Living My Mamma Mia Dreams
Greek Islands FTW!
Our Greece itinerary is a sampler platter of islands:
The Cyclades to the south are known for their white buildings on hillsides (aka Santorini);
Crete (getting close to Libya!) is famed for its agriculture, hiking, and amazing food culture;
The Sporades (Skopelos) to the west of the mainland are famous for their crystal clear water and pristine beaches;
And finally the Ionians (Corfu) to the east, which were never conquered by the Ottomans so retain a more Italian/Venetian feel.
We also stopped by Athens of course—you gotta see the Acropolis!—and in Meteora for some monasteries atop insane rock structures.
Anywho, back to islands! I realize that “Mollie had a nice time relaxing on beaches” may not be the exciting Very Adventure! content you’re here for. But I am very much here for it so here we go!
We selected Skopelos for two reasons: it is supposed to be less touristy than its close neighbor (Skiathos) AND it is the filming location of the cinematic masterpiece Mamma Mia! Why do I love Mamma Mia! so much? I think the better question is, why don’t you??? The music! The drama! The scenery! The absolutely wild fever dream vibes (see also: Moulin Rouge)!
And the great news is that a normal tour of Skopelos is basically the Mamma Mia! tour. Our first day we went to Glysteri Beach—inspiration for the location of Villa Donna and filming location for “Honey Honey,” parts of “Our Last Summer,” and the scene when Sophie rides a donkey through olive groves—the most peaceful little cove beach you’ve ever seen. Our second day we went to Limnonari Beach, with a stop by Agnontas town on the way, filming location for “Money Money Money.”
Our third day we rented a car for a beach tour, stopping by Kastani Beach, Hovolo Beach, and Agios Ioannis Church. Kastani is the main beach from the movie where they filmed “Lay All Your Love on Me” and “Does Your Mother Know.” For the movie they built a dock and a beach bar, but neither are there anymore. We may have gotten carried away and filmed our own music video here! (See this video to understand the inspiration.) Fun fact: I started college as a film major…glad those skills are going to good use. 😂
Agios Ioannis is the famous church atop a rock in the sea where Sophie gets married. THOUGH I will say that a lot of photos (and perhaps the movie itself) have been doctored — the church is on the east side of the island, meaning that the sun does not set behind it, as often pictured! (My other theory is that they filmed at sunrise and pretended it was sunset.) We went on a backroads dirt and mud ruin-the-rental-car drive to get to it…only to find out there is a real paved road. If you go here, DO NOT FOLLOW THE GOOGLE.
Our last day and last beach was Milia, not a filming location, but also a delight.
It’s worth noting here the pros and cons of traveling in “shoulder season.”
Cons:
Many restaurants are not open (this was also impacted by Greek Easter closures while we were in Skopelos).
It can be colder than you’d like in the evenings and when it’s windy (if you saw our Crete pictures, we’re wearing sweatshirts a lot).
Beach bars, umbrella rentals, etc. are not happening right now (if that’s your jam).
Buses are not running (again, this may be because of Easter? But they were stopped all five days we were on Skopelos), so you have to walk or rent a car to get around.
Pros:
It’s cheaper (e.g. our hotel in Skopelos would normally be 60 euros a night but we got it for 30).
It’s green and spring flowery everywhere (I think Greece is pretty hot and dry in the summer).
If it’s sunny and not windy the weather is perfect for sitting on a beach or going on a hike with minimal sweatiness. It was too cold on Crete for bathing suits, but on Skopelos it was perfect.
Most importantly, beaches are empty. The most people we shared a beach with on Skopelos was ~10. We had Hovolo, one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to, entirely to ourselves.
