Halkidiki - Greece
The city is the 2nd largest city in Greece, we actually preferred it to Athens, there are many squares to stop and relax in whilst watching the world go by, along with lots of shops and places of interest making 2 or 3 days in the city an ideal duration for a city break.
For our 2nd stop we headed to a beautiful island just off the 3rd peninsular of Halkidiki – the island (Amouliani) which is mainly frequented by Greek tourists but we were lucky to have the use of a Villa owned by some of our Greek friends for a week. The island is very laid back with just a handful of bars and restaurants – but well worth a visit for anyone wanting to get off the beaten track. From the island we visited Ouranapolis, which is located right at the bottom of the peninsular – it is a lovely resort with some nice hotels and apartments to rent. The small town itself has an abundance of bars and restaurants most of them located with great sea views. We also visited Olympiada, which is the birthplace of Aristotle – a nice small town with a small centre with a variety of local shops. There is a good variety of bars and restaurants again all located with great sea views.
After a week in Amouliana we headed back to the first peninsular, on the 2 hour trip across we experienced beautiful scenery and amazing beaches that could have been in the Caribbean. This part of Greece is one of the prettiest I have ever seen!
The 3rd place we stayed was Afitos on the peninsular called Kassandra – this peninsular has some lovely resorts dotted all around – amazing beaches once again and a must for anyone wanting to experience terrific scenery in Greece.
Afitos itself has a rich history which dates back thousands of years. The village has a preservation order on buildings and future developments so the charm of this village will never be lost. There are many cobbled streets of an old-world village, set on a hillside above a white sand bay. The beaches are made up of fine sand, and though there's a fairly steep path in between, there are tavernas and a beach bar down by the gently shelving shore.
Afitos in the evenings are low key – focused on the few bars and traditional tavernas. I have to say some of the eateries have the most amazing views over to the middle peninsular. We loved Afitos as we don’t like anything too touristy – but there are other resorts on this peninsular to suit people who like a bit more nightlife.
We have visited Greece many times and have seen many of the Greek islands and I have to say ‘Halkidiki’ is one of the prettiest parts of this beautiful country.
I have so many photo’s I would love to share with you, but I am restricted to putting just 10 on here – I wish I could share more – Halkidiki really is so BEAUTIFUL and well worth a visit :)