Alonnisos

Alonnisos is the last inhabited island of the Sporades chain and by common consent its quietest and greenest. Pine and oak forest, olive groves and fruit orchards cover the hills, footpaths lace the interior, and there is no airport and little of the development found on Skiathos, so the pace stays slow and the emphasis falls on nature.

The island is the centre of the National Marine Park of Alonnisos and the Northern Sporades, the first marine park established in Greece and the largest marine protected area in Europe. Its waters and scatter of uninhabited islets shelter the rare Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), one of the world's most endangered mammals, along with dolphins, seabirds and Eleonora's falcons. Licensed boat trips explore the park's edges around islands such as Peristera, Kyra Panagia and Piperi, the last a strict reserve closed to visitors.

Most travellers arrive at Patitiri, the small port and main village built after an earthquake in 1965 emptied the old hilltop capital. That old town, Palia Alonnisos or the Chora, has since been lovingly restored and stands on a ridge above the sea, its stone houses, bougainvillea and long views making it the island's most atmospheric spot for an evening meal.

Alonnisos is celebrated for the clarity of its sea, and its beaches, mostly pebble coves reached down wooded tracks, include Chrisi Milia, Kokkinokastro with its reddish cliffs and Roman remains offshore, Leftos Gialos and Agios Dimitrios. The island is also a walkers' island, with a well-marked network of paths, and a small centre for the study and rescue of monk seals adds context to a visit.

Reached by ferry from Volos, usually calling at Skiathos and Skopelos on the way, Alonnisos rewards travellers who want forest, footpaths and pristine swimming over nightlife. Come for the marine park, the restored old town, the sense of stepping off the busier tourist trail, and the chance, however slim, of glimpsing a monk seal in the wild.