Koukounaries ( el, Κουκουναριές, l "stone pines") is a location and a beach in the southwest part of the

Skiathos Skiathos ( el, Σκιάθος, , ; grc, Σκίαθος, ; and ) is a small Greek island in the northwest Aegean Sea. Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Northern Sporades group, east of the Pelion peninsula in Magnesia on the mainl ...

island in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

. It is 16 km southwest of the main town on the island.

is part of the

Sporades The (Northern) Sporades (; el, Βόρειες Σποράδες, ) are an archipelago along the east coast of Greece, northeast of the island of Euboea,"Skyros - Britannica Concise" (description), Britannica Concise, 2006, webpageEB-Skyrosnotes ...

group of islands in the Northern

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans an ...

. At Koukounaries there is a lagoon and a wooded peninsula with a stone pine (Pinus pinea) forest separating the lagoon from the Aegean Sea. On the seaward side of the peninsula there is a popular beach called Koukounaries or Chrysi Ammos ( el, Χρυσή Άμμος, meaning 'golden sand'). Koukounaries was once known as Maratha (Μάραθα). Until 1964, when Skiathos was designated by the

Greek National Tourism Organisation The Greek National Tourism Organisation ( el, Εθνικός Οργανισμός Τουρισμού, ''Ethnikos Organismos Tourismou''), often abbreviated as GNTO ( el, EOT) is the governmental Board for the promotion of tourism in Greece. It fu ...

as a special development zone for tourism, the Town of Skiathos was the only settlement on the island. Following the GNTO's zoning, a paved road along the coast connected the Town of Skiathos to Koukounaries. Around the same time, the first large scale resort development on the island was built in Koukounaries. Koukounaries is the last stop of the bus route from Skiathos Town. Currently, Koukounaries is a popular tourist destination during summer with numerous hotels, hostels, camping sites, tavernas, restaurants, bars, "ouzeri", and cafes.

Population

Gallery

Image:Koukounaries beach.jpg, Koukounaries beach, July 2005 Image:Koukounaries.jpg, Koukounaries beach, October 2008

External links

Municipality of Skiathos

References

{{reflist Beaches of Greece Populated places in the Sporades Skiathos Landforms of the Sporades