Thassos For The Independent Traveler

Holidaying in Thassos – How to Organise Your Own Trip
We hope you have enjoyed your holiday here especially if it is your first visit and that you will want to visit again soon. Or if you are one of our many returning visitors and are thinking about returning but prefer to come for an uneven number of days or weeks or would like to stay in some of the other lovely rooms and hotels you have seen around the island, then it really is possible for you to organise your own trip, with very little effort and probably at no greater cost than purchasing a package holiday!

Fly to Athens and on to Kavala
It is true that there are, as yet, very few, scheduled flights to Kavala (KVA) airport, and those originate in Germany and Athens, but there numerous flights to Athens from every major airport in Europe, some at exceptionally low cost, and there are four connections every day from Athens (ATH) to Kavala with Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines. Athens airport is a marvel of organization and efficiency. It is airy and comfortable and whatever the length of time between your connecting flights, usually only an hour or so, the are so many shops, snack bars and observation points that you might even be reluctant to leave!

Fly to Kavala on a seat only deal with a charter flight
Or take advantage of flight only offers with the charter companies during the tourist season (May - September). All the discount travel web sites list these (Flightline.co.uk is a personal favourite) and give instant information on availability and price, (look out for the extras such as credit card booking fees, though before confirming the purchase).

From the Kavala airport to the ferry
To get from Kavala airport to the ferry at Keramoti is simple, convenient and cheap. Taxis wait all incoming flights and are in the rank outside the arrivals area. The ride to the port of Keramoti takes about 7 minutes and costs 10-15 euros, depending on how many items of luggage that you have. The taxi driver will know the times that the next ferries are due and will advise you to wait in one of the many coffee bars in Keramoti to await the ferry or whether to go straight on board and have your refreshments in the air-conditioned lounge on the ferry (Ferry Schedules).

Fly to Thessalonika and taxi or drive to Keramoti
Or fly direct to Thessalonika, (SKG), again from most major european airports, pre book a taxi – a luxurious way to travel in an air-conditioned Mercedes - or a hire car, map included and arrive at Kavala or Keramoti for the first early dolphin or ferry in the morning. A taxi is €110 - €130 each way and cars are from €25 per day depending on size, time of the year and length of hire. During the high season, rental cars can be hard to get unless reserved far in advance. There is one rental car agency that has an office at the Thessalonika Airport as well as several offices on Thassos (Potos Car Rentals) that you can contact through their web site.

Ferries to Limenas town
In the summer, ferries shuttle back and forward from Keramoti to Limenas, Thassos town, at regular intervals. The ferry timetables: http://www.thassos-ferries.gr/. The fare for a single adult passenger on the ferry is about €1.80; the cost for a car depends on its size. You buy your ticket at the kiosk and walk or drive on board, have relaxing cup of tea or coffee and arrive at the new marina in Limenas town. It really is that simple.

Finding car hire or taxis
The www.go-thassos.gr site has details of hire car companies in Thassos who will take an online booking, or a phone call and a fax to the taxi driver. For the taxi driver you will be able to pre-book and he or she will be standing at the airport to greet you upon your arrival. You will have to fax them all the flight information, time of arrival, airline, flight number and of course the names of the passengers that he/she will be carrying. The driver is normally waiting for you in the terminal holding a sign with the name of the party he is picking up.

Finding the information and booking accommodation
Increasingly owners of accommodations on Thassos island are developing their own web sites and will take an online or a telephone booking. You can expect to hire a studio for two people to self cater from about €25 in low season and up to about €80 in high season (price for the room, not per person). Hotels will vary according to their classification and thus the facilities available, but range from €35 up to about €100 per room. Sometimes breakfast is extra. Once again, the www.gothassos.ws site has web addresses for all the hotels and rooms who are happy to work on line. Or take the telephone number of your preferred accommodation home with you and a phone call to the owners, when you have decided on your holiday dates, will reserve your room and a deposit, by Moneygram, Western Union or bank transfer, will confirm the reservation for you. Another option these last few years are the private rentals that have become very popular. It is now possible to rent an apartment, house or villa from the owners. More details can be found at Thassos Holiday Rentals as well as a list of some of the properties available for holiday rental.

Show off that you DIY’d it
So, if you are imaginative, a little bit independent and want to spend your evenings on the island not comparing how much or how little you paid for your holiday, but want instead to boast about how much leg room your scheduled flight had and how good the food and the free wine are with that same airline and how quickly you got to the island after landing and how soon you were in your rooms with no waiting for other holiday makers to get on and off the bus, then DIY Thassos is for you.

Try it and see, you will be so pleased with your organizational abilities and so proud to be in control. You will make new friends, from the taxi driver to the coffee bar owner to the seller of ferry tickets to the owners of your accommodation, and last, but not least, the money that you spend will be going directly to the owners of the rooms, to the ferry and bus companies and to the people of the island you depend on independent travelers for their own future.

Aileen French lives in the U. K and has a small summer home in Golden Beach. She travels to Thassos seven or eight times a year. She has tried all the variations possible, even via Vienna one memorable weekend when she was due to be at a christening in Oxford in three hours time – and made it1

She is glad to answer any questions and can be contacted on her email address: aileen@thassos-properties.com

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