Thassos Goodbye

amyef91111

After 25 years we’ve decided as a family to say goodbye to our dear island. When we started holidaying here we were surrounded by likeminded brits and the good old Germans. We adore the Thassians and will keep them dear friends however the Romainians have cemented our decision to not return. In May this year we saw begging on the beach, for the first time ever we didn’t feel safe leaving our belongings on the beach whilst we went for lunch. The islanders (as hard as it may be for business) you need to up your game to keep them out, however it will be a challenge when all they do is fill their cars, drive and spend no money. But I’m sorry to say this is not the island the brits once adored and it’s because of them, and them only. We will miss you so much but Thassos has changed too much for us. Thank you for a blissful 25 years of memories. Amy xxx

hobgoblin

I am sorry to read, that you will not return to thassos. your reason being the romanians. I can see, where you are coming from, the Island has changed over the years, and not all to the best. but how can you say, the romanians have to be kept out,. after years of not being able to travel they at last can an of xiurse they will not get everything right first time. have you ever spoken to them, most of them are really nice. of course you will get the bad eggs, just like in England. and brits on holiday are not always a Joy to watch. but how you can say they are all thueves and beggars? that's close to racisz by the way, I am not romanian.

amyef91111

Thanks for your comment, I am far from a racist, all of my best friends come from Ukraine, Italy, Pakistan, Greece and China. The point I’m trying to make is that too much has changed for it to be an enjoyable holiday for me. I remember when it was a carefree island and now the locals are fitting CCTV cameras all over their premises due to crime. Totally agree, the stereotypical British holidaymaker can have a bad reputation too. I would rather try somewhere new after all of these years and see what I am missing rather than staying in the same routine and being disappointed year after year.
I hope you enjoy your holiday in Thassos

hobgoblin

We have just come back and like you found that things habe changed, big hotels being built etc. but even in the height of Summer there are magical places to be found which I don't want to miss. we tried zakynthos last year, very nice, but not thassos. we felr a bit homesuck for thassos. and time does move on, nothing can stay the same but good luck finding a new magic holiday Island.

edward

Hi Amy. I'm so happy your family has had 25 years of bliss on Thassos.
It seems such a shame to turn your back on it all because of one or two people.

It must be difficult for "foreigners" like you and others to integrate into Thassian life though, if after 25 years you still talk of yourselves as "on holiday" and the locals as "locals". I would have hoped after 25 years you would be at least "half local"!

Do locals not accept outsiders (as you wont accepts Romanians)?
These are tongue in cheek questions - please accept them with the humour they are intended :-)

The "locals" can't up root and walk away like you can. I doubt they even want to. They will stand firm against anything. I've seen the local Yayas batter an indecently exposed man with sticks. There is a true sense of justice on this island which I love. No need to call the police - sticks + battering + shame = justice!! A young man humiliated by Grandmothers - perfect hierarchy. It was rather funny! His "stick" beaten with sticks. Never seen him since.

They didn't turn away. They confronted the problem.
I'm not suggesting we use sticks on people that ask for money.

I work in London. In the 2 miles between train station and office at least 8 beggars everyday ask for money. And on the way back. At night that turns into 20.

I don't know where you are going to once you've left Thassos behind, but I fear you might be "out of the frying pan, into the fire".

Stay a while longer.
Stay forever.

Stick it out ;-)
Ed.

Gioro

I read your post with great regret and with even greater sadness I will note that it is not the first such and it will hardly be the last. I struggle with conflicting feelings myself. This year I celebrated 30 years since my first visit to the island and I remember with great nostalgia those years when tourists arrived by plane and there were dozens of times less cars on the island. As you called them - the good old British, Germans, Dutch... and my countrymen were counted on the fingers. Here is the place to note that I am Bulgarian. For me Thassos has always been heaven on earth, but with great sadness we have to admit that the situation with overpopulation with tourists from the Balkans is getting out of control and more and more of the "old" lovers of the island are looking for more peaceful and preserved destinations. My Greek friends say "it's good for business". And I tell them - no, it's not good - look at what happened in Bulgaria - many years of concreting the coast, endless growing in bed'snumbers, growth in the number of tourists and suddenly - boom! This year down 30 percent because it has become dirty, overcrowded and lacking the peace one needs to rest. These are only some of the negatives of overpopulation, overbuilding and changing the tourist profile. How I struggle - I decided to become more of a local than a tourist. We bought a house, old traditional, not new construction. During the peak season we try to ignore the crowd and the rest of the time we enjoy the island. We love the island forever!

amyef91111

Ed & Gioro
Thank you both for your messages 😊

Ed - to be honest I have thought of myself as a local or at least half local for a long time, it’s been a second home and some years we have visited two or three times. May, June and September. I have forever friends on the island which I will always keep in contact with. The thought of never returning does make me very sad after so long. I do appreciate the humour 😊 some locals I have spoken to preferred the good old days to what is the norm now but obviously I cannot speak on behalf of all of them and you are very right, they have to accept it as it’s business and I know they have to make their living in the season. We used to see the same faces every year but over the past 5 years (covid didn’t help) we don’t have that joy anymore. Thinking of maybe a quiet part of Rhodes or Crete for next year and see how it goes. I’ll come back here and let you know yay or nay! Keep enjoying your time on Thassos and I hope you will for a very long time.

Gioro - 30 years, wow even longer than us! You would remember the unfinished roads and hardly any buildings then! Thank you so much for your honesty, although I am sad you also have the same feeling. It’s very hard to part with a place which holds so dear in your heart and memories. Amazing news you bought a property there, I hope despite the negatives you and I have mentioned you have many happy times there. Thanks so much again for your comment 😊

Xxx

pickle1

Hi Amy,
I read with deep sadness regarding your decision not to travel to Thassos anymore. I totally understand your views and I must say my family are thinking the same at the moment. We have been travelling to Thassos for well over 30 years and we can definitely see the changes you refer to. We have always stayed in Golden Beach and have so many forever friends there. In order to try and integrate with the Thassians, I went to night college to learn the Greek language for 2 years. You are definitely right about the amount of Romanians who now holiday on Thassos. They do not like to spend any money in the restaurants and shops. The consequence of this is the restaurants are now struggling to survive, apart from the supermarkets. I have also noticed in restaurants on Golden Beach they have taken so much of the Greek dishes we love to eat whilst on holiday off the menu which is really sad. We remember the road between Ioannis Hotel and the Fedra restaurant. There used to be fields on either side and you would see goats crossing the road. There were no buildings in between, it was absolutely perfect. We are going back to Stoupa this year because it reminds us so much of how Thassos was many, many years ago. I hope everyone who travels to Thassos this year has a fantastic time, but it’s sadly not for us anymore.

Don

I remember those days ...such a shame we have had to come to the decision not to return with a heavy heart, we will miss the friends we have there greatly but will look back with fondness of the holidays we had on Thassos, and look forward to finding that holiday we once had there in another part of greece

hobgoblin

Hi there, I do see your point but nothing is the way it was 20 years ago. Britain has changed beyond recognition and how we complain about that. Every island in greece has changed and they had to go with the times. but you say you love the Island and instead of showing that by returning and doing something for the people, you go away and search for some nostalgic dream. I will accept the changes because I feel at home when I go to thassos, I feel welcome and if there are people I don't agree with, so be it. anything is better than not going.

Delboy

Hi all,

We too won't be returning to Thassos due to personal health reasons.

However, we enjoyed Thassos during its best times and spent our last holiday there in Greece in 2019 before Covid hit the scene.

We too could see the changes taking place but were lucky to have spent our last holiday at the Alexandra Golden Beach which was a lovely place.

Vigli's ruined by the then new owner not from Thassos and heard the background of why but won't comment further.

Missed our drink which I promised Augie as 2020 never happened due to Covid and cancelled.

All of Greece is changing and not for the better like everywhere in the World.

Stoupa mentioned was the first place we ever visited in Greece but one only has to look at the webcam to see the horrendous number sunbed/umbrella crowding the beach.

One can still enjoy the peaceful parts of Thassos on walks where one hardly sees a soul.

Alas, no more trip reports of the island which became our favourite place in Greece.

Regards,

Delboy