From Thessaloniki to Siviri | Our Greece Trip

Hello, good people of Hive and travel enthusiasts! I'm back to share some moments from my recent trip to Greece with family. It's sort of a tradition in Serbia to take few days during the summer holidays off to visit the beautiful beaches of the southern country. Our destination this time is Siviri - small place on the outer western edge of the Kassandra, which is a first of three "fingers" on Halkidiki peninsula.

The road there goes through Thessaloniki and from the city it's an hour and a half drive along the coastal line. I've had few hours to spend in Thessaloniki and of course it's best used by heading down towards the sea where there's a beautiful promenade, made for walking, running, cycling, and sightseeing the area.

The most well known spots include the White Tower, which was the watchtower overlooking the port and the sea, built in 15th century. It was in the time when Ottomans conquered the city and used it as a prison. On the same square you can see a statue of Alexander the Great propelled on his horse leading the charge, and around him spears and shields of his army. The quay is a meeting point of tourists and locals - you can see them both as they do their morning jog or just enjoy the view of the sea.

The next stop is Siviri. It's a small village that, outside of summer season, has barely a few hundred people. However, during the hot summer months it's packed with tourists - there are many complexes of buildings particularly built to invite and accommodate visitors during the season. You can see one such complex where we stayed in, with beautiful gardens and terraces, in the last few photos.

The beach itself is gorgeous, with beautiful clear, blue water and white sand. Its shallow water runs for hundreds of meters so there are no sudden drops of depth, which made it easy for us given that we went with kids. And it is mostly a family-friendly place. There aren't many wild spots to discover, but given how beautiful the main beach is, I didn't miss anything.

Over the horizon you can see the magnificent, imposing Mount Olympus spreading as far as eyes can see and you can watch as sun sets behind it in the evening.

Count on the fact that all sunbeds and umbrellas will be reserved at 10am and then later on again at 5pm so you have to be there early or risk not having a spot. As for the prices, you buy a drink and you can use the sunbeds, which is pretty fair. I personally didn't mind going on the sand and sunbathing without the protection of the shade, but that's just me.

Rare moments I got alone I used to walk along the beach towards the secluded ridge on one side and the path that leads to Skala Fourka (a neighboring spot where we where few years ago) on the other side. All in all a pleasant, relaxing week.