Experience in Halkidiki: a day boat trip to the island of Diaporos
If you are staying in Halkidiki and want to spend a day on a boat, Diaporos is the ideal place. Diaporos is a tiny island, located opposite the eastern side of the beginning of the Sithonia peninsula, which offers a variety of incredible sea colours and you can easily circumnavigate it with a rental boat.
To date, on the island, even if uninhabited until years ago, you can find a few private villas used for vacations, but otherwise, it still has unspoiled beaches and views.
The starting point for the island of Diaporos
I recommend that you show up early at the various embarkation points in the Vourvourou area, practically the village opposite the island. There are various boat rental agencies and you can choose one. I used “Dream Swim Boat Rental” and I was satisfied.
After a quick registration, they prepared the boat out to the sea, equipped with a map, emergency telephone, cooler with ice and cool water.
In my opinion, 5 hours rental timeframe are enough: this time allows you to circumnavigate the island and make two or three diving stops. If you want to spend a few hours on a specific beach, then you need the whole day at your disposal. You can rent the boat for the time you want; the important thing is to remain within the predetermined navigation limits, which are in any case flexible when visiting the island. Generally, a license is not required to drive the boats they rent: you only take a training course lasting about 15 minutes before departure.
Diaporos: the typical itinerary
Leaving the coast of Sithonia, almost opposite, there are a series of initial bays (Olive Beach, Land Beach and Paradise Beach) in which you can stop for your first dive or take some photos.
My very first stop was directly to the famous Blue Lagoon. Here, the colors are incredible: they change from light blue to crystalline blue. The effect of the colours depends on the weather, or the luck of having a beautiful clear sky, and on the time slot: in summer in the late morning or early afternoon, when the sun is high enough, you are never wrong. Remember to take the sunscreen with you!
As for the Blue Lagoon, you can slowly anchor the boat at the shore of the small beach located on one side of the bay or simply in the middle of the lagoon and dive from there.
The water is so light blue that it leaves you breathless.
The next stop could be inside the Kryftos gulf: beware that the water is very shallow towards the shore and you can easily end up stranded, so it is advisable to enter the bay with reduced engine speed. Even in this gulf, the water changes many shades of colours and the surrounding green makes the landscape very relaxing. The island, being semi-uninhabited, does not offer umbrellas nor beach bars or restaurants. So get organized with the basic and necessary things you need, including food.
Another stop I find interesting is Lagonisi Beach, even though it is not part of the island beaches. Lagonisi is a beach located on the coast of the second peninsula of Sithonia, slightly north of the island of Diaporos and Vourvourou.
Some buoys delimit the bathing area of the Lagonisi beach bar and you can therefore get as close as possible to that point. My advice is to get as close as it is allowed and to swim to the shore of the beach bar for two good reasons. The first one, is that the perspective from the beach to the sea is completely different from that from the boat to the beach and you will love this change of view.
The second is because, after a good swim, you can order a cold drink to quench your thirst, perhaps remembering to bring a waterproof bag to hold the money … or there is always the solution to put them in a bottle of water!
Slowly, you can continue along the inner side of the coast or return to the inner side of the island to enjoy some other angle of other small bays. This was my route seen with the GPS, which represents a bit of the “typical route” so as not to miss the most important stops:
For those staying in Halkidiki, a recommended tour
The advantage of having your own boat available for the whole day to go around the island of Diaporos is essential because, in addition to the fact that you can manage the day as you see fit, it allows you to stop in the least crowded and preferred spots. My advice is to rent the boat since early in the morning, so you don’t get to experience sea «traffic» and for the possibility of having these enchanting beaches all to yourself.
In an extended stay of a week in Halkidiki, a day in the middle of the sea can be an alternative activity and Diaporos is the ideal destination for a boat ride. If the colours of the sea thrill you, it is a must-do stop, as well as having the opportunity to dive into the crystal-clear water off the coast.
