Athos Peninsula

The Athos coast is the third leg of Halkidiki, the quiet one. Where Kassandra has resorts and Sithonia has coves, the Athos peninsula has long, empty beaches, a working fishing town, and at its end the monastic republic of Mount Athos, closed to visitors without a permit and to women altogether, which is exactly why the villages before the border have stayed the way they are.

Three places matter for a holiday. Ouranoupoli is the last village before the monastic border, with the Byzantine tower on the beach, the boats that run the pilgrims and the sightseeing cruises along the monasteries’ coast, and a strip of tavernas on the water. Ierissos is the real town: a fishing harbour, a long beach that runs for kilometres, a Saturday market and the place to buy fish. Nea Roda sits on the narrow neck of the peninsula where Xerxes cut his canal, with a small harbour, a sheltered beach on the Ierissos gulf and the calm western side of the isthmus a ten-minute walk away. Around them are Tripiti, with its ferry to Ammouliani island, and Ammouliani itself, an island of sandy beaches twenty minutes offshore.

Villas here are fewer and cheaper than on the other two legs, the beaches are rarely full even in August, and the sea on the eastern side is a little cooler and clearer. It suits people who want a car, a beach to themselves and a taverna in the evening rather than nightlife. Thessaloniki airport is about an hour and a half away; the transfer table below has the current prices per vehicle.