Flights
and Transfers
I flew from Manchester T2 and had to get up very early. Fortunately I managed to
get a lift otherwise it would have meant getting a train at 7pm the
previous evening to get me to the Airport for 1 a.m. and wait in the
Airport for the flight at 6:30a.m. take off. Can you believe it, the trains
where on strike - Good old England Huh! Anyway, the flight got away on time and I landed
in Kavala for dinner time (GMT +2)
A JMC representative met me at Kavala Airport.
Myself and other passengers where allocated Coaches which took us to the
ferry, a very nice crossing of probably about half an hour over to the
Island. Again we returned to our coaches and where whisked round the Island peripheral
road to our respective hotels. Overall then the transfers went very smoothly. The
representatives did a very good and I cant fault JMC on this at all.
The Hotel
I was greeted by the owner, Soti, and shown my room. The hotel Louloudis was very
clean and very well organised. The staff (mostly family run business) where all very happy
and helpful. The pool bar / catering facilities where extremely well run,
it was no trouble to create a meal to your liking up to 10pm and the food
was restaurant quality and the prices very reasonable.
Prices
A beer: 2 Euro | A glass of Wine: 2 Euro | Average meal: 4-6 Euro | Bus to
Thasos Town: 1 Euro | A Large Apple + 2 Bananas + Orange Drink + Sesame Snack: 2 Euros
The Island
When I initially got to Kavala I got the feeling I had let myself in for a rather
restrictive and cheesy 'packagey' type holiday. The area from the airport
to the ferry was slightly tatty and seemed unkempt. This feeling remained
with me as I sailed over to the Island and I imagined half built hotels and disco bars!
As it turned out I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Thasos was a little paradise
of covey type beaches, old mountain villages and historic ruins scattered
around the island. During my first days walkabouts I couldn't help but
notice that some small building projects had been left half finished and even
some that where finished still had some tidying up to do. I was told later that sometimes
it would take several seasons before apartments where completed and this
often depended on how good business had been. Having said that Thasos had
managed to keep its character and a walk into some of the mountain villages could lose you
in time, you completely lost any sense of the tourism aspects of the Island. You could
find small tavernas dotted around on the way to beaches or in the foothills and an
abundance of cafes and restaurants in the town. The prices where very good and the food
excellent. Thasos was a quiet little island where you could enjoy relaxing on the beach,
swimming with the fish in the wonderfully clean sea, walking into some of the interesting
old villages or for the more adventurous, various water sports or even mountain biking. If
you liked some livelier night life you only had to take a cab for around 5 Euros into
Thasos town.
Travel
Thasos has one peripheral road which is 100km circumnavigating the island. You can
hire a car, a moped or even a mountain bike (16 Euros for 4 days) which I did. The travel
company JMC had organised an 'Island-in-a-Day' coach trip, as well as other events, and
this gave you a good sense of the whole Island without having to do any driving (RHS)
Cycling was actually quite easy on the West side of the Island but rather more challenging
on the East. As I had hired a mountain bike I decided that there was nothing else for it
but to go mountain biking during which time I reached cloudbase. It was hard going
reaching this altitude but very rewarding. Much like the lakes once you had put the effort
in getting height you enjoyed the total escape of mountain forests and wonderful views.
The Photographs ! (Click
on Each for Enlarged View)
|
