Kassandra Travel Guide for 2023

Kassandra in Halkidiki is known for its delightful sandy beaches, clear turquoise waters, intriguing mythology, and vibrant local culture.

It’s a delightful destination for your summer getaway, exploring the rest of the Greek mainland and hopping to the Sporades. It’s also just an hour by car from Thessaloniki if you’d like a day out to the city.

Kassandra is a beautiful destination that makes it extremely popular for tourists, so it can get busy. However, visiting slightly out of the high season will give you more of the beach and cheaper prices.

We highly recommend visiting the vibrant fishing villages of Nea Skioni and Nea Fokea, savouring delicious local cuisine and freshly caught fish. 

As you lay on the beach or discover some of the meandering trails, you’ll see spectacular views of mountains in the background against the blue of the Mediterranean Sea. 

Why visit Kassandra?

Kassandra is the most popular destination in Halkidiki for tourists because of the incredible weather, serene scenery and resorts equipped for everything guests want. 

The beaches are sandy and offer good amenities, while the water is warm through the summer and clear enough to see the bottom as you wade out, so it’s an ideal destination for a week by the beach.

It’s not well known as a historical and cultural destination but still has some fascinating ancient ruins like the Temple of Ammon Zeus and beautiful architecture and churches like the Church of Agios Georgios.

If you love Greek culture and food, it’s also full of friendly locals who are happy to help you enjoy their home to the fullest.

Kassandra is ideal whether you’re a family, friends looking for nightlife, a couple on a romantic getaway, or a solo adventurer searching for local culture.

Reasons to Love Kassandra

We love Greece – it’s one of our favourite countries with such varied terrain and unique experiences everywhere you go, so we keep returning year after year.

Kassandra’s secluded villages, stunning historical sites, range of outdoor adventures, and excellent local cuisines make it one of the best parts of Greece for a perfect holiday abroad.

No two spots are the same, so each corner of the penninsular offers a unique way to spend each day of your trip, from the upbeat vibes of Sani to the tranquil oasis of Possidi. 

The beaches are stunning, particularly on the Possidi cape, you can relax in the sunshine with Mount Ossa in the backdrop across the water. 

Where to go

Our favourite destinations around Kassandra offer everything from excellent local seafood to abundant shopping opportunities. Here are some of our best recommendations:

• Pefkochori – ideal for a relaxing day on a picturesque beach or watersports on the waves; Pefkochori is a pretty village you’ll also enjoy strolling through. The homes are charming and traditionally designed with white-washed walls and clay tiles, and you’ll often see colourful gardens and trailing plants down the sides of buildings.
• Sani/Sane – most often, you’ll come here for the beach or the lavish accommodation options, but this seaside village is lovely for a trek through olive groves and a good spot for a picnic. Of course, Sani Beach has clear waters and excellent bars serving everything you could ask for.
• Kriopighi – this is our favourite beach destination in Kassandra. Hidden away by pine forests, Kriopighi Beach is a secluded little stretch of sand that many tourists overlook except those staying nearby. The water is shallow, and you can see right to the bottom. Sunset is particularly beautiful here, with pastel colours over the distant mountains.

What to do

• Watersports are popular here, and most large beaches offer paddleboarding, kayaking, scuba-diving and various other activities.
• Laying around on the beach is a must while you’re here, as the waters are warm, shallow, and crystal clear, while the sands are fine, white or golden. 
• While there aren’t many monuments to explore here, the Temple of Ammon Zeus is the most well-preserved of the ruins in this part of Greece. It’s a good option alongside lunch in the village of Kallithea, as the ruins are free to visit but won’t take up too much of your day. 
• Take a day trip to Thessaloniki, the nearest city, and visit the port and archaeological museum and explore Byzantine architecture while you take in the rich history of Greece’s second-largest city.

Local foods to try

As a peninsula surrounded by ocean, you’d be right to expect that Kassandra has some of the freshest seafood in mainland Greece. Sardines, Anchovies, Mackerel, Seabass and others are hugely popular and very tasty here, served as most tavernas and restaurants throughout the area. 

Calamari is also perfect here, often served with lemon and tzatziki as a side.

Of course, you will always find your favourite Greek staples, like gyros, souvlaki, spanakopita, and the vast variety of meze plates that Greece is famous for.

To finish your meal, try local pastries, like bougatsa and galaktoboureko (delicious cream and custard pies!), and wash them down with some ouzo.

Do look out for tourist-trap restaurants that charge higher prices for lower-quality food. These are often distinguishable by the touts outside that invite you into their restaurant, the large sun-bleached photos of their food pinned up outside, menus with pictures of each dish, and the fact that no locals are eating there. 

Some restaurants are OK, but we always recommend skipping anywhere rated less than four stars on Tripadvisor if you want the best chance of enjoying your experience. 

Souvenirs to buy

We always take a large, empty suitcase on our trips to Greece, allowing us to stock up on our favourite consumables and bring back some locally-made trinkets to remember the trip by.

Here are some of our recommendations of what you should look out for in Kassandra;

• High-quality olive oil
• Local wines from the Tzikas’ Family Winery (where you can also taste a glass of their organic wines)
• Greek mountain tea, oregano and other fresh herbs
• Pottery and glassware
• Hand-crafted jewellery
• Sponges, reed baskets and other sea trinkets

Is Kassandra expensive?

All things considered, Kassandra is relatively affordable.

Accommodation and local food and transportation are reasonable, so you can easily stretch your budget if necessary. But Kassandra might be a little more expensive than other areas of mainland Greece (except for Athens), considering it is a tourist hotspot.

Typically, the less popular an area is for tourists, the cheaper it is. But that being said, Kassandra offers many amenities at very reasonable prices.

Helpful recommendations

As Kassandra is popular with tourists, we highly recommend travelling outside the main season. We typically travel in April, May, or mid-September through to late October, depending on the weather, as these months are far cheaper and less crowded than during the summer.

Find a hotel just on the beach for the best experience. There’s nothing worse than getting up in the morning to find that all of the sunbeds at your hotel’s pool have already been taken, but if it takes just a few seconds to step out onto the beach, you’ll have the most convenient and relaxing trip you could imagine.

Book a trip to the Tzikas’ Family Winery, where you can taste samples of over a dozen incredible locally-produced organic wines and take home a bottle at very reasonable prices. Check local laws for how much wine you can fit in your suitcase, as you’ll want to stock up.