The travellers driving from Moudania, and going towards Sithonia, follow the route to Gerakini and making their first stop in Agios Mamas village. The next station on the same route is the recently built by refugees modern town of Olynthos and in close distance, the important and interesting ancient city of Olynthos. Next village on the map is the touristic settlement of Gerakini, seaport of Polygyros, the capital of Halkidiki, and the coastal settlements of Psakoudia and Metamorphosi. Before going into the peninsula, the traveller will come across the town of Nikiti, which has an interesting old settlement when it comes to religion, but also a vibrant modern coastal town. Last to mention, the monastery tower of Psalida, dated in 13th-14th century, welcomes the visitors at the entrance of the Sithonia peninsula.
Driving from Sithonia along the coastal road of Siggitikos gulf, the visitor can make a stop at the touristic, with plenty of remarkable beaches, village of Pyrgadikia and the mountain road over the Coast of Salonikios(akti Salonikiou), will lead him at Tourkovigla Metagitsiou, a place with a unique view over the sea of Siggitikos. Next stop, the traditional mountain village Megali Panagia constitutes a significant religious center of the area, as it is full of many important churches, including Proskynatari Panagias (Virgin Mary's praying temple), which has given its name to the village. On the same mountain route, the visitor will come across the relatively newly-built village Gomati and in about 10 km the Develiki coastal settlement with a perfect for camping beach.
Ierissos lies in a distance of 11 km from Gomati, being nowadays a small town with few sights, but with a beautiful, long, sandy beach and the accessibilty to many monasteries of Mount Athos with a boat, while being close to the ancient city of Akanthos. Next village across the shore is Nea Roda and then Trypiti, from where ferry boat depart to the small island of Ammouliani, one of the few Halkidiki's residential islands. Finally, yet another refugee village built on the ruins of an ancient town, Ouranoupoli, attracts the visitors' interest, being the only starting point to visit Mount Athos(Agion Oros).
Following the north route from Ierissos, the visitor can reach the east coast of Halkidiki. The first important stop can be Stratoni, a village full of archeological findings from the roman era, since this location is identical with that of the ancient town of Stratonikeia. After that, Stageira is also a small yet important village, since it was the home town of the renowned ancient Greek philosopher Aristotele, which also has many byzantine churches from the Ottoman occupation era. From Stageira, the next and final coastal stops are Olympiada and Stavros villages.
This region of the east Halkidiki, the creek of Siggitikos gulf and the east coast of the mainland, is the most remote from Thessaloniki, although it worths to be visited.The crowded city of Ouranoupolis, the historically important Stageira and Ierissos, and the natural beauty of Arnea, with its great woven textile tradition, make the east side one of the most important areas in Halkidiki.
To find your ideal hotels in Halkidiki and around the world, we’ve created Travelmyth, the innovative hotel search engine with a wide range of category filters. Whether you’re looking for hotels for adults only in Crete or hotels with rooftop pool in Austin, Travelmyth makes it easy for you to find the best hotels that match your needs and preferences.