and mezedes snack.

Skopelos is mostly famous for its cheese pies, prunes and plums; but you will find some specialities to individual tavernas.

Any vegetarians reading these pages could try “Μπριάμι” (Briami), a vegetable stew cooked in tomato sauce and olive oil with courgettes, peppers, aubergines, potatoes and onions; or simply order some plates from the starters section of the menu only. Such as Μελιζτανα τιυανιτες (Fried Aubergine) with τσατσικι (tsatsiki) on the side, some τιροσαλατα (cheese salad - a sort of spiced paste type consistency) Πεπεριες (fried peppers, sometimes stuffed with cheese), some Ελιες (olives) and a χοριατικι (Greek salad ), or the ποτατοσαλατα, (Greek style potato salad) is very tastey!

This area (specifically Volos and that area of the mainland) is well known for its sweets or deserts, such as the famous “μπακλαβά”, “κανταίφι” and “γαλακτομπούρεκο” (baklava, kantaifi and galaktobureko respectively). Most of the above dishes contain filo pastry, nuts, almonds and honey. Moreover, they are extremely tasty and sweet. One should not forget the absolute desert that everyone should try at least once when visiting this area of Greece. Its name is “καρυδόπιτα” (karidopita, walnut cake) and it tastes even better when its accompanied with “παγωτό βανίλια” (pagoto vanilia, vanilla ice cream). This is a definite must! You can find this on Skopelos waterfront, in one of the cafes with nice comfy seating under the trees - a lovely way to while away the hours of a morning or afternoon!

Greek wines are not very famous in Western Europe, but if you get to try them while you are in Greece you will realise that they are quite flavourful and of quite good quality. Skopelos is no longer known for its wine produce as it was in ancient times when the Minoans were cultivating good vine crops. However, it does stock other types of wine one of these is a wine that is local to the Volos area, “Saranti” is the name of the winery and it produces a very pleasant wine. Other wines, which have been sampled by many visitors to Greece, are the vintage Boutari; Naoussa, Makedonikon and Kretikos. Aegean Islands is also a nice wine, as are the Tsanstali wineries’ products.

As mentioned earlier, most of the restaurants and tavernas are situated on the waterfront of Skopelos town or on the way into town. A few are scattered up the road that circles the town known as the ‘ring road’ and some are dotted around on roads out towards Stafilos Beach and in Agnondas itself. Beach areas usually have one or two tavernas nearby too. Most restaurants open around 1pm and remain open until very late. It is best to bear in mind that they rarely serve food before 2pm and they reach their busiest time around 3pm for lunch and 10pmor 11pm for dinner. If you want to avoid the crowds the best time for lunch is around 2pm and around 9pm for dinner.