Winter ferry to Thasos: our first five days, night by night

We pulled away from home near Varna on 20 January 2025, right in the middle of winter. People thought we were a bit mad. But honestly, a January day in Greece feels like June back in Canada — and that was the whole idea. Empty beaches, soft light, and Thasos in winter more or less to ourselves.

20 January: across Bulgaria to the border

Late morning we finally got going and drove south past Burgas, then inland toward Greece. By early evening we were in Svilengrad, the last town before the border, for our first night on the road.

Dinner was at Restaurant Mosta — “the Bridge”, with old photos of the town’s stone bridge on the walls. Fried cheese, calamari and a shopska salad, everything fresh, and (as we said in our Maps review) staff who made sure our glasses never ran dry. We sat there grinning at each other. Okay. We’re really doing this.

21 January: into Greece, and a first night by the ferry

Next morning we crossed into Greece. Somewhere near Alexandroupolis we pulled in among olive trees below the crumbling towers of the Castle of Potamos, up on its hill near Avantas village, and everybody stretched their legs. A silent old guardian over the plain, as we put it in our Maps review. The air already felt softer than at home.

Then a long afternoon west across Thrace to Keramoti, the little seaside town where the boats leave for the island. We got in late, tired and hungry, and ate gyros pita. We slept right there, with the island somewhere out in the dark.

22 January: an empty beach, then a quiet bay

We woke up to an empty, palm-lined beach and a cold sunrise over the water. No one else on the sand. Just us and the gulls.

After breakfast we rolled a little way toward Kavala and stopped in Nea Karvali, on the bay, at Camping Alexandros — a family-run campsite right by the sea that stays open all year. Hot showers, quiet, spotless, and the kind of welcome that makes you feel like a regular on night one. A family-run place that welcomes you “throughout the entire year”, as we said in our Maps review. We walked, hung around, and stayed.

In the evening the light went soft over the water, and our littlest sat and watched the sun go down like it was the best show on earth.

23 January: the ferry, Marble Beach, and our first night on the island

Back to the port in the morning. Just after midday we rolled onto the boat under a bright blue sky, and about an hour and a half later we were driving off in Limenas, the old castle up on the hill above the harbour. Nice little port with a great view of the castle — that’s our Maps review of the Thassos ferry port in a sentence. From the deck, the island had looked close enough to touch the whole way over.

That afternoon we went looking for Marble Beach (Saliara) on the north-east coast. You get there down a dusty dirt road, with old marble quarries above you, and then the sea opens up below. White everywhere: white rock, white pebbles, and water that stayed properly turquoise even in January. The kids ran around on the stones. We just stood there staring at the colour. One word kept coming up, and it’s the first word of our Maps review too: paradise.

On the way we also stopped at little Porto Vathy, the next cove along — small and clear, and “often overshadowed by its more famous neighbor”, as we said in our Maps review, even though it deserves its own visit.

Back in town we grabbed a late lunch: souvlaki wraps, fries and a big salad. Nothing fancy. Exactly what we needed.

Late afternoon we crossed the island to Prinos on the west coast for the night. Bedtime story up in the overcab bed — and the camper was already starting to feel like home.

24 January: olive hills, Giola, and a very cold jump

Early start south down the west coast. Around twenty to ten we pulled over near Skala Marion — olive hills, sea through the windscreen, a completely different island from the white marble of the day before.

By mid-morning we were at Giola, a natural rock pool cut into the coast — clear green water sitting behind a ledge of stone, with the sea crashing on the other side. We hung out there almost two hours.

It was January. The water looked freezing. I jumped in anyway — feet first, out again in a few seconds — while everyone else stayed nice and dry and cheered from the rocks.

Then back up the coast to Prinos to wait for the boat.

The ferry left mid-afternoon and dropped us in Kavala a little after five. We kept going west along the coast in the dark, past Nea Iraklitsa and Ofrynio, and slept in Asprovalta.

Five days in, and it already felt like the trip: short drives, simple food, big views, and a camper that felt a little more like home every night. Next up, west toward Mount Olympus.