Greece Thassos: 25 random things about Thassos!

Greece Thassos-Did you know that…

1. Greece Thassos – Name:

The son of Phoenix and leader of the Phoenicians Thasos/Thasus gave his name to the island during their colonisation.

2. Greece Thassos – Location

Thassos is the northernmost Greek island, and 12th largest.

3. Greece Thassos – Airport

The closest airport is Kavala Airport – Megas Alexandros Αirport (KVA), a few kilometers from Keramoti port which has the fastest transfers to Thassos. From April until October there are regular flights from all over Europe, during the rest of the year it is only for domestic flights.

4. Greece Thassos – Villages

Thassos has 22 villages. Most of the coastal villages are prefixed with the word “Skala..”, this translates to English as staircase/steps. For example we have Skala Potamia and Potamia, they are two different villages -don’t get confused!

5. Greece Thassos – Limenas / Thassos Town

Limenas in the north is also known as Thassos Town and is the administrative capital of the island. It’s also the biggest town with 3234 residents.

6. Smallest village in Thassos

The smallest settlement/village is Koinira with only 105 permanent residents.

7. Old Capital of Thassos

The old capital of the island was the mountain village Theologos.

8. Greece Thassos – Population

The population of Thassos is 13,765 permanent residents.

9. Ring Road of Thassos

The ring-road around Thassos is 97 kilometers.

10. Ypsarion Thassos

The highest peak of the island is Ypsarion, at 1,205 metres (3,953 feet).

11. Greece Thassos – Annual Visitors

Tourism is the biggest industry on Thassos. With an influx of 200,000 tourists annually!

12. Hotels in Thassos

Thassos has a huge selection of accommodation to choose from. There are 10,500 hotel beds and 15,000 rooms/studios to let! There is also a growing market with local people renting out their homes. All are fully booked in August!

13. Agriculture in Thassos

Agriculture is still an important activity on Thassos, the main products are honey, almonds, walnuts, olives and olive oil and grapes for wine and tsipouro. The pastoral farmers raise goats and sheep, both for milk and meat. Most coastal villages also have a small fleet of fishing boats.

14. Thassos Marble

Thassos is renowned for some of the best white marble in the world. It is exported all over the world and has religious and cultural significance because of its pure white colour.

15. Thassos Oil Field

Thassos has an oil field (Prinos) in the Aegean Sea between Kavala and the island. It was discovered in 1971, production began in 1975.

16. Thassos dialect

Thassos has its own dialect – “Thasitika”, not many people use it nowadays but if you listen hard you will hear it spoken among the older folk.

17. Currency & Banks in Thassos

The official currency like all Greece is Euro, the only banks on the island are in the capital Limenas in the North and Limenaria in the South.

18. ATMS in Thassos

ATMs can be found in most villages – Limenas, Skala Prinou, Limenaria, Potos, Potamia and Golden Beach.

19. Payments with Credit Cards in Thassos

Credit cards are widely accepted, nevertheless make sure you have some cash for small purchases or for tavernas/cafes.

20. Celebrations in Thassos

The biggest celebrations in Thassos are Easter, Christmas and the big summer celebration in the memory of the Virgin Mary on 15 August. Many villages also have their own celebrations, for example Kastro celebrates on the 18th of January Saint Athanasios.

21. Thassos climate

Thassos has a mild climate with four distinct seasons. Winters can be quite cold and wet, summer is invariably hot and sunny!

22. Greece Thassos weather

The average temperature for January is 5 °C, for July and August 25 °C.

23. Greece Thassos sunny days

Thassos has approximately 250 sunny days per annum.

24. When to go to Thassos

The best time to come to enjoy sunbathing and swimming is from June until September. Although on 1st May it is a tradition to take the first swim of the year.

25. Winter in Thassos

It does snow during winter time! There is normally some snow every winter in the mountains but rarely on the coast, if that happens everything remains closed!