First time when I visited Greece was after our wedding, in
summer 2007. We bought our tickets through a tourism agency located in my
hometown and we chose Kallithea, Kassandra as our first destination. We were
excited about this holiday because it was our first trip together outside Romania.
We got on the road two days earlier to make sure we get
there in time. We made a night stop when we reached Southern Romanian Border in
Giurgiu, and passed through Bulgaria early next day. Northern Bulgaria has the
same vegetation as Southern Romania, but as you go further to the South, the
land changes and becomes more and more dry, with different landscapes. When we
reached Thessaloniki we were tired and we still had almost 50 miles to reach
our destination.
There are no words to describe what I felt when I saw the
sea for the first time. After check-in, we decided to go to the beach side and
we had to walk 15 minutes away from the hotel.
And then, there it was, clear, beautiful and warm, with an emerald color
and salty enough to allow me to swim for hours. It was like Heaven. We liked it
so much that we decided to visit Greece every year since.
We visited many locations in Khalkidiki during our
holidays.
On Kassandra, we stayed at Macedonian Sun Hotel***, Kallithea,
and Ammon Garden Hotel*** in Pefkohori.
Macedonian Sun Hotel*** is located on a hill top, surrounded
by evergreen gardens, 2 km away from Kallithea and with access from the main
road. As we arrived 1 day earlier that
the actual booking, we had to pay 64 euros without dinner, only B&B, even
though we had HB reservation for the next 7 days. We received a semi-basement
room, but it was cool enough and we didn’t have to use air con. The seaside is 10-15 min away, but the hotel
has a pool, so in the mornings we preferred to say around, to be close to our
room when it became too hot to stay in the sun at noon. We liked the food here.
We had breakfast and dinner included, and we decided to join “Greek night”
dinner for an extra charge. It was
entertaining and it worth every cent.
We visited Ammon Garden Hotel*** in 2009 and we chose this
hotel because of its low price. When we checked
in, no ID was necessary, only our booking voucher. The hotel has a small terrace
near the pool area where drinks and refreshments can be served all day. All
rooms have self-catering facilities, but breakfast can also be served in the
small restaurant. One minus of this
hotel is the bathroom. Too small, no shower cabin, only a curtain around the
shower head, but very clean. Housekeeping service was offered daily around
noon. A “blue-flag” beach is situated 100
meters away from the hotel, with clear blue water but it has little stones
instead of sand.
Sithonia, the second “finger” of the peninsula is the most
beautiful (for me).
We stayed at Greek House Hotel*** in Neos Marmaras in
September 2011. I chose this hotel because of the interesting pictures showed
on the internet pages, and of course, the good price offered. When we arrived
in Neos Marmaras we were stunned to see so many hotels and guest houses all
together and it was difficult to find our hotel. Then I remembered that in the
pictures I saw, there was a football field close to it. And this is how we
found it eventually. The hotel entrance is through the Itamos restaurant and I
was impressed of its traditional and welcoming design. At reception we were
welcomed by smiling faces and because we came with our little girl, we received
an apartment, even though our booking was for a double room. All rooms are beautiful, clean, and a bottle
of wine was offered on-house but no cleaning services were provided during our
stay. Also, the floor is made of stone, with small carpets, so slippers are
mandatory. The WiFi cannot be accessed
from the rooms, so we had to go in the restaurant every time we wanted to read
our e-mails. The hotel is very close to the beach and the sea water is clean
and warm.
Sithonia tour by car is a must when you come to this
peninsula. We made one in 2007, when we first came to Greece, and once again in
2009. I’ve read somewhere that Sithonia is called “a symphony between blue and
green” and I completely agree.
We also had the chance to visit one of Agios Oros locations,
in Ouranopolis, at Eagle Palace
Hotel*****. I liked everything about this hotel. First, the outside pool water uses sea water,
is very clean and relaxing. It has access to private beach and is surrounded by
a beautiful garden. I would return here anytime and I would also recommend it
to everyone.
Khalkidiki is not the only region I visited in Greece. We
also stayed in Corfu, Thasos or Katerini region, but I will keep these stories
for future posts. There are so many places that deserve to be visited, and for
us is just the beginning.
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