Живописный регион древней страны Scenic region of the ancient country

From August 13 to 20.2017 we rested at the "Kriopigi Beach" hotel, Kassandra, the first finger of the Halkidiki region. We flew with Ellin Air. Wonderful service, delicious dry wine and food. Very attentive flight attendants, confident takeoff and soft landing. From the airport "Macedonia" to Halkidiki, or rather to our hotel, we drove an hour and a half. There, the distance is an hour to Thessaloniki, and another half an hour to the first finger, Kassandra.
First about the hotel. There are more benefits, of course. Very friendly managers at the reception. They speak English well, which is important for me, since my work is connected with it. The host of "Mouzenidis Travel" was also very attentive to us, helped to solve all organizational issues. I would like to express my gratitude to Alexandra Unzhakova, the representative of this party. She very competently described all the excursions to us, offered them unobtrusively, was always happy to answer any question. As a result, we took three excursions. A sightseeing tour of Thessaloniki, Olympus-Dion-Vergina and a boat trip "Poseidon's Trident" on the second finger of Halkidik named Sithonia with swimming on the peninsula of the same name, with a visit to the wonderful white city of Neos Marmaras and swimming in the open sea near the island of Kelyfos (which means "Turtle"). He really looks like a turtle in his outlines. The water in the bay of Toroni (this is the first stop in Sithonia) was emerald green, and near the island of Kelifos it was sapphire. Lunch is also included in the price of the tour. In Thessaloniki, we were amazed by the stunning panorama of the Lower City from its Upper part. There is also a souvenir shop there. You can buy souvenirs at very reasonable prices. The White Tower, Aristotle Boulevard, Thermal Bay with its wonderful embankment - this is something!! ! On the way back, our guide Natalia brought us to the town of Nea Moudania, where we visited a shopping center with a wonderful tasting of wines, olives, cheeses. We also got acquainted with kumquat liqueur (produced exclusively on the island of Corfu). Very interesting white wine "Retsina" with a touch of resin. We often ordered it for dinner at the hotel. Very light and refreshing. Merlot and Chardonnay are also beyond praise. We bought wine, olives, oil and kumquats with pleasure. Mount Olympus is simply amazing. Especially the views of the Gulf of Toroneos and almost the entire peninsula of Halkidiki. Dion is the ancient city of Zeus. Vergina is famous for the tomb of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. The only thing is that you can't take pictures there.
Now about the pros of the hotel: cute, family, calm. Nice rooms and a decent view. We had a side to the sea and an olive grove with forests. A train took the hotel guests to the beach for free. To the beach 900 meters. You can, of course, if anyone wishes, and walk. Olives, azaleas, cicadas, brambles. The beauty. The sea is clear, green-blue. Little fish are swimming. Umbrellas and sun loungers on the beach are paid. We did not take them, as they do not like to lie down and sunbathe for a long time. Mostly sat in the water. Still sunbathing, as the sun is quite strong. Pool with fresh water, but deep, for an amateur of any level of depth. The area is small but nice. There is a museum of retro cars. There were performances in the evenings a couple of times a week. There were also Greek singers and Sirtaki. The pool has a bar where you can just sit and order wine, coffee or tea. The food for breakfast and dinner was very tasty. In the morning there were feta, several more types of cheese, boiled eggs, scrambled eggs and omelettes, sausages, fried mushrooms, vegetables, fruits, preserves, jams, honey, pastries, cookies, toast, juices. For dinner, maybe there was not a strong variety, but everything is fresh and different every day. One day the main dish was fish, seafood; the next evening - steaks, pork from the island of Corfu, very tasty beef, veal, chicken fillet. The potatoes were both french fries, and gratin (baked) and "peasant-style". Stewed vegetables, grilled, spaghetti. In general, you could choose. Sweets were also not far behind - three types of ice cream, fruits, cakes, jellies, baklava and cakes. In general, I can say with confidence that no one left hungry.

As for the minuses - there are, in our opinion, two. The first is the lack of an exchange office in the hotel itself and also in the village of Kriopigi. It was necessary to go to Kallithea, which is five kilometers from Kriopigi. And the second - there was a little cracked door in the room and through the gap you could hear the squeals of the children in the pool and the music. There was also a safe at the reception. But it happens in hotels.
The village of Kriopigi itself is very small, but there are many nice hotels, restaurants, a bakery, a shop with traditional Greek products.
But in general, we are very satisfied with the trip, and excursions, and pastime. We have already been to Rhodes and Crete, and this time, for a change, we also visited the mainland. A very deserving region. if there are questions. I will answer with pleasure. I'll try to attach a photo as soon as possible. Good luck to everyone and new travels.