Psakoudia holidays

On holidays to Psakoudia, life runs at half speed. When you're not relaxing on the bowl-shaped beach, time's best spent in a homely, sea-view taverna.

Sleepy setting

Psakoudia’s just the ticket if you’re on the hunt for something authentic. The seaside town occupies a spot between mainland Greece’s Kassandra and Sithonia peninsulas, which means IMAX-style panoramas of the Toroneos Gulf. Appearance-wise, it sticks to its roots. Picture terracotta-topped stone villas and wood-beamed tavernas wrapped around the gently curving waterfront.

Beach buffer

The town’s two-and-a-half-mile beach is its trump card. It’s much more laidback than strips you’ll find in the bigger resorts, despite having the same flour-soft sands. A few sections are furnished with loungers and parasols, and the calm and clear waters are well-suited to swimming. And instead of high-rise hotels for company, this place has cute pizzerias and family-run tavernas on the promenade behind it.

Natural Greece

The backdrop in these parts looks like it’s been pinched from the pages of a travel catalogue. Domed pea-green hills rise up behind the shoreline, and Halkidiki’s lofty mountains climb even higher in the distance. Walking trails are laced across the landscape like unfurling vines, and the further inland you go, the more remarkable it gets. Drive for 40 minutes to Taxiarchis, and you’ll see fields where hundreds of thousands of Greece’s Christmas trees are grown.

Culture-filled Polygyros

Daytrips to the region’s capital, Polygyros, take about 20 minutes by car. This landlocked town’s peppered with museums and pretty parks, and enjoys the same countryside wrapping as Psakoudia. You’ll find a bigger selection of shops and restaurants here, thanks to its bulkier size, with trademark blue-capped churches and balcony-fronted buildings in between.