Although Thassos doesn't have it's own airport it is still one of the easiest Greek islands to get to, lying just off the northern coast of Greece close to a major airport near Kavala and with a regular daily car ferry service to the island. The airport at Thessaloniki is also only abut two hours drive away and there are more ferries from Kavala itself. Thassos is so well linked to the mainland road network that many Europeans drive there.
Fly from all major European airports.
Most European languages and currencies.
Thassos has no airport. Most visitors fly to the airports at Chrissoupoli (Kavala) or Thessaloniki then make their way by road and ferry.
The Alexander the Great airport at Chrissoupoli is about 30 km east of Kavala and is usually referred to as Kavala airport by online booking agencies and search engines.
From the airport it is a straight 11km road trip to the port at Keramoti and then a 40min ferry trip to Limenas on Thassos with ferries every 40 mins or so.
Chrissoupoli Airport is more often referred to as Kavala Airport so don't get confused. The airport is a small, nondescript place with few facilities.
Chrissoupoli (Kavala) handles about 2m visitor each year, has nine check-in desks, six gates, two baggage claim belts
There are some short-term parking spaces and 160 long-term parking spaces. Taxis outside Chrissoupoli (Kavala) will get you to Keramoti in 10 mins.
If you prefer, you can go by road from Chrissoupoli (Kavala) Airport to the large port at Kavala itself (about 30km) and then get a ferry or hydrofoil from there to Limenas on the north coast of Thassos or to Skala Prinos on the west coast.
The airport at Thessaloniki - Macedonia International Airport - has several flights and charters daily from Athens and other European cities. Cheap flights to Thessaloniki are often easier to find than to Chrissoupoli (Kavala). From Thessaloniki it is a 180 mins road journey to the ferry at Keramoti or there is a bus #78 to Kavala port.
Both easyJet and BA have flights from London Gatwick to Thessalonika and Thomson has flights to Kavala.
• The Liligo search engine finds hundreds of cheap flights to Greece and the Greek islands
• Flightline has been providing cheap flights to Greece, holidays and accommodation for over 20 years
Thassos is well served by regular car ferry shuttles to the mainland at Keramoti and also to Kavala. The Keramoti ferries leave for Thassos Town every two hours or so and it takes about 40 minutes to reach the main port at Limenas, passing the uninhabited islet of Thassopoulou on the way.
About six ferries run each day from 5.30am from Thassos until 9pm from Keramouti. Tickets and reservations are not available online. Tickets are only available at the ferry ports 30 minutes before departure up to the ferry leaving. More details are available from Thassos Ferries.
About six ferries a day leave Kavala for Thassos and they take about 95 minutes to get to the west coast port of Skala Prinos, with similar schedules for the return trip. Thwo ferries a day leave from April to October. with three a day in August See the Thassos Ferries link above for schedules and prices. There is also a hydrofoil service from Thassos Town to Kavala.
To head for other islands in this part of the Aegean islands you must first get a ferry to Kavala and then find a connection from there. Island hopping in this part of the Greek islands is very restricted.
On Thassos itself, boat trips can be found on offer in Limenas harbour. They usually make daily taxi boat trips to Makryammos beach and to Chrissi Ammoudia (Golden Beach). There are also round island trips, stopping off at remote beaches, that leave Limenas at 9.45am on Wednesday and Sunday.
There is plenty of good holiday accommodation to be found all over Thassos but the biggest choice is in Thassos Town and the larger holiday resorts such as Limenaria and Skala Potamis. Many inland villages and coastal resorts have rooms to rent but many places close down between October and May and the big hotels do tend to get block booked months in advance by the bigger tour operators.
There are plenty of small hotels and rooms to rent in the hill village of Panagia and nearby at Chryssi Ammoudia or Golden Beach. The camping site at Golden Beach is one of six dotted around the coat but the only camp site on the east side of Thassos. Other camping sites can be found at Pefkari, Dassyliou, Skala Prinos and Skala Sotira.
Families could opt for a cabin at the Makryammos holiday resort, about 2km east of Limenas. The complex has 198 bungalows and 10 luxury suites set in landscaped gardens overlooking Makryammos Bay. Sports and recreation activities include Greek language and cookery courses and there is a child pool, playground and miniature zoo.
Thassos island's most exclusive accommodation is at the Alexandra Beach Resort, between Potos and Pefkari on the south coast. This luxurious beachside hotel complex has every facility including shops, a gym, outdoor pool, children's programme and all types of recreational activities.
Thassos is relatively easy to reach by road thanks to the car ferry service from Keramoti. Visitors can hire a car at Kavala to Thessaloniki airports. Kavala airport is only 11km from Keramoti. It is a two hour drive from Thessaloniki airport but you are more likely to get cheap flights there.
There are also car ferries from Kavala port and these dock at Skala Prinos on the Thassos west coast but are not as frequent as those from Keramoti.
You can get a bus from Kavala but you usually have to change at Chrissoupoli (the airport). The Kavala buses leave hourly from the bus station until 10pm.
Thassos island has a single circular road around the coast, well maintained and with good signposting, so driving on Thassos is pretty good. At around 95-100 km for a complete circuit, all the beaches are within daily reach wherever you are based.
Cars can be rented in all the main resorts with smaller outfits prepared to undercut the bigger agencies. The coast road is flat in the north-west, passing through farmland. It is rather more hilly and forested in the north-east, especially when it cuts inland to Panagia. The land in the southern half is relatively flat.
This is a good island to get a 4x4 to explore the more remote areas though a good map is recommended as many mountain tracks are not signposted from the main roads.
There are plenty of daily buses that serve all the coastal villages and some of the inland ones too. Coastal buses travel in both a clockwise and anticlockwise direction around Thassos but buses head west out of Limenas are more frequent than those heading east when the tourist season gets under way.
As well as the round-island service there are buses west from Limenas to Limenaria, Potos and Alyki with detours inland to Theologos and east to Panagia and Potamia. There are eight buses a day Mon - Sat from Limenas to Limenaria and Potos and a similar number from Skala Prinos to Limenaria and Potos. This drops to six buses daily on Sundays.
Taxis are plentiful during the day but are difficult to find at night especially outside Limenas. You can wait hours to get a taxi back to Limenas from, say, Potamia. Make prior arrangements with the driver to pick up at night.
There are many good walks to be found on Thassos, particularly in the hills around Panagia and Potamis. Marengo Books has excellent walking guides and walking maps of Kalymnos and other islands.
There is a small booklet Walking On Thassos by Rose Gruwel and Truus Van De Mast available from Jayne's Leather Shop in Limenas. Another good book to look out for is Walks in Northeast Thasos by Lance Clinton. As well as walking trails there are jeep and mountain bike trails too. See Foxy's Thassos for a great walkers' web site with photos on Thassos as well as detailed walks on the island.
