I flew from gatwick to Thessaloniki last year with BA in August the flights were £125.00 each, Car Hire about £400 for a fortnight (depending on what car you hire) accommodation is about £500.00 for a fortnight, Ferry costs about £9.00 each way for a car and 2 passengers, it will take you a tank of fuel to go to and from Thassos £40.00.
So by my reckoning you can do the trip for £1208.00 (for 2 people) in August.
Remember that you have the use of the car for your entire stay, I usually hire a car for most of the holiday anyway.
If you stay in a basic village room, you could probably knock off £150.00. there are quite a few of this type of accommodation in Limenas, the only problem being that in August it is very busy especially leading up to and around Panagia day on the 15th August.
Its not massively cheaper, but you could get the bus from Thessaloniki to Kavala which is about £20.00 return or a taxi which will cost you about £50.00 both ways (£100.00 total).
The drive is about 3 hours (comfortably) and its a nice route with very little traffic compared to England the only really busy bit being leaving thhe airport and getting across Thessaloniki.
There is no doubting that it is easier to fly to Kavala but the flights are expensive in the height of the season, Thessaloniki is usually a lot cheaper and there are a lot more flights going there from the UK.
Hope this can be of some help.

“For those of you who may be nervous of travelling independently to Thassos – don’t worry. We travelled flight only back in May after several years of package trips to the island. It was so easy that we are doing the same again in September.

We booked our May flights using an independent travel agent in Swanley, and for the September trip we found flights on the internet. We found several benefits of travelling independently. Most importantly it makes the holiday much cheaper. OK we had an advantage because we have made friends with people living in Skala Potamia on our former visits so we were able to arrange accommodation, but if you travel outside the peak times of July and August there are plenty of rooms advertised to rent.

Travelling independently is also more convenient. We came straight out of the airport and jumped into a taxi to Keramoti. The journey cost 6 Euros. You buy a ferry ticket from the kiosk where the ferry docks (about 1.25 Euros) and you’ve probably got time for a beer at one of the local tavernas before the coaches arrive from the airport.

At Limenas you get off the ferry and there is a taxi rank right beside the ferry dock. The fare to Skala Potamia was 6 Euros, and we were at our accomodation in next to no time – you know what Greek taxi drivers are like! No sitting on a coach waiting while everyone else is dropped off at their accomodation before you.

However, if you prefer, the bus stop is next to the taxi rank so you can take a bus which is much cheaper, but takes slightly longer. But remember – the buses stop running after about 6 o’clock.

All the ferry times are posted outside the ticket kiosks so you can arrange your return journeys quite easily. No problem!”

I have been travelling to Thassos independently since 1985 and believe me it is a lot easier now than it was then. In those days you had to fly to Thessaloniki and make your way to kavala either by taxi or bus, and on getting to kavala you would have to catch the flying dolphin to Thassos.

Now with the arrival of major tour companies it is easier, you can fly directly to Kavala airport on a chartered flight which you can usually find on the internet. ( These flights are available from May until Mid October) On arriving at Kavala airport it is easy to get a taxi to the ferry port of Keramoti, this will cost around 9 euro’s and takes about 10 minutes. The ferries run frequently and as a foot passenger it will cost you less than £1.00.

There are plenty of rooms available in Limenas (Thassos town) and the only time that it may be difficult to find one is between the last week of July and the first 2 weeks of August leading up to Panagia day. This year I was told that something like 72000 people arrived on the Island in the days leading up to Panagia day and some 20000 cars (Panagia day is around 15/16th of August I am not completely sure) not including foreign tourists. The rooms are basic but clean and most have there own shower expect to pay 20 euro’s a night for a room but this is per room not per person.

I have travelled to Thassos from the U.K in the Winter this involves getting a scheduled flight from Heathrow to Athens and catching a connecting flight to Kavala. Last time I flew with Olympic and it cost around £250 for the return flights and there was very little hanging around in Athens about 1 hour before you caught the onward flight.

Thassos is a great place and I have lost count of the amount of times I have visited Thassos go on do your self a favour and give it a go.

Just got back from Thassos today after a wonderful relaxing holiday. We went independently and took ‘potluck’ as to where we would stay. We had no problem at all in getting from the airport to the ferry (taxi 9 euro) and 2.75 euro got us over to the island. We were intending to stay in Thassos town as this seemed easier but in the end we took the bus down to Limeneria as we were told this was lovely. We rolled up at the Anna Beach hotel and had a sea front studio which was spotlessly clean and the owners were very welcoming indeed. As this was our first holiday without our three children we just wanted to realax and do nothing and Thassos is definitely the Island for that. We hired a car for three days from Potos 65 euro – very cheap and drove around the whole island finding little beaches to sleep on each day.

Before we went we read all the comments on this site and found it to be invaluable information – I hope we can provide some more for would be travellers

We paid our sixth visit to Thassos on September 10th (the second time this year) and stayed for a week at the Aloe in Skala Potamia.

Having been brave enough to travel independently of the tour operators in May, we decided to repeat the exercise. We flew with MyTravel from Gatwick, landing at Kavala at 11:10 am. As soon as we retrieved our bag we went to look for a taxi and were lucky enough to negotiate a share with two very nice ladies. The taxi driver pulled out all the stops and we made the midday ferry. Consequently we were on the island by 12:45, and supping a Mythos in Megas Alexandros by 1:30.

Now, for anyone who read my previous note, it’s important to note that the ferry now comes into the port and not the town, so the bus stop is not nearby. It’s about a 15 minute walk into the town from the port. However, there are taxis at the port.

If you do want to travel independently and can’t get on a package flight, it is possible to get flights to Kavala on various airlines via stopovers in various Eurpean cities eg Munich, or Amsterdam, or Milan, or Vienna depending on the airline. The cheapest flight I found cost about £195, but due to the stopover the journey time is longer than the package flights. Failing this you can fly to Athens (I found Easyjet to be the cheapest) and there are two flights to Kavala every day costing about 60 Euros. I found all this information on the internet at eBookers and the Easyjet and Olympic Airways sites.

Census records for Thassos are based on 1 municipality with a further 9 communities, and include 13,110 people:

Chases Town – 2315
Panagia – 902
Potamia – 1058
Theologos – 1702
Limenaria – 2246
Maries – 699
Kalirachi – 1437
Sotiros – 371
Prinos – 1646
Rachoni – 734

I’m guessing these are prety out of date as these would have been placed on site 5-6 years ago.

Just returned from holiday staying at Ioannis Golden Beach Hotel, Chrissi Ammoudia (Golden Beach). Quite a quiet resort but has several good tavernas for eating out. Tried Golden Sand, Fedra, Sitoris and Viglis amongst others. Would recommend Sitoris for value and friendliness and Viglis for fabulous views and excellent meals (try the stefado).

Accommodation at Ionnis was average. Hotel looked impressive enough from the road and it was clean etc but the staff would benefit from a customer care course – they were not the friendliest of hosts (with the exception of the young lady on reception who was always pleasant and helpful). Tried to use the bar on our returns in the evening but it was not welcoming at all. In the end we took a bottle of wine up to our room and sat on our balcony watching the world go by and playing cards. Room was not air conditioned and hire of fan at 7000 drachma per week is an absolute must. Breakfasts were very poor even by continental standards. Better off sticking to toast and marmalade.

Do use the local bus service – it’s an education in itself. All credit to the drivers who manouvre the vehicle through Panagia. Take a tip – if the bus breaks down on your return from visiting Panagia – do not attempt to walk back (4 Km downhill) – we did and still have the blisters to show for it.

On the whole a lovely holiday which took some getting used to – a hire car is useful if only for a couple of days – the coastal road is excellent.

Last comment has to be about Eric’s bar – we spent a couple of afternoons there. On our first visit during our first week he readily welcomed us, inviting us to use the pool. Spent a very pleasant few hours there. We went again the day before we had to come home – he remembered us and was happy to pose for pictures.

Would recommend Thassos for a relaxing holiday – probably would not appeal to teenagers looking for nightlife / entertainment. More suited for couples or those with very young children.

The Taverna Akrogiali is approximately 5 minutes from the centre of Skala Potamias, slightly further on than the Krambousa, and facing the sea. Traditional Greek cuisine with excellent calamari and lamb dishes. A very friendly family business run by Manolis and very popular with Greeks (always a good recommendation).