Thassos is a Greek island whose diving is done by boat from its tourist villages. The sites are walls, huge rocks and a small island: the San Antonio wall near Potos with its cavern full of fish and soft corals, the vertical wall of Kefalas with its bigger fish and octopus, the Pefkari Rock and Virgin Mary Island, where pieces of old amphora lie around the spot an ancient wooden ship is believed to have sunk. The San Antonio wall starts at 4-5 m and drops to 40 m.
About diving in Thassos
Every dive is a boat dive. Boats from Potos leave in the morning, certified divers make two dives with a surface interval between them, and the boat is back by mid-afternoon, leaving half the day free. The site changes from day to day and is chosen by the group’s training level and the weather. Diving from the shore offers little here: the water near the beach is very shallow, the underwater scenery thin, and every diver has to carry their own equipment.
The coast below the surface is a mix of walls, huge rocks and small caverns. Near Potos the San Antonio area holds 4-5 separate dives, with a wall, huge underwater rocks and a small cavern full of fish where soft corals grow. Kefalas, 20 minutes from Potos, is usually visited by bigger fish and octopus, and seahorses, moray eels and colourful nudibranchs turn up on dives around the island.
Thassos works for newcomers and experienced divers alike: the centres run courses for all levels, beginners are taken on their first dives, and guides lead more experienced divers. Night dives are offered to trained divers who want them, and nitrox from 21% to 40% oxygen is available. The interest is walls, small life and the amphora of Virgin Mary Island, and a diver arriving outside May to October should not count on the boats running every day.
Best time to dive Thassos
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Daily boat dives run from Potos from May to October; the island is very crowded in July and August, with power cuts and water interruptions.
Dive types & marine life
Octopus and bigger fish usually show up at Kefalas. Seahorses, moray eels and colourful nudibranchs are chance finds on dives around the island, and no month is singled out for any of them.
- Wall
- Cave & cavern
- Drift
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
Best dive sites in Thassos
- 1
San Antonio
Wall near Potos dropping from 4-5 m to 40 m, with a small cavern full of fish and soft corals.
- 2
Virgin Mary Island
Small island with pieces of old amphora all around, where an ancient wooden ship is believed to have sunk.
- 3
Kefalas
Vertical wall with rich vegetation going down to 24 m, sometimes done as an easy drift.
- 4
Pefkari Rock
A rock on the bottom at about 14 m, usually kept for the second dive.
Site guides
Sand slope
A quiet sandy beach with an easy walk-in entry
Wall
A vertical wall where bigger fish and octopus gather
Pinnacle
A lone rock on the bottom, kept for the second dive
Wall
A wall from the shallows to 40 m beside a fish-filled cavern
Cave & cavern
A cave mouth at 17 m with a 10 m swim inside
Fragments of ancient amphora scattered around a small island
How to get to Thassos
Thassos has no airport; flights land at Kavala, 12 km from the ferry at Keramoti, and the crossing to Limenas takes 45 minutes. Most dive centres are based in the tourist villages of Potos, Pefkari, Prinos and Limenaria.
Dive videos
Scuba Diving Greece Thassos 2015 · Dmitry B on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Thassos suitable for newly certified divers?+
Yes. The San Antonio wall starts at 4-5 m, the Pefkari Rock lies at about 14 m, and the drift at Kefalas is an easy one when the currents run. Deeper-qualified divers can follow the San Antonio wall to 40 m.
Is there anything historic to see underwater?+
Around Virgin Mary Island pieces of old amphora are scattered where an ancient wooden ship is believed to have sunk, so a careful look along the bottom pays off.
Are night dives offered on Thassos?+
Yes, night dives run for divers trained and willing to dive after dark.
Sources
- Gorgona Divers – PADI 5 star Dive Resort in Thassos — Gorgona Divers
- Scuba-Vas – Dives and sites — Vasiliadis Diving Club
- Thassos Scuba Diving — Greeka
- Vasiliadis Diving Club — Greeka
- Thasos – Wikivoyage — Wikivoyage
- Potos (Thassos) Average Sea Temperatures — seatemperature.org
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