Halkidiki is criss-crossed with a network of roads and highways and the most efficient way to travel if you want to explore more than just the city resorts is definitely by car. This is the only way to get to all the secluded beaches, which are among the most beautiful.
However, if you can make do with beaches near villages and towns, you can also use bus transport.
Driving around Halkidiki
By car you can reach all the beautiful places, all the beaches and inland towns. As Chalkidiki is more than 1,500 km away from central Europe, most travellers choose to fly to Thessaloniki and rent a car directly at the airport.
Car rental prices for a week from the cheapest ones start at around 476 eur in summer, while larger multinational rental companies charge between 15,000 and 660 eur.
Prices tend to be half that in low season, but it doesn't pay to travel to Halkidiki during winter, autumn or spring as most services are closed.
The cheaper car hire companies can be found right on Halkidiki, in the towns of Nikiti and Neos Marmaras on the promontory of Sithonia, which is ideal for travelling by car due to its secluded beaches. The lowest prices around 312 eur for a week / 147 eur for 3 days are offered by Thrifty car rental in Nikiti.
Traffic and traffic regulations
Driving in Halkidiki is similar to elsewhere on the Greek mainland. The quality of the roads is decent, but the quality of Greek drivers much less so. You must always be prepared for unpredictable behaviour, especially at junctions in towns and especially when overtaking. The Greeks are capable of overtaking in absolutely all places and expect you to swerve as far as possible to the side of the road or come to a complete stop.
The roads along the coast and on the outcrop of Kassandra are mostly flat and clear, while on the Sithonia peninsula they are very winding but all the more beautiful.
Traffic regulations are otherwise virtually identical to those in the Czech Republic.
International driving licence
Greece is part of the European Union, so you don't need aninternational driving licence to rent a car. You can get by with a classic Czech driver's license, which all rental companies must accept, as well as any police checks.
By bus around Halkidiki
As with travelling from Thessaloniki to all the resorts in Halkidiki, you will use only one bus company, KTEL Halkidikis, to get around the region.
It has a very clear website by Greek standards, where you can check the timetable and buy your ticket online.
- Timetables on ktel-chalkidikis.gr
- Online ticket purchase at eticket.ktel-chalkidikis.gr
The buses run most frequently between the resorts on the east coast of the Kassandra peninsula, i.e. from Paliouri via Pefkochori, Kallithea and others to the resort of Nea Moudania, where there is usually 1 bus per hour during the day.
On both sides of the Sithonia peninsula, buses usually run only 3-5 times a day, as on the Athos peninsula.
Bus connections between the peninsulas are poor, as most services from each peninsula continue directly to Thessaloniki. Only 2 connections a day between Nea Moudania and Nikiti can be used.
Where and how to buy tickets?
Tickets for short journeys can be bought from the driver, but can also be purchased online at the carrier's website eticket.ktel-chalkidikis.gr.
Prices between neighbouring resorts are usually between 2 eur and 3 eur, and only cash can be used if you pay at the driver.
Stops and timetables
It is often quite difficult to find a bus stop and even harder to find the current timetable.
In towns and villages the stop is usually in the centre in the main square, outside the villages usually from major junctions. The station is usually marked by a simple blue post with the words "KTEL", no timetables are available.
Departure times can be obtained from online timetables, but not reliably. Often there are multiple stops in a town, but the online search engine does not take this into account and only lists the services from the main stop in that town.
However, it is possible to find out the locations of the stops, for example, from the map.cz website.
Boats and ferries
Although looking at the map it may seem that the bays between the peninsulas will be criss-crossed by a network of ferries, this is not the case. You can take cruises in all the resorts, but these are round-trip cruises back to the same place.
Regular ferries run only to Ammouliani Island from Tripiti port and to the Drenia islet from Ouranoupoli port.
Ferries also run from Ouranoupoli to ports in the monastic state of Athos.
