Nightlife and bars
Nightlife is centred in Skiathos Town, which has a wide range of bars, particularly on Polytechniou street and on the old port. Clubs are situated on the waterfront ‘club strip’, which extends from the bus terminal on the other side of town.
It starts at eight or nine
Bars will begin to get into gear at about eight or nine in the evening, but do not really fill up until a couple of hours later. Many places offer happy hours in the earlier part of the evening. The clubs do not become busy until about 1am and are open until dawn.
Plenty of cocktail bars in the old port
Several virtually identical cocktail bars (such as Venue, Seven Steps, Rock n Roll, Slip Inn, Cassablanca, Barfly and Pillows) are situated on the old port. Cocktails are expensive (15 euros plus) and some places have a cut-off point for serving beer. Take advantage of happy hours for better deals.
Much of the crowd in these venues is young and international, but all are welcomed. The decor of the aims for a clean, sleek look, but the result is bland, at times verging on tacky. (It doesn’t matter too much though, since most of the seating is outdoors on cushions, where the clientele can look out over the old port.)
While this set of bars have much more in common than they do to distinguish them, my pick would be Rock n Roll, which provides well made cocktails and more interesting than usual interior decoration. It also boasts to have provided ‘the original cushions since 2000’.
Arguably a better option than any of these is to walk just along the waterfront to the friendly, English-run Rooftop Bar, which has a more individual character and also offers great views.
Night clubs at the “club strip”
The identities of the clubs on the club strip change frequently but as of summer 2010 consisted of Red Marrakesh, Remezzo, BBC, Kahlua Bar, and Pure. (The Arena live music venue is also here, at back from the main road). Of these, BBC is the largest and most popular, and has the best atmosphere, with those either side of it (Pure and Kahlua Bar) the next in line.
There are no entrance fees (with the exception of Arena), which makes it easy to hop between different clubs. The atmosphere is unpretentious and the dress code is relaxed, with shorts and flip flops not uncommon. The music tends to be middle of the road club music rather than the latest cutting edge sounds.
Prices in night clubs: A shot is normally 3 Euros, a bottle of beer 6 Euros, a spirit and mixer 10 Euros, and cocktails about 12 Euros.
Other bars
Aside from these two main nightlife centres there are a range of other bars in Skiathos. Kentavros (just off the square by the Papadiamantis museum) a unique bar favoured by locals and expats, with a more authentic feel than many seafront tourist bars. The owner plays a range of blues, rock and other music from his collection, and the bar is open until 4am. The walls are adorned with much sixties and seventies music memorabilia.
Polytechniou street contains a high density of bars including Kazbar, Bar Mango, Admiral Benbow and Bar Destiny. These are popular and many are aimed at an international/expat/English crowd.
Some of them show football matches, but for this purpose I would rather go to Portobello on Papadiamantis. This bar is air conditioned and has a big screen which shows a wide range of English, Greek and other European matches. There is also a library where books can be exchanged for 1 Euro. Further up Papadiamantis is Albatross Bar, which has a TV lounge upstairs for those wishing to escape the afternoon heat. (Football is also shown at a lot of cafes on the waterfront).
The types of beer on offer
Beers such as Guinness and John Smith’s are served at some English bars, but the Greek beer Mythos (both bottled and on draft) is more common. Amstel and Heineken are also popular brews.
Nightlife in other places than Skiathos Town?
Away from Skiathos Town the nightlife is on a smaller scale. There are occasional beach parties (normally at Banana) which you will see advertised on posters, and some bars at other major resort areas (such as Stamelos at Koukounaries or the Pr. Ammos Beach Bar at Agia Paraskevi).