Thessaloniki spreads its charm everywhere, which is why it is difficult to resist some of its suggestions, whether the suggestion is to hike up to its wonderful grove in the “Thousand Trees” area, where in the summer you can see fantastic theater performances at the Forest Theater, or to walk down to the sea and take one of the boats to one of the nearby beaches for swimming, coffee or lunch at one of the excellent fish restaurants in the area.
Both the city’s residents and its visitors have the opportunity every summer to enjoy excursions with the boats departing from Thessaloniki in the direction of Perea, Neoi Epivates and Agia Triada. For those who wish, there is the opportunity to enjoy a carefree trip on Thermaikos gulf with boats that offer mini-cruises with coffee, drinks and music until late at night. Considering that you can go onboard, for example, a “pirate ship” and see all of Thelassoniki from the sea, for the same price as a coffee at one of the cafes on Nikis Avenue in Thessaloniki, it is well worth it. The trip takes half an hour and you can continue enjoying your drink while the boat is moored in front of the White Tower.
The boats run every day of the week from early morning to late evening and the trip lasts 50 minutes to Perea and Neos Epivates. Almost every journey offers a pleasant surprise, be it either the dolphins that accompany the boats on the journey or the seals that visit the Thermaioks bay – recently the passengers on such a boat had the opportunity to see one up close when the boat passed through the area of Kalamaria in the direction of Perea. You can also see sea turtles swimming just a stone’s throw from the city’s harbor…
The history of the “boats”, i.e. sea transport in the Thermaikos Gulf, is very old; more than a hundred years old. The first boat to sail from the shores of Thessaloniki to the opposite coast was the boat “Kassandra” in 1907, during the Ottoman Empire.
Marni Hatziemmanouil
