Travelling to and around Thassos.
In our experience travelling to Thassos is very easy. We have tried many different routes over the years and all are worthy of a try as prices vary at different times of the year.
Our main route, especially out of the holiday season, is to drive to Gatwick airport and stay over at one of the hotels who provide car parking included in a competative price, We then get the hotel mini bus to the airport for an 07:45 Bristish Airways flight to Thessaloniki airport.
Olympic Airways also go to Thessaloniki from Gatwick and the price is similar to BA. We have flown this way too and were extremely pleased with the service. Our latest flight time from Gatwick with Olympic was around 17:45 but they also fly at other times. Our main problem here was that we landed at Thessaloniki airport at about 22:50 which meant that we might miss the car hire desk as they all close by 23:00. If you request it, they will stay open for a short while after 23:00 though.
We then drive 230 km to Keromotti Ferryboat port with hire car, which we pre-book by calling Mike Xognos of Avis a few days before we fly (shown on the links page). The drive is straight forward along the E90 all the way following the ample road signs. There is also www.europcar.co.uk which provides an excellent service in the island.
Apparently, after a short taxi ride to Thessaloniki bus station, you can catch a bus from there to Keromotti for a good price, but we have not tried this. We know people who have and said that it was a good experience. A taxi ride from Thessaloniki airport to Keromotti port is about 55 euros but again, we have not done the trip this way - yet!
Another route we have taken is to catch an Easyjet flight from Luton airport to Athens airport, then fly from there with Aegean Airways to Kavala airport.
During the holiday season, it can be possible to book a flight only on one of the tour companies flights to Kavala airport for a good price, but booking to fly direct to Kavala out of season can be expensive.
Thomson Holidays - www.thomsonfly.co.uk fly in to Kavala Airport during the holiday season on Sundays from England. In my experience, the later you book means a better price. Booking too far in advance can prove to be more expensive.
All of the above are worth checking for the best price depending on what time of year you want to come to Thassos, and are all available on the internet.
Keromotti port is only a ten minute ride from Kavala airport. When at the port, there are two ferry boat companies, ANETH or NEK. During the season they run at frequent intervals to Thassos island and a limited service at other times. Either way, it is never too long to wait. The exhilerating forty minute trip is very enjoyable and we always look forward to this trip especially as it means that we are almost at the Limeans (Thassos Town) port of Thassos.
On arrival at Limenas, if we haven't already got a car, we collect one, pre booked with Mike. This will be waiting in the car park opposite the ferry. Other than this, we have in the past waited until we see Mike at Golden Beach and collect our car from the Avis office there. It all depends on your needs which will always be met.
Whilst on the island, there is so much to do and see. If you have a car you can obviously go any where as long as it is on an asphalt or concrete type road. Booking a jeep for a few days is advisable too as there is so much to see off road in the mountains - but you must still be careful!
Also, the bus service has improved over the years, and you can get to most places by bus at a good price.
If you intend to visit the mainland port of Kavala (for the Saturday market for instance), the quickest way is via the Flying Dolphin fast boat from Limenas. Note that the last trip back is at 14:00 and is for foot passengers only. Kavala can be accessed also from Limenas by Ferry boat but the service is not so regular as the service to Keromotti, or from Prinos Port. The journey from Prinos takes about 90 minutes. A new fast passenger boat now runs from Prinos too.
I hope the above information has been of some help to you in your quest to get to and around Thassos Island.
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