Thassos, Greece: Island Guide, Beaches, Villages & Hotels
Thassos is a large, green and mountainous island in the north Aegean Sea, the most northerly island of Greece, 435 square kilometres in size with 13,527 inhabitants and 95 kilometres of coastline. About half of the island is covered with cedar, oak and pine forest, and its shores hold long, sandy beaches. Thassos lies in the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, in the Nomos Kavala, with Samothrace to the east and views of Mount Athos to the west. Hire a car to reach the parts of Thassos the buses miss, covered in our Thassos car hire guide.
- Sea
- North Aegean
- Size
- 435 km²
- Population
- 13,527
- Highest
- Ypsario 1045 m
The island of Thassos
Thassos is 435 square kilometres in size, has 13,527 inhabitants and a 95-kilometre coastline, and its highest point is Mount Ypsario at 1045 metres. Roughly half the island is forest of cedar, oak and pine, which keeps it green and good for walking. In ancient times Thassos was known for its gold mines, wine, nuts and marble; it was colonised by the Phoenicians, who, according to Herodotus, gave the island the name of Thasus, son of Phoenix. Thassos was conquered by the Turks in 1462 and belonged to the Ottoman Empire until 1912, when it was reunited with the rest of Greece.
Thassos Town and the villages
Thassos keeps its life in the capital Limenas on the north coast, the mountain villages of Panagia and Potamia above the east coast, the medieval capital Theologos in the south, and the resort town of Limenaria on the south-west coast. The main ferry port of Skala Prinos sits on the north-west coast, the harbour of the village of Prinos, with hotels, tavernas, shops and a beach.
Limenas (Thassos Town)
Limenas, also called Thassos Town, is the island capital and main port, set in a large bay on the north side of the island where the ferries leave for the mainland 12 kilometres away. It is a mix of modern, ancient and old buildings, with Turkish houses among the newer ones, and gold, silver and marble made it a prosperous place in antiquity. Most of the activity runs along the waterfront: the ferry quay with the shops and services, then the ancient harbour with the excursion boats, and finally the town beach with its tavernas and restaurants. The ancient agora, theatre and city wall are set out in the Thassos sights guide.
Panagia
Panagia is a traditional village in the hills above the east coast, with its port of Skala Panagia on Golden Beach (Chrissi Amoudia). Golden Beach runs between Skala Panagia and Skala Potamia, backed by dense forest and Mount Ypsario. The village keeps the older, inland character, while the accommodation, tavernas and sand gather down at the coast.
Potamia
Potamia is a mountain village below Mount Ypsario on the east side of the island, with its port of Skala Potamia at the southern end of Golden Beach. Ypsario, at 1045 metres the highest point of Thassos, rises behind the village, and walking trails climb from here into the forest. As at Panagia, most rooms and tavernas sit down at Skala Potamia on the sand.
Theologos
Theologos, reached by road from Potos, was the capital of the island in the Middle Ages. It lies inland in the south of Thassos, away from the coast, and keeps a quieter, traditional character than the beach resorts.
Limenaria
Limenaria is the island's main resort and second-largest town after Limenas, on the south-west coast, with a long sandy beach. Its landscape was scarred by early-20th-century mining and by recent forest fires, so travellers after scenery often do better in the quieter neighbouring villages of Pefki and Potos, where the beaches are prettier.
The beaches of Thassos
Thassos has many long, sandy beaches, most with fine white sand and ringed by pine and olive trees, from organised beaches with sunbeds and umbrellas to quiet, deserted coves. Golden Beach (Chrissi Amoudia) and Makriamos on the east coast are long and forested; Paradise Beach near Potos is often called the most beautiful, a shallow, tropical-looking bay popular with windsurfers; Aliki has two small white-sand beaches in a pretty bay with ancient saltpans; and Pefkari, Psili Amos, Potos, Tripiti and Limenaria hold the sands of the south. The only official naturist beach is Paradise Beach in the east, though quiet coves near Aliki, Tripiti, Potos and Limenaria also suit naturists. See the full guide to the beaches of Thassos.
Sights of Thassos
The main sights of Thassos are the ancient remains of Limenas and the marble village of Aliki. Thassos Town keeps an ancient agora behind the old harbour, a small archaeological museum with a 3-metre Kouros, a Hellenistic street leading to the Arch of Caracalla, a well-preserved theatre in the forest, and a 4th-century-BC city wall around the Acropolis. Aliki, on a peninsula in the south-east, holds ancient marble quarries, a 7th-century-BC Doric sanctuary and two early Basilicas, with the monastery of the Archangel Michael built on a cliff nearby. These are gathered in the Thassos sights guide.
Where to stay
Accommodation on Thassos concentrates at the beaches and in the capital, with hotels, studios and self-catering apartments. Golden Beach and Skala Potamia suit a beach base near the forest, Paradise Beach and Potos hold the sands of the south, Pefkari and Limenaria are the south-west resorts, and Skala Prinos, Skala Kallirachis and Sotiros keep quieter rooms on the north-west coast. Compare the options in the Thassos hotels & villas guide, which covers the island's hotels and its self-catering apartments and studios.
Where to eat
Thassos serves its best food along the harbours and beaches. The waterfront of Limenas lines up tavernas and fish restaurants by the old harbour, Potos and Pefkari feed the crowd on the southern sands, Aliki cooks by its double bay, and the mountain villages keep quieter family tavernas. Where to eat by area is set out in the Thassos restaurants guide.
Getting to Thassos
Thassos is reached by ferry from the mainland, the crossing running between the island and the town of Kavala on the other side, about 12 kilometres away. Boats also run from the ports of Keramoti and Peramos, landing either at the port-town of Skala Prinos on the north-west coast or at the capital, Thassos Town (Limenas); the crossing from Kavala takes about 75 to 95 minutes and from Keramoti about 35 minutes. There is no airport on the island itself, so travellers fly to Kavala or Thessaloniki and drive to the ferry.
