Thassos · Greece · Reef
Virgin Mary Island
Fragments of ancient amphora scattered around a small island
Photo: Драган Цветковић Ниш · CC BY-SA 4.0
Virgin Mary Island, also called Panagia Island, is a small island off Thassos, about 4 miles from Potos. Dives are made at 6 different spots around it, and the attraction is the scatter of old amphora pieces around the spot where an ancient wooden ship is believed to have gone down.
Also known as Panagia Island, Virgin Marry Island.
Where it is and how deep
40.5603° N, 24.6232° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Boats work 6 different spots around the small island. Dives range from 5 m to 30 m and beyond. Along the way, a diver who watches the bottom closely picks out pieces of old amphora lying all around, the remains of an ancient wooden ship believed to have sunk here.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Thassos: 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 videos
MVI 1018 · Jana & Filippos Nikolis on YouTube
Scuba Diving Thassos Island, Greece · Giorgos St on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is there a wreck to see at Virgin Mary Island?+
Pieces of old amphora lie scattered all around the island, where an ancient wooden ship is believed to have sunk, and a diver who pays attention to the bottom spots them.
Sources
- Panagia Island — ScubaGo
- Dives and sites — Scuba-Vas
- OpenStreetMap: Panagia island — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- A low, bare rocky islet with a small rock off its left end, seen across choppy dark-blue sea under a clear pale sky by Драган Цветковић Ниш, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Thassos
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
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