Peraia Beach, Thessaloniki

This weekend, I went to Peraia Beach, a beach that can be reached by city bus from Thessaloniki city center.

Peraia Beach and nearby Neoi Epivates Beach are the nearest to the city center of Thessaloniki. Both can be reached in about 40 minutes by ferry from Thessaloniki's White Tower or the port. When I went to Neoi Epivates Beach before, I went by ferry. The ferry ticket price went up since then, and it became 10 euros round trip in the summer. The ferry I got on was so crowded that we even had to push each other to get on the ferry on the way back. The guys who run the ferry had a bit of a yakuza-like attitude, they sat down in the passenger seat trying to flirt with a group of women. What an easy job they seem to have… They also refused to accept card payment for obvious reasons, saying that the machine doesn't have a connection in the middle of the sea, but we insisted and paid by card in the end.

When I went to Neoi Epivates by ferry, my impression was that it wasn’t that convenient nor was it cheap. I recently heard that it would take about an hour by bus, so I decided to go by bus this time. First, take the 01X bus from the city to the airport, and change to 72 in front of a cafe before arriving at the airport.

Continue on 72 to the street in front of the beach. It's a simple transfer, but it took a while for the bus to come, and I think the total trip took about an hour and a half. Considering the transfer time, the ferry is a little faster. 

At Peraia, sunbeds are lined up on the beach, and some nice beach music is playing. It is quite an atmosphere for “the nearest beach.” The sunbeds are usually from café bars in front of the sea and are free to use with any drink or food order. This time we arrived around 3pm, so the sunbeds were already filled up. Of course, it is free to sit on our own blanket, so that’s what we did.

One thing I find hilarious when I was on beaches in Greece was that whenever you are relaxing on a sunbed, someone would come to sell you giant donuts. Beaches and donuts are a combination that was new to me, but donuts seem to be a common beach snack in Greece. It's true that swimming makes you hungry, and you can't help but feel like eating something sweet and high in calories like donuts. I will try one next time I see them. 

The water in Perea was clearer than I expected. It was shallow, there were no waves, and the water was warm, so it is a suitable place for anybody to swim in. The water is not as clear as Halkidiki, of course, but its visibility is quite good, and you can spot many fish swimming in the water. We even saw a woman catching fish with a plastic bag. When I went to nearby Neoi Epivates Beach before, there were jellyfish and the water wasn't that clear, so I thought Praia would have the same feel to it. Overall, it was a nicer beach than I expected.

I returned by the same bus route, but the waiting time for the bus was long, and it was not possible to return to the city in one hour. If I had a car, I would probably come every day during the summer. But after all, it is not the most convenient place to go by public transportation even though it is close in distance from the city center.

Thessaloniki is a port city, and there are no sandy beaches in the city where you can swim and relax. It takes more than an hour to reach the nearest beach. I find it such a shame and a missed opportunity as there is not much benefit to living near the beautiful sea if we can’t enjoy it. At least there is a way for tourists to get there, even though it takes quite a long time.