Ferry from Thessaloniki to Skiathos

Thessaloniki Guide

The second largest city in Greece is Thessaloniki which is also the capital of the Macedonian region of the country. The city lies on the northern edge of the Thermaic Gulf and is bounded by Mount Chortiatis to the south east and the Gulf to its east. The city was founded by Cassander of Mecedon in 315 BC and went on to become an important city during Roman times when it became the second largest and richest city in the Byzantine Empire. The city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of the many Byzantine monuments in the city which includes the Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki. Also in the city are a number of Roman, Ottoman and Sephardic Jewish monuments. Thessaloniki is regarded as the cultural capital of Greece and has many theatres and arts venues. The city's main theatres, run by the National Theatre of Northern Greece which was established in 1961, include the Theatre of the Society of Macedonian Studies, where the National Theatre is based, the Royal Theatre (Vasiliko Theatro), Moni Lazariston, and the Earth Theatre and Forest Theatre, both amphitheatrical open-air theatres overlooking the city.

Ferry services from the city's port depart to Varthi via Lemnos, Mitilini and Chios and then on to Kavala. Passenger facilities in the port include waiting rooms, cafes, information desks and public telephones.

Skiathos Guide

The small Greek island of Skiathos lies in the Aegean Sea and measures approximately 12 km in length and 6 km wide, with a total land area of roughly 50 sq. km. It forms part of the Sporades group of islands and is that island chain's smallest inhabited island where most of the population is located around its south coast. In this part of the island the hills are generally much gentler than the more rugged northern part of the island. Much of the island's interior is covered by Pine forests and is a great deal Greener than most of the other Greek islands in the Mediterranean. The island's main towns are Skiathos and Koukounaries.

The island can trace its inhabited history back to ancient times when it was founded in the 7th or 7th centuries BC by the Ionians. Over subsequent centuries Skiathos has been ruled by a number of different civilisations including the Athenians, the Spartans, the Macedonians, the Romans, the Byzantine, the Venetians and the Ottomans.

Skiathos is connected by conventional ferry and high speed ferry to Thessaloniki, the other islands in the Sporades, the islands of the Cyclades and to Crete.