Skiathos beaches, by the day you want.

Which Skiathos beach should you go to, and how far is it from Core Luxury Suites?

Xanemos is the nearest beach to Core Luxury Suites at about eight minutes by car. Megali Ammos, twelve minutes away, is the organised beach nearest the town. Koukounaries, twenty-nine minutes at the south-west end, deserves a whole day. Lalaria is reached only by boat.

Which beach on Skiathos is best with children?

Megali Ammos. The Municipality describes it as a busy, fully organised Blue Flag beach a kilometre from town, with soft sand, every kind of water sport, and easy access on foot, by car or by bus. It calls it suitable for children.

The municipal description of Megali Ammos is the one to plan around: its name means Large Sand, it is one of the most popular beaches on the island with locals as well as visitors, and it is close enough to Skiathos Town that a beach morning and an errand in town fit into the same outing. From Core Luxury Suites it is about twelve minutes by car. A family of four books the Family category, three of the fourteen suites, and this is the beach that asks least of the day.

Vromolimnos, roughly seven kilometres from town on the west end of Cape Kalamaki, is the other organised option: fine golden sand, calm water, tavernas and cafés, a beach volleyball court and a Blue Flag. It also holds a protected wetland, and the Municipality singles it out for its sunsets.

• Organised means sunbeds, shade and somewhere to buy water. It does not mean lifeguards; check on the day.
• Both sit on the south coast. The Municipality notes that Xanemos, facing north near the airport, is often choppy because it is exposed to the wind; the organised south-coast beaches are the calmer choice when it blows.
• The drive back at the end of a beach day is the part people underestimate. Twelve minutes with tired children is a different twelve minutes.

How do you get to Lalaria beach, and is it worth it?

Only by sea, and only in dead calm. The Municipality is unambiguous: Lalaria is reached by daily boats off the port and strictly when the water is flat. It is not organised in the slightest, so bring everything you need with you.

Lalaria is the beach on the postcards. The municipal page describes the lalaria themselves — perfectly shaped white cobbles covering the whole coast — and the Trypia Petra, the Holey Rock, a natural arch at the water's edge. There is no road to it, no taverna and no shade beyond the cliff.

Two consequences for a day plan. First, book the boat rather than the beach: if the wind gets up, the trip does not run, and a day built around a guaranteed landing is a day that can fail. Second, go early or late — the white stones throw the light back hard at midday.

Taking the cobbles away is forbidden. The Municipality states it plainly, and it is the one rule everyone who writes about Lalaria repeats.

Is Koukounaries worth the drive from the east side of the island?

For one full day, yes; for a casual swim, no. It is about twenty-nine minutes each way from Core Luxury Suites. The Municipality calls its fine sand Golden Sand, notes the pines that give the beach its name, and records a Blue Flag every year.

Koukounaries is the island's best-known beach and the terminus of the bus route, so it is also the busiest. The Municipality lists water sports, boat hire, diving and tennis, along with tavernas, restaurants, bars and cafés. Treat it as a destination with a day around it, not a stop.

If you have driven that far, Banana beach is about fourteen kilometres from town, close to Koukounaries, and reached down a dirt road that runs right to the coast. The Municipality describes Big Banana as an endless party with water sports, and the smaller, more secluded Small Banana as nudism friendly. Both face the sunset.

A sensible west-end day: arrive before eleven, take the shoulder of the afternoon somewhere quieter, and eat before driving back rather than after. Two of you can take a day like that at your own pace.

Questions about the beaches on Skiathos