Halkidiki – The Diamond of Greece.

Time has come to explore the world again, and this time we went to Halkidiki in Greece to recharge and also to photograph this amazing place. We rented a car and drove around for a week, and Halkidiki turned out to be a very beautiful place that has a lot to offer if you like to explore hidden beaches like we do.

Agios Ioannis Beach, Halkidiki.

Halkidiki is a region in northern Greece known for its three peninsulas: Kassandra, Sithonia and Mount Athos. The area on the greek mainland features Mediterranean forests that give way to sandy beaches in sheltered bays.

And the beaches are truly stunning!

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The first peninsula is called Kassandra. This is the most developed peninsula and offering modern resorts and nightclubs.

We really love the authentic greek hospitality and we try to avoid the big crowds when travelling in Greece. This time we chose to stay at the newly renovated hotel Philoxenia in Psakoudia on the second peninsula, called Sithonia. The staff was very attentive and the room we got had a big balcony and was completely renovated with a new bathroom.

Philoxenia Hotel, Psakoudia, Halkidiki

Sithonia is not that tourist developed yet and has many hidden coves to relax and explore. That being said there are almost always a taverna or a supermarket close by the beaches, so you can easily get everything you need. The area has around 65 beaches!

Of course it is impossible to visit them all in a week so we chose some of the places that we wanted to go to the most.

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Caridi Beach.

Bahia Beach.

Lagonisi Beach.

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The third peninsula called The Mount Athos region, is an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism and is commonly referred to in Greek as the “Holy Mountain”.Today, Mount Athos is home to 20 monasteries with over 2,000 monks from Greece and many other countries. Here they live an ascetic life isolated from the rest of the world following the ancient byzantine time.

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Byzantine time is an old method of keeping time that is now mostly extinct. Hour 0 begins daily at sunset. Due to seasonal variations in the length of a day, hour zero can vary by several hours throughout the year. It is now used in very few places, for example, the Eastern Orthodox monasteries on Mount Athos in Greece and Mar Saba monastery in the West Bank in Ethiopia. The Athonite monasteries feature a rich collection of well-preserved artifacts, rare books, ancient documents, and artworks of immense historical value.Unfortunately there is an old and outdated rule in place in Mount Athos, and that is that no women are allowed on the peninsula, so we had to admire the mountain from a distance.

All in all it was an awesome beach vacation! We hope you take a trip to Greece and like it there as much as we do!

Here are some photography tips for beach photos:

1. Use a UV filter to protect your lense, especially near the sea and sandy beaches.
2. Protect your equipment from the sand if you don’t have a dust/water proof camera.
3. Get as much cover as possible before you change lenses on your camera to avoid getting sand,salt or dust on the sensor.
4. Clean the lenses every day to avoid getting those annoying spots in your photos.
5. To get a great photo of the beach, try to find the highest spot behind the bach and take some panoramas.
6. If you see schools of fish or other fun creatures under water but you don’t have a waterproof camera, it can be a good idea to use your cell phone and film above the water if the water is clear enough. This usually turns out much better than single photos that most of the time will be out of focus.

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