Our Day Trip to Kavala

by Chantal & David · Published September 14, 2021 · Updated September 12, 2021

Having grabbed such a great spot to leave Seaclusion whilst the Meltemi blow, which was due to start the following morning, we decided to leave her where she was and hire a car for a few days, this first of which was to take a day trip over to Kavala on the mainland. The other days were to drive around the island of Thassos.

Given how Chantal suffers from sea-sickness on ferries, what a laugh, our first day had to be Kavala, as there was no way she would make the crossing with the Meltemi blowing, at least not in one piece!! So having picked up the hire car the evening before, bye the way it was a very nice Nisaan Micra, far better than the normal jalopy we usually end up with, I had a nice chat to the car rental manager about ferries to Kavala, after searching a website, he announced that there only two, one at 07.15 and the other at 12.30, with 90 minute crossing and the last one back at 17.30. Chossing the first option to give us more time, we got up at the god awful time of 05.30 and drove the 40 minutes to pick up the ferry.. Once there, we purchased our tickets to find out that that there was also another ferry going to Kavala at 09.30, but with a different company ! Remind me to have a word with my friendly hire car manager when we get back… Anyway, Chantal managed to not be ill and the crossing was very calm and uneventful.

Kavala is the principal seaport of Eastern Macedonia, and an important economic centre of Northern Greece, for commerce, tourism, fishing and oil-related activities, and formerly a thriving trade in tobacco.

It is also steeped in history, with the Old Town sitting on the Hill that overlooks the harbour, with its old fort ‘Kastro’ on the summit.

We thoroughly enjoyed walking around the town with its varied architecture and cosmopolitan way of life, given it was a Sunday, most of the locals were out having coffee or lunch somewhere. To give you the overall feel and vibe of the place, see the pics below..

We ventured by the Hill and into the old town,

All the way to the top and the Old Fort, climbing up the tiniest of staircases to the top of the tower, for wonderful views across the city and of the Old Aqueduct that runs through it.

We had wanted to visit the Imaret building, which was built in the 19th century as a religious, educational and charitable institution and looking at its structure and numerous domes roof was somewhat akin to a Turkish mosque. In 1922 it were used to house refugees then it was converted into a museum, cafeteria and restaurant until in 2001, the Egyptian state gave it to a private entrepreneur to fully restore and convert into a luxury hotel. Although we did have the option to pay 8 euros for an official 30 minute tour of the public areas, with no professional cameras allowed (not sure Chantal would have got away with that!), the timing meant having to wait 2 hours for the last ferry back to Thassos, so we decided to give it a swerve, so once again the internet has come to our aid….

We then wandered back down the narrow streets to the ‘new’ part… and the aqueduct from street level, based on roman design but built by the Turks in the 16th Century, very impressive.