We had two weeks in Thassos (June 25th – July 9th 2003), and enjoyed it greatly. Thassos is essentially a holiday island for Northern Greeks which has been heavily invaded by the package tour companies, especially on the East coast, especially Golden Beach. So do not expect much by way of authentic greek life: you will see little bits of it but not much. Almost every other house of any size has rooms to let. I think it would be a particularly good choice for someone who hadn’t been to a Greek Island before. All the basic ingredients are there in profusion, but there’s nothing remarkable.

The island is quite mountainous so the vast majority of the population and the tourists stick to the coastal strip which surrounds the island. This has the island’s main metalled road. There are strikingly few inland villages compared with other Greek islands. The most publicised is Theologos inland on a metalled road from Potos. It is a pleasant, quiet linear village with a number of Tavernas and a decent café at the top of town with plenty of shade. Notably it has a handmade shoemaker. Not cheap, but the real thing. We also went to Prinos, a pleasant village with three tavernas round a plane tree covered square. When we were there (5pm Sunday) it was busy with Greek families finishing lunch. That was real Greek life.

Beyond of that we did what most of the other tourists did, stuck to the coastal strip, the beaches and the holiday resorts. We stayed in Potos (Villa Keti, with Kosmar). The apartment block was standard Greek, clean, sparsely furnished and fine. It was a bit away from the main part of Potos so was quiet at night – and indeed through the day.

Beaches

Potos town beach is perfectly acceptable. But 2km South, or anticlockwise, is a beach called Rossogkrema (Pink Rock) beach. That is a beauty. It’s quite quiet, despite the fact that you can park right beside it, having driven down a short track from the road. Turn right on a sharp bend just after one of those lay-bys with a stone built picnic area. The beach is mostly inhabited by greek families, so toplessness is tolerated but is not the norm. On the south side, the snorkelling is very good. We preferred that beach to Pefkari, between Potos and Limenaria. The sand is finer and it’s quieter. But Pefkari has more facilities nearby. We also went to Aliki (busy), Paradise Beach but were put off that by the very loud music from the beach taverna, and had a look at Hrissi Ammoudhia which was absolutely mobbed. The far South end of that bay, Skala Potamia, is just grubby.

Potos

Potos is a good place to stay. It is entirely a holiday resort but a pleasant one. It has a good selection of beachside bars and Tavernas. Some seem to target the Brits, some the Germans but they are not unfriendly. The bars aren’t cheap: Greece isn’t cheap anymore. Half a litre of draft beer costs 3 euros. Once we went to the Boomerang bar and if anything were made overwelcome, In the tavernas, the standard of cooking is quite high, and the prices very consistent. Meal for two with beer or wine costs between 25-35 euros. The tavernas overlooking the beach were on average 15% more expensive than those actually in the town. For the most authentic Greek food, we thought Taverna 5th on a side street running vertical to the shore was best. I think it’s Agamemnon Street. More Greeks seemed to eat there than elsewhere: it’s a clue. The most cosmopolitan, the one most like a trendy bistro here was Zooom on the main street. On entry, you were asked where you were from then given the m! enu in your language. They had chalkboards up with the various specials written in English. The food was good but being both beside the main road and doubling up as a bar with muzak, it was noisy. Our favourite was Georgios, on the other side of the main road from Zooom, a couple of hundred metres further up towards Limenaria. Although it was on the main road, it was behind a wall (in a rose garden, actually). The staff were very civil, the food was fine. It was one of the few places where I was allowed to practise my evening-class Greek. In most other places, the staff just talk to you in English, or German. There they’d let me try, help me and correct me. Good stuff. Potos has four or five supermarkets (Minimarkets really). We thought the best of them was the eponymous

Potos Supermaket. It had a good selection of fruit, cheese, milk, yogurt, beer, wine, soft drinks and household objects and was, I think, marginally cheaper than the others. In that supermarket 500ml bottles of Amstel beer cost 0.87 euros, a third of the price of beer in the bars! Moreorless opposite that supermarket is a really wonderful baker’s shop and Patisserie. The Tiropites (cheese pies) cost a euro each and are as good as we’ve had. Take them down to the beach and let them heat up on hot rocks till you fancy some lunch!

Honey

Thassos honey is really very good indeed. The roadside vendors are not cheaper than the shops.

Scala Marion

We took to this little place, with its four tavernas, three beaches and limited accommodation. It was much more unspoiled than most other seaside villages on Thassos. If you wanted a really quiet, laid back, Greek experience it would do nicely.

Mosquitoes

Thassos is actually much worse for mosquitoes than a good number of Greek Islands we’ve visited. But with Autan, the plug in electric machines in the room and particularly with the Moskil, those green spirals you set light to, on the veranda in the evening, we weren’t too badly troubled.