My primary intent with this post is to emphasize how important it is for visitors (and locals) to exercise great caution when driving on Alonnisos, because the roads are narrow, and there are other risks to be aware of as well. The balance of this article will explain how this life lesson was drilled into my consciousness a few years ago.
It was in August of 2011 that my wife and I were riding our Honda SuperCub 90 to a dinner party being held in Votsi, a small town and harbor, which is less than five minutes from the main port of Patitiri. We have rented this classic motorbike from our friend Ilias of I&M Motorbike Rental for many years now. Our British friend Geoff Elliott refers to it as our “trusty steed,” and in fact it always has been a very reliable bike for us. In any event, we entered Votsi that night and very slowly started heading east down one of the few east-west streets that go all the way through it.
At the end of that road we took a right turn to head up into the hills where the party was being held. Within a split second I heard a racing engine and peripherally saw a red vehicle approach rapidly from the right – before I could make any evasive move the car hit us quite violently. The bumper caught my right shin and I was thrown completely from the bike. Unfortunately, because my wife was on the back she fared much worse than me as the bike fell right on top her and trapped her underneath. The driver of the car, who we would later learn was quite drunk, didn’t even realize what had happened, so he popped the clutch again and hit the bike (and my wife again! She immediately screamed out in pain and told me to run the rest of the way to the party and get her mother and step-dad so they could drive us to the local clinic. I took off running and fortunately a nice young Italian man picked me up on his motorbike and sped me up to my destination.
Thankfully, in my absence, a group of local Greeks arrived at the accident scene and promptly brought ice and elevated Andi’s leg. We always will be grateful to them for their kindness and compassion that night, but regrettably in all the confusion we never had the opportunity get their names so we could properly thank them. As for the driver of the car, he finally got out of his car after he realized what happened, then inspected the front bumper for damage, but said absolutely nothing to Andi before returning to his car and speeding away from the scene.
The rest of that evening was filled with a lot of pain for Andrea, and since the clinic had no X-ray machine, we had no choice but to purchase boat tickets for the four of us to Volos on the first boat out the following morning. It was a very stressful night with very little sleep for either of us, and in order to be close to the port we actually stayed in Patitiri in a room kindly donated by a lovely Greek woman named Maria who has rental rooms located just a block away. Our dear friends Eleni and Victor from the Ostria Restaurant also showed incredible kindness by preparing some food for us since we had obviously missed the dinner party.
The next day we went to Volos on the Flying Dolphin and took a taxi to the hospital. Fortunately, X-rays proved to be negative, but the doctor made it clear that Andi would need to be on crutches for the next 10 days or more. She was in a lot of pain, but other than some anti-inflammatory medicine there was nothing more that could be done but to give her body time to heal. Naturally this accident put a damper on the rest of our trip, as it limited Andi’s mobility substantially, since walking in hilly Alonnisos is almost impossible when one is forced to use crutches to get around. She also had to travel all the way home to Chicago with them, and that led to numerous challenges for her. Based on this experience, I have to admit, that no matter how irrational this may sound, this entire experience initially left both of us feeling uninspired to ever visit Alonnisos again. In the end it took about five months for my wife’s leg to fully recover.
I want to emphasize that the intent of sharing this story is not in any way meant to give people second thoughts about visiting Alonnisos. On the contrary, it’s my heartfelt desire that as many people as possible have the opportunity to experience being on this amazing island. In addition, none of what I’ve written here should be interpreted to mean that I no longer recommend driving either a motorbike or a car on the island. The reality is if one wants to experience as much of the island as possible, a vehicle of some sort is needed.
The primary lesson for readers to take away from this story is that you must always remember to be very cautious when driving on the island so please don’t go speeding through there, because there are numerous blind corners from which both cars and motorbikes can unexpectedly emerge.
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Another good quality restaurant in the Old Village of Alonnisos is the Panselinos Estiatorio & Bar. Conveniently located directly across from the place where the city bus lets passengers from Patitiri off, Panselinos is housed in a nice, expansive building that offers more seating than any other restaurant in the Old Village. Panselinos has an extensive menu featuring a wide assortment of traditional Greek dishes, and offers a full liquor bar as well as a nice selection of wines.
In addition to its indoor seating, Panselinos has an outdoor area (see photo to your left) with a number of tables for folks who prefer to dine al fresco. This restaurant also offers free WI-Fi access, which makes it a very popular place for anyone with a laptop or smart phone that needs to access the Internet. When you visit the Old Village, be sure to stop by Panselinos to sample their cuisine, or to have a cold beverage or a coffee drink while you enjoy the view. To contact me via email with any questions regarding this post 
Villa Stella is located near the entrance to the Old Village of Alonissos entrance right next to a very beautiful old Byzantine church. This colorful, two-story house was built using mainly rock, wood and a lot of fantasy on the part of Stella, its very creative owner, who also owns the 
It is newly restored and includes a large terrace with an uninterrupted view of the ocean. The house was decorated by Stella and her husband Nikos with respect to the local style and architecture. Villa Stella can accommodate up to four persons, and features a fully equipped kitchen, a TV set, a fireplace and air conditioning units.
During the summer of 2011, our friend Valantis opened a second “Geko” gift store in the Old Village that is absolutely beautiful. Known and respected as man with great taste, he followed his dream and created a very novel shop that features top quality jewelry, fashion accessories, artwork, and much more.
tastefully decorated.
Nestled along the main walkway through the Old Village is a wonderful little store called “Taste of Nature.” The owner of this establishment is a very friendly and welcoming young woman named Stella, and her store features a wide assortment of natural products from Alonnisos itself, and from other locations in Greece as well.
This group of products is just a small sampling of what Stella (pictured to your left with my wife Andrea) has available at this quaint store. As such, I highly recommend you take the time to visit it when you are in the Old Village, and stock up on some authentic Greek products. When you do so, please tell Stella that Andrea and I send her our best regards.
On one of our return trips from Alonnisos we wanted to stay at a hotel near the Athens Venizelos Airport, rather than at our usual hotel in the Plaka area of the city. However, we had no desire to spend a lot of money given that we would only be in the room a short time. A friend recommended that we stay at a place called Peri’s Hotel (see photo to your right). It’s located about 10 minutes drive from the north gate of the airport.
The hotel features 12 rooms (see sample room photo to your left), equipped with bathroom, fridge, TV, telephone, air conditioning, a hair dryer, and central heating. It also offers free WI-FI, and a complimentary breakfast. Transfer from and to the airport is available 24-hours per day.
Albedo Travel has been in business since 1996 and offers a wide range of services, including booking accommodations for hotels, studios/apartments, and villas, plus renting cars and motorbikes, and offering guided walking tours In addition, Kostas offers boat trips, including Marine Park Cruises (to the islands of Kyra Panagia, Skantzoura, and Psathoura island), and sea kayaking (see photo to your left). Other tours include an all day bus tour of Alonnisos on a comfortable, air-conditioned coach bus. Kostas also works with other businesses on the island to accommodate special interest holidays related to Yoga practice and creative painting.
also something magical about the smell of the pine forests as you cruise down the road with the wind blowing softly on your face. There are times during the winter here in Chicago that I long for the scent of those beautiful pines and the visual treats that await me around every corner on the roads of Alonnisos.
rented from Ilias back in 1997, and since then he and his wife Maria have always provided me with a quality ride at a competitive price. More importantly, anytime I’ve experienced a problem (such as a flat tire), he’s been excellent about getting me back on the road as quickly as possible. I cannot say enough about the character and hospitality of Ilias, Maria, and Apostolis, and for that reason I highly recommend their rental business. In fact, over the years I’ve referred numerous people to I&M and all of them reported complete satisfaction.
y. As the photo to your right shows, the beach at Milia is spacious enough to accommodate a number of visitors, but is still small enough to limit crowds of people from showing up on any given day.
Milia Bay is located perhaps five kilometers from the port town of Patitiri, and eight kilometers from the Old Village of Alonnisos. Because of this distance, walking there would be quite challenging for most people, so that means you’ll most likely need to either rent a motorbike or a car to get there. Years ago the road down to this beach was made of dirt and was very rough, but now it is paved and very smooth. If you do drive a rental car there, please note that parking is quite limited at Milia Bay, and that there is a private driveway just before the beach that should not be blocked.
