Alonissos
Alonissos is a lush green enchanting island with a variety of beaches and stunning views of the Aegean Sea. It belongs to the Sporades group together with Skiathos, Skopelos and Skyros. Alonissos is also home to the Northern Sporades National Marine Park, the first Marine Park in Greece, and the largest protected marine area in Europe. In addition to the marine area, the Park includes the island of Alonissos, 6 smaller islands (Peristera, Kyra Panagia, Psathoura, Piperi, Skatzoura and Giura) as well as 22 rocky islets.
Visit the beautiful Alonissos and spend an unforgettable vacation! And if you’re lucky, you’ll see Monachus Monachus and playful dolphins!
Beaches
- Rousoum Gialos beach
- Kokkinokastro beach
- Tzortzi Gialos beach
- Tsoukalia beach, Alonissos
- Geraka’s beach, in north Alonissos
Sailing
There is a loophole of sorts here if you want to see parts of the National Marine Park that would normally be off limits.
And that is volunteering as a marine biologist with MOm.
By paying €70 for a single but unforgettable day, you will sail in Zone A, learning more about the work of marine conservationists and putting yourself to use as a scientist.
One of your tasks might be to help MOm’s research by spotting and tagging monk seals, as well as Risso’s, bottlenose, striped and common dolphins.
History
Alonissos (formerly Heliodromia) is an island of Greece. It is located in the Aegean sea and belongs to the Sporades island complex. Its total area reaches 64.5 sq km. and the length of its coasts about 67 km. Maximum length about 20 km and width from 3 to 4.5 km. It is separated from Skopelos to the southwest by the Alonissos strait, 2 nautical miles wide and to the northeast by the island of Pelagonisi with the Pelagonisi ferry, 3.5 nautical miles wide. The bay of Patitiri is the port of the island, where it is connected by ferry to Thessaloniki, Volos, Skiathos, Skopelos and Mantoudi in Evia. Seven monasteries are mentioned
Traditional kitchen
Myzithra is a milky soft goat cheese produced in Alonissos.
Aged for just one day and with a neutral sweet taste, it is a versatile ingredient.
You can have it in a meze with tomato and olives, in a salad or in one of the much-loved fried cheese pies of the island.
Those figs that grow in Alonissos are delicious when grilled and another sweet treat to look out for are loukoumades, a type of donut made from water, flour and yeast and fried in olive oil.
The seafood is fresh and plentiful, so it could be the redfish, the famous stewed fish or the black tuna linguini.
