This is your own personal service- with George as your driver/guide and friend!
Skopelos is where most of the outdoor scenes of the film were shot. As you approach the island, you’ll understand why: the pines go all the way down to the beach – something few other places in the Aegean offer- creating the fabulous Green on Blue colour scheme which is the island’s trade mark.
The best way to see Skopelos is by car or jeep, especially if you want to travel without fuss to see the Mamma Mia! sites. But if you would rather relax and let someone else take the strain, and you are a group of up to ten people, ask for George!
From INFOS GRIECHENLAND 03.2009:
‘Individualists amongst you will enjoy seeking out the fantastic locations on the island, but to do so you’ll need a small jeep, a good map and plenty of patience. If you don’t have any of these, just ask for George at Madro Travel at the old port. Giorgos Drossou co-ordinated transportation during filming, so he knows what he’s doing: “We loaded all the equipment from articulated lorries onto nearly one hundred small pick-ups; they wouldn’t have made it to their locations otherwise.”
You will certainly want to see Agios Ioannis Kastri, the church perched spectacularly atop the steep cliffs that provided the backdrop to the surprise twist in the wedding ceremony at the close of the film.
The tour leaves at 10.00 am and we go straight to the church, a drive of about an hour. You can stand on the spot where Meryl Streep sang ‘The winner takes it all’ before running up the steps to the church as she did. Good Luck! When you arrive at the top, please admire the beautiful setting and be aware that the inside of the church and the wedding ceremony itself were filmed separately. If you want to see the setting on which the studio setting was based, you need to visit the Church Panayitsa tou Pirgou in town.
Kastani beach is the next stop. This was the film’s main location site, the setting for ‘Lay all your love on me’ and ‘Does your mother know you’re out’. Donna’s bar and the jetty were merely film props and are no longer here.
Milia Beach and Dhasia island feature in the background as the fathers sang ‘Our last summer’.
The boat the Jason, featured in the song ‘Money, money, money”, was moored at Agnontas, whilst Amarantos was the very beautiful picnic spot. Donna’s Villa is a private residence and cannot be visited.
By now you will realize why Pierce Brosnan is quoted as saying:
“I think you are beginning to understand why all the actors said that the Mamma Mia role was the best job they had ever taken. Nobody felt as if they were working. It was like being paid to go on holiday.”
George can chronicle the life stories of much more than just Pierce and Meryl, however. Place yourself in his trusty hands, and you will soon realise that you need neither a guide book nor Wikipedia any longer with him in the driving seat. His narrative of the history of the island takes you from its settlement by the sons of Ariadne – admittedly all conceived outside wedlock in one night by Poseidon – via its golden age in the eighteenth century, when England, Russia and France had consulates here, to the attempts by the Beatles to acquire an offshore island, and to Ivan Rebroff and Hans Werner Fassbinder, who spent long summer nights here hatching joint projects.’
George will tell you how much there is yet to see and discover. “The south-eastern end of the island has been declared a national park; more than four hundred species of animal inhabit the primeval mixed forest. And down below, the sea is also protected as far as Alonissos, and home to large numbers of monk seals.”
The tour will last approximately 6 hours, including a break for lunch (optional - not included) at Agnondas, in one of the tavernas on the beach.
Return to Skopelos approx. 16.00 hours.
Please ask at the Madro Travel Skopelos Greece office, Paralea, for prices.