Elisa RuggieriDiscover Thassos in this all new compact guide to the Greek island. How to reach it, where to eat, where to stay, the most beautiful beaches and much more in this all new article, you’ll also find a downloadable infographic!
Welcome to a new article of my new blog series: “A compact guide to Greek islands”, a series of brief but complete guides to most Greek islands, written in collaboration with other bloggers.
These guides are meant to be compact and to give you a quick idea on what to expect from the island as well as practical information on the main things to do and see there.
I hope you find this new series useful and enjoyable!
The island of Thassos
Today we are going to talk about Thassos, and I have written this article in collaboration with Raluca author of Travel with a spin, a blog whose aim is to inspire and help people travel more.
Thassos is an island in the North Aegean Sea and it is the northernmost major Greek island. Its distance from the mainland is of just 10km. It has an area of 380.097 km2, which makes it the 12th largest Greek island by area. The main city of the island is also called Thassos and it is on the northern side of the island.
An interesting fact is that Thassos is known from ancient times for its thermae.
How to reach Thassos
There is no airport in Thassos. The closest one is Kavala, which is well connected to Athens airport by internal flights and in summer it also receives flights from many Europeans countries. Upon your arrival, you have to reach the port of Kavala and then travel to Thassos by ferry. From the airport to the port, you can take a taxi or a bus as there are 30km between the two.
Another option is to fly to Thessaloniki and then reach Kavala or Keramoti by car, however, this will take more time, and then take a ferry to Thassos. Unfortunately, ferries cannot be booked online.
How to move on the island
As the island is quite big and mountainous, the best way to move around is to rent a car. Be careful who you rent the car with, bad experiences are just behind the corner.
Download the infographics
What catches the eye when you first arrive on the island?
The diversity of activities you can do on the island and how different the towns and the beaches are. The people are also very friendly, the owners will come to your table to greet you personally in the restaurants and you’ll almost always get dessert for free. If you don’t know how to get to a place, you might be surprised when people will not only tell you how to get there but also offer a ride or accompany you. Food is tasty almost everywhere.
What makes this island more interesting than others?
This island is for everyone, seniors, party people, beach lovers, people looking for small town gems, adventure, beautiful sunsets or families with kids. But you must be careful when choosing the place you’ll stay.
Where to eat on Thassos island: the 5 best taverns on the island
- Yatrou Tavern – Theologos
- Simi Tavern – Limenas
- Elena Tavern – Panagia
- Irene Tavern – Potos
- Kostis Tavern – Limenaria
Where to stay in Thassos
According to your preferences, you have to choose the best location to make the most out of your holiday.
- Skala Potamia is perfect for beach lovers
- Theologos/Panagia if you are looking for small, beautiful town vibes, however, there is no beach nearby
- Limenaria if you are looking for a quiet place as it is not too crowded, not too loud, but nice and there is a lively atmosphere
- Potos/Thassos for party people as it is crowded and in the middle of all
- Skala Prinos is perfect for couples. There’s also a camping for the ones that like this type of accommodation
- Pefkari is more suitable for seniors
The 6 most beautiful beaches of Thassos
- Saliara/Marble Beach – a beach with white pebbles, turquoise clear waters)
- Golden Beach – golden sand beach 4 km long
- Paradise Beach – waves all year long, one can do windsurfing. In a corner of the beach, nudism is allowed
- Aliki Beach
- Metalia Beach
- Giola – natural pool, not a real beach
Where is the best place to watch the sunset on Thassos island?
Potos Beach
Thassos what to do: the best experiences to do on the island
- Jeep safari,
- Greek night in Theologos,
- snorkeling,
- diving,
- walk the old streets of Panagia and Theologos,
- windsurfing,
- sailing,
- go on an island tour
Why visit Thassos
It’s small enough to make the best of your time there and big enough to offer a diversity of adventures, food options and things to do.
You can rent a car and go on an island tour. Besides finding beautiful beaches, you’ll also find some historic sites (Aliki, Thassos), religious sites (church of St. Michael, where you’ll be given special clothes in order to be able to enter), a cave, a pirate’s path and a lover’s bridge in Panagia, old houses with roofs made out of stones in Theologos, an olive oil factory. If you go on the jeep safari, you’ll get to see the mountains on the island and a different side of it, including a village with only 3 people living there.
Thassos island is suitable:
- for families with kids
- for people looking for fun
- for people looking for peace and quiet
The best period to visit the island is September, however, all summer months are perfect on the Greek islands.
Thank you Eli for putting this post together. It looks great! I really enjoyed my time in Thassos and I hope this serves as inspiration for your readers.
I think it will! I loved reading about Thassos as it is an island that I didn’t know, I am sure my readers will appreciate it too!