Service Description

Spend a whole day on the water inside Europe's largest marine protected area — the National Marine Park of Alonissos and Northern Sporades, a 2,260 km² sanctuary of clear water, hidden bays and untouched coastline. You'll be aboard a traditional Greek fishing boat (kaiki), lovingly restored by hand by the captain himself. With space for a maximum of 10 passengers, this is never a crowded tourist boat — it's an intimate, relaxed experience. We cast off from Votsi while the day is still young and the light is soft. Our route follows the coast of Alonissos and the wild shores of Peristera, but we never follow a fixed plan — each morning Captain Georgeos reads the wind and the water and picks the bays that are calmest and most beautiful that day. They have one thing in common: there is no path down to them and no road anywhere near. You can only arrive by boat, and most days the only people swimming there are the ten of us. This is a day built around swimming and doing very little else. We drop anchor often and stay long enough that nobody has to climb out of the water before they're ready. The sea is at its warmest in the middle of the day, and in these bays you can see the bottom five metres down as if it were arm's length. Bring your own mask and snorkel if you have one — it always fits better. Otherwise there's gear on board to borrow. In between, the best thing to do is nothing at all — stretch out on deck, let the boat rock at anchor, and watch the coastline doze in the heat. There are fishing lines too, for anyone who feels like it. Around midday the anchor goes down and lunch is set out on deck — a spread of cold Greek mezze, put together that same morning by the captain's mother — vine leaves, fried aubergine, eggs from her own hens, salad and bread — with the table changing a little from day to day. Everything gets passed around, everyone helps themselves, and nobody is in a hurry. Let us know about any allergies or dietary needs when you book and she'll cook around them. We're back in Votsi in the mid-afternoon, salty, sun-warmed and pleasantly slow. Whether you're travelling with family, want a full day in water no beach can match, or simply want to spend a day doing nothing on the deck of an old wooden boat — this is the kind of day people remember long after the tan has faded.