{"id":2982,"date":"2019-04-19T15:00:02","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T13:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/guid"},"modified":"2020-12-29T22:18:26","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T21:18:26","slug":"day-trips-from-thessaloniki-a-girls-trip-full-of-joy-laughing-wine-and-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ready-steady-travel.com\/en\/day-trips-from-thessaloniki-a-girls-trip-full-of-joy-laughing-wine-and-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Day trips from Thessaloniki – a girls trip full of joy, laughing, wine and fun"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was time for another girls trip!! We decided to go to Greece – in low season<\/strong>. And therefore I have plenty of day trips from Thessaloniki for you. We found a wonderful offer in April of a really fancy hotel – Hotel Cavo Olympo – which is located about an hour from Thessaloniki. And booked it immediately because we were just amazed by the beauty of this hotel. A bit later, when researching more in detail what to in the area of the hotel, we realized that there is actually not so much to do in this area, apart from relaxing at our infinity pool<\/strong> – which is not a bad option either. However, we did some day trips from Thessaloniki<\/strong> which I will share in this blog post with you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Day trips from Thessaloniki: 1. Meteora Monastery<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

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Meteora Monastery is THE stunning sight to visit<\/strong> when you are staying in the area of Chalkidiki or Macedonia and a must-do day trip from Thessaloniki. Meteora actually means stunning rock formations<\/strong> which look like hundreds of meters high pillars. On top of these rocks, 6 Eastern-Orthodox monasteries were built<\/strong> and are still inhabited by monks today. Originally there were even more monasteries. Unfortunately, the time of establishment is unknown, it is estimated that they were built around the 11th century. Today Meteora monasteries are UNESCO World Heritage. Here some impressions:<\/span><\/p>\n

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If you are planning to go there, don\u2019t miss my article about the best viewpoints of Meteora Monasteries.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You can either hike from one monastery to the next<\/strong>, but this would require more days if you want to see all monasteries. We didn\u2019t consider hiking because we didn\u2019t bring hiking equipment. However, I imagine it very epic, especially in spring when the area is very green and all the trees blooming<\/strong>. The other option is taking the winding street which leads from one monastery to the next by car.<\/strong> You can almost reach every monastery like this, apart from the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. This one requires climbing more than 150 stairs.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to get to Meteora?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

The best way is to come by car. You have to drive to Kalambaka village<\/strong> which is located on the foot of Meteora rocks and then take the winding street which leads high above to the monasteries<\/strong>. You will also pass several viewpoints along the street.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Best time to visit Meteora?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

The best time to visit is Spring<\/strong> because the area will be very green and all the trees are blooming<\/strong>. April, when we were there, turned out to be a great time, as the temperatures are more chilly than in summer as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

What else do you need to know when visiting Meteora monasteries?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Each day of the week one of the monasteries is closed so that the monks can pray in peace without hundreds of tourists around them. In addition,\u00a0each monastery has different opening hours<\/strong>. Make sure to check the opening and closing times of the monasteries before going. You can check the opening hours on the official website by clicking here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

How to dress when visiting the monasteries?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

If you want to enter the monasteries, women are required to wear long skirts.<\/strong> Be aware that long pants are not sufficient!<\/strong> If you are wearing long pants you will still be asked to put over one of the skirts they provide at the entrance of every monastery.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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I hope you liked the first one of the day trips from Thessaloniki? Now the second one is following.<\/p>\n

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Day trips from Thessaloniki: 2. Mount Olymp<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Mount Olymp is located approximately one hour from Thessaloniki and it is actually exactly where our hotel was located. The place is stunning<\/strong> because on one side is the huge, almost 3000 meters high Olymp and on the other side is the sea.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Hiking Olymp is not so easy and requires 2 or 3 days and a guide. We didn\u2019t do that. But it is still on my bucket list and I will definitely come back to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, you can do smaller hikes at the foot of the mountain<\/strong> or at least visit a viewpoint. I will show you one short hike (or some people would more call it a walk) which we did: It starts in the village of Litochoro and leads you to a lovely little monastery called Monastery of St. Dionysios.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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