Happy Sunday! If the grey excuse of a summer morning is getting you down – Marpunta might be the sort of place that could help you have a bit of a reset.
Where?
Marpunta is located on the island on Alonnisos, which is part of the Sporades in the Aegean Sea near to Greece, but is much smaller than nearby Skopelos and Skiathos. The resort is a short drive from Patitiri, the main centre of the island since an earthquake in the 1960s destroyed many homes, and where the port is located.
How to get there?
Part of the beauty of Alonnisos is that is quite remote, and that is definitely what gave Marpunta its relaxing vibe. However, this can mean that getting to the island isn’t the most straightforward journey. The nearest airport is located of Skiathos, but to land at that airport requires special clearance and skilled pilots (if you Google pictures of the runway you’ll understand why). I flew with Thomas Cook, but you can also fly with TUI or British Airways depending on your budget and your desired flight times. The flight takes around 3 hours, and then you will need to get a transfer from Skiathos to the island. The resort arranged my transfer which was great, but limited ferry times means that you should probably expect to have to spend some time in Skiathos town, which has plenty of places for a drink or some food.
What’s at the resort?
Marpunta is the ideal location if you want to spend some time completely relaxed. There are two beaches near the hotel – one which is more of a sunbathing jetty and the other which is pebble-based. Both have loungers and umbrellas – I spent the majority of my time at the pebbly beach which I really liked, its located right near the pool and bar area and on my last day I spotted dolphins in the sea which was amazing. The sea there is really calm making swimming really easy.
The pool is also lovely, with almost sofa-like loungers which are dangerously comfy. A pool bar also operates, where you can basically every drink you could want. There’s also a poolside restaurant, which I never actually managed to eat at as I couldn’t work out its opening hours. I was on all-inclusive, and the main restaurant was excellent for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The hotel also had a spa which I didn’t visit, an Italian tour company ran a variety of exercise classes (I did a yoga class) and the hotel also runs a number of excursions which at 55 euros felt a bit much for me but you did get to board a boat direct from the beach and you’d get a very personal experience – so if that’s something you’d be happy to spend money on could be worth it.
The rooms where all done up to look like a village which felt really different. My room was ‘garden view’ which meant I didn’t have a view of the sea – but still had a cute little patio area. I also loved that the room came with slippers and a towel robe which I got very into hanging out in after a shower.
What else is there to do?
If you were less lazy than me, there are a number of walks you could do to explore the island. The hotel puts on a shuttle bus to Patitiri, but you could walk down there or up to the old town – I was put off by the heat and the fact that information on routes wasn’t easily available. There are numerous tours of the islands which you could take, and Alonnisos also has a couple of other beaches where seals could also be seen.
What was it like being there alone?
I think I was the only person at Marpunta by myself which was a little weird, as for a first solo holiday I was hoping to not stick out too much. However, as I just wanted to be chilled and this resort was perfect. The staff were also really friendly, and being able to just chill out, read books and listen to podcasts & music without minimal interruption was great.
The Details
More information can be found about Marpunta Resort on their website
I booked my trip via Voyage Prive and my flights via Expedia
When I was in Skiathos, I had a very good drink at GinFish, breakfast at Mythos and when our flight was delayed we ate lunch at Bakaliko which was great, especially considering it was for about 150 people!
A Scatter of Thoughts 