Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Skiathos and the Sporades

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Ferries

On Hellenic Seaways pets travel in dedicated PET cabins, maximum two pets, or in the ship's animal area, never in ordinary cabins, bars, restaurants or indoor areas. Fast ferries take only small animals up to 10 kg in a carrier. Lead and muzzle are mandatory when moving about, and the dog needs its own zero-fare ticket issued before boarding with its passport and microchip number. Seajets' terms match: free ticket declared at booking, muzzled on open decks, under 10 kg in a basket if you book a whole private cabin. ANES Ferries from Volos publishes no pet page, so ask at the ticket desk.

Airport

Skiathos is the only airport in the Sporades, about 3 km from Megali Ammos and Skiathos town, so the last leg with a dog is short. Airline cabin rules weren't checked for this page, so confirm your carrier's policy for the route before you book.

Hotel restaurants

None of the three hotels allows dogs in its restaurants, bars or pool areas, and Marpunta puts this down to Greek health and safety regulations, which is how most Sporades hotels frame it. Expect to eat on open terraces in Skiathos town or Patitiri with the dog rather than at the hotel.

One dog, never alone

All three hotels take a maximum of one pet per room, want it fully trained and well behaved, on a lead or in a carrier in public areas, and won't have it left unattended in the room or in a vehicle. Guests pay for any damage. No weight limit is published at any of them.

Fees

EUR 25 per pet per night, non-refundable, at the Princess Resort, Aegean Suites and Marpunta. Aegean Suites also appears as EUR 25 per room for the whole stay in one listing, so ask which is current. Guide dogs are a separate case on the ferries, where they're allowed everywhere.

Skopelos

Nothing on Skopelos made the list. The Adrina Beach, Adrina Resort & Spa, Skopelos Village, Thea Home, Panormos Beach, Aperitton and Stafylos Suites all list pets as not allowed, and Natura shows as closed from 16 October to 30 April with conflicting pet rules. If Skopelos is the plan, base on Skiathos or Alonissos and day-trip.

Alonissos marine park

Marpunta sits inside the National Marine Park, so a dog can clearly stay within the park boundary. The park's own rules for dogs couldn't be read, and boat-trip operators set their own, so ask before booking a day on the water. From Patitiri the old path climbs to Chora in roughly 45 minutes and the island has a dense network of marked trails through pine and olive.

Seasonal closures

Every island hotel checked lists its outdoor pool as seasonal, and the islands are largely shut from November to April. Confirm opening dates with the hotel for anything outside June to September.

Best walks

On Skiathos, the Strofilia wetland pine forest behind Koukounaries beach, one of the flattest walks on the island, the coast path from Megali Ammos into Skiathos town and out to the Bourtzi headland, and the coast road from Agia Paraskevi west to Platanias. On Alonissos, the resort's own coves on the Marpunta peninsula, the old path from Patitiri up to Chora in about 45 minutes, and the island's marked trail network through pine and olive, which is the best dog walking in the Sporades.

When to go

June to September, when the hotels and their pools are open and the ferries run at full strength. May and October are quieter and better for the Alonissos trails, but check the hotel is open before you book, because the islands are largely closed from November to April. Beach rules for dogs in high season weren't checked for this page, so ask locally rather than assuming.