The Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki is a full-day excursion that runs east along the old Egnatia road to the ruins of Philippi and the harbour town of Kavala. Travellers who add northern Greece to a longer stay can browse more routes on the tours in Greece hub.
Below are the two places and what each one shows, the stops and their order, the timing, the guests the trip suits and the questions that come up.
What is the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki?
The Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki takes one whole day and runs by road. Operators take guests east to the ruins of ancient Philippi and the port town of Kavala. Two operators add time at a beach.
Wikipedia ranks Thessaloniki second among Greek cities and names it the capital of Central Macedonia. Its coast lies along the Thermaic Gulf, which opens onto the Aegean Sea. Cassander founded the city in 315 BC and gave it his wife’s name. Every Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki leaves this city and heads east by road.
Kavala is the main port of eastern Macedonia. Wikipedia also makes it the chief town of the regional unit that carries its name. The town stands on the Bay of Kavala, across the water from the island of Thasos. Its ancient name was Neapolis, Greek for new town. Settlers from Thassos founded it in the late seventh century BC.
Philippi was a major city of ancient Macedonia. Its first name was Crenides. In 356 BC, King Philip II of Macedon took the town and called it Philippi. Wikipedia places the earliest settlement roughly 13 kilometres from Kavala, in a north-westerly direction. A Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki therefore visits two places that lie close together.
Wikipedia gives the road from Thessaloniki to Kavala as 160 kilometres on the A2 motorway. The drive takes one and a half hours. By that figure, a round trip takes about three hours on the road before any stop. That is why a Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki fills a whole day.
A travel blog says a visitor must hire a driver or drive to Philippi. The writer hired a driver and a tour leader who collected the party at the hotel. The blog adds that visitors base themselves in Thessaloniki. A listing of this trip class carries the title “Thessaloniki: Kavala, Philippi, and Beach Full Day Trip”.
What does the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki include?
The Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki includes road transport and a person to lead the day. The lists differ. One operator lists a bus and an English-speaking tour leader. A private operator lists the site entrance and lunch.
One operator runs a group bus. In Thessaloniki, the Statue of Venizelos is the meeting point and the drop-off spot of this operator’s bus. The bus is air-conditioned, and the tour leader is an English-speaking archaeologist. Travel insurance of a basic kind applies on the road. A baby seat is available when a guest asks.
The same operator leaves out the ticket for the Philippi site and museum, which guests pay separately. It also leaves out a tour inside the site and museum, sunbeds and umbrellas, and lunch or drinks. On that list, the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki covers the road and the tour leader only.
Private operators differ. One lists the Philippi entrance, lunch, drinks, bottled water and WiFi as included. A second says admission tickets for the museum and archaeological site are not included, and lunch is not included either. A third lists entrance tickets and lunch as not included, and adds that fuel and tolls are included.
Vehicles and group sizes differ in each version of the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki. The group listing uses a bus. Private operators list a sedan, a minivan or a minibus. One limits the group to four people, another to six, another to fifteen.
Languages differ too. Each private operator names English as a language of its driver or tour leader. Two of them add Greek.
A package that adds a day ticket for the city’s sightseeing bus meets at the same statue. Its listing gives the address as Aristotelous Square and Egnatia street. Private operators list hotel pick-up in central Thessaloniki, and one adds the cruise port terminal. So the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki starts in a different place on each list.
What does the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki show at Philippi?
The Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki stops first at Philippi. Philip II of Macedon renamed the city in 356 BC. UNESCO lists the site for its Roman buildings, its town plan and its role in early Christianity.
Wikipedia says the city began as Crenides, a Greek word for fountains. Settlers from Thasos founded it, and Philip II took it over. Philip II wanted the nearby gold mines and the road between Amphipolis and Neapolis. People left the city in the 14th century, after the Ottoman conquest.
On the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki, one operator lists the forum, basilicas and theatre. It adds a museum and the prison of Apostle Paul. Another operator lists Roman ruins and basilicas. A third adds the Octagon church. One operator sets aside ninety minutes for the ruins.
The Kavala tourism site says Philip II probably built the theatre, and Roman builders later changed it. The forum stood on two terraces beside the main road. Wikipedia counts seven churches built at Philippi between the fourth and the sixth century. The Octagon was the bishop’s church. The tourism site calls the so-called jail of Paul a Roman water cistern.
The Via Egnatia crossed Philippi, and one tourism page says a wide paved road beside the forum is that road. West of the town, in 42 BC, Octavian and Antony won the battle against the forces led by Brutus and Cassius. Wikipedia describes two clashes, on 3 October and 23 October.
Wikipedia places Paul in Philippi on his second journey, around AD 49 or 50. Lydia traded in purple cloth. She and her household were baptised there, and Wikipedia calls her the first documented convert in Europe. A travel writer on a Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki puts her baptistery five minutes down the road.
What does the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki show in Kavala?
The Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki shows the castle, old town and harbour in Kavala. Wikipedia names the town as the chief port of eastern Macedonia. Across the bay lies the island of Thasos.
The Kavala tourism site says the castle crowns the Panagia peninsula. The first quarter of the 15th century saw the largest part of it built, on an older Byzantine acropolis. Builders used local granite. A round central tower gives a view over the whole town. Operators name the castle on the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki.
A rocky cape on the east side of Kavala carries the old town, called Panagia. The same site describes cobbled lanes and houses with wooden balconies. The Kamares aqueduct is about 270 metres long and up to 25 metres high. According to Wikipedia, the grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha restored an aqueduct dating to late Roman times.
Wikipedia says Muhammad Ali, who later founded a ruling dynasty in Egypt, moved to Kavala as a boy. His house there is now a museum. He founded the Imaret in the early 19th century. It held schools, a mosque and a kitchen for students and travellers of every religion. Today the building works as a hotel.
The Kavala tourism site says the port serves passengers, tourism, fishing boats and marine sports. Boats for Thasos moor at the Customs House. Wikipedia says Kavala once had a thriving tobacco trade and that old tobacco warehouses survive. One operator lists these warehouses among the sights of the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki.
Time in Kavala differs on the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki. One operator lists one hour for the old town and castle, and two and a half hours at a beach. Another operator gives two hours at the beach. Both say lunch is paid separately. In winter, that operator swaps the beach for old town time.
How does the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki work?
The Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki is one long loop. It starts with a pick-up in Thessaloniki, runs east to Philippi and Kavala, and ends back in Thessaloniki. One operator lists a departure at 8 in the morning and a return at 6 in the evening.
One operator sets out the day in legs. The bus drives 2 hours to Philippi, and the group spends 1.5 hours at the archaeological site. A beach near Kavala follows, with 2.5 hours at leisure. Kavala itself, meaning its old town and its castle, fills 1 hour on foot. The drive back takes 2 hours.
Operators sequence the stops of the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki in different ways. One private operator visits the Philippi site first and the baptistery of Lydia second. Kavala comes last, with a stroll in the old town and a meal. Another starts at the Archaeological Museum of Philippi, then visits the site, the baptistery and Kavala.
Start times differ by operator: 7, 8 or 9 in the morning. One private operator keeps the start flexible. The day lasts 8, 9 or 10.5 hours, depending on the operator. A travel writer and two private operators put the drive to Philippi at 1.5 hours. Two other pages say 2 hours.
One operator changes the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki in winter. The beach stop gives way to extra time in the old town of Kavala. Wikipedia gives Kavala a hot-summer Mediterranean climate. Operators ask guests to bring sunscreen, a hat, water, snacks and comfortable shoes. Wikipedia defines sunscreen as a product applied to the skin to help against sunburn.
One operator warns that the weather can alter the plan. Another lists a complete refund or a rebooked day when bad weather cancels the trip. A third operator lets guests cancel until 24 hours ahead of the chosen day. A private operator allows it up to 8 days before and refunds half from 3 to 7 days before.
Who is the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki for?
The Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki suits guests who want ruins, a harbour and a beach. Operators list private cars, minivans and a bus. One traveller, a family or a larger group can each find a format.
History readers find plenty to see on the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki. One private operator files the trip under history, religious sites and architecture. The bus operator names its tour leader as an archaeologist who speaks English. Another private operator adds a certified English-speaking tour leader to the car.
Families with children find answers in the listings. One operator calls the trip kid friendly, with light walking. A bus operator has a baby seat on request. Another operator lets infants travel in a pram or a stroller. One page lists the trip for all ages.
Walking on the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki differs by operator. Two operators offer no wheelchair access, and one adds that the day involves much walking. A third operator offers wheelchair access and calls the day suitable for every fitness level. A fourth calls the walking light and adds that Kavala’s old town has narrow streets.
Group size shapes who joins. One private operator takes one to six people. A second takes one to four in a car or five to eight in a minivan. A third takes up to six. These formats fit one person travelling alone, two partners, or friends in a small party.
The Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki also takes cruise guests. One listing says the driver meets cruise passengers at the exit of the cruise port terminal. The day is long. A guest who wants mountains or monasteries instead can look at a Meteora or Mount Olympus day trip from Thessaloniki.
What else do visitors ask about the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki?
What is the Egnatia road behind the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki?
The Via Egnatia was a road built by the Romans in the second century BC. Wikipedia says it began at Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea and ended at Byzantium, now Istanbul. It covered about 1,120 kilometres and was about six metres wide.
Milestones record that Gnaeus Egnatius, a proconsul of Macedonia, ordered its construction, and the road presumably took his name. Today a highway called Egnatia Odos runs parallel to it between Thessaloniki and the Turkish border. Both lead east from the city, the same way as the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki.
Who was Lydia of Thyatira, and where does she appear on the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki?
Her name means the Lydian woman, so she came from Lydia in Asia Minor. Wikipedia places her home city, Thyatira, in modern Akhisar in Turkey. Paul and his companions first came across her in Philippi, where she had settled.
Acts 16 says she asked Paul and his companions to stay in her house. The group stayed with her until it left for Thessalonica by way of Amphipolis and Apollonia. Her Orthodox title is Equal to the Apostles. Tradition places her baptism at Krinides, where a modern baptistery now stands.
What was the Battle of Philippi, fought near a stop on the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki?
Wikipedia calls it the final battle of the Liberators’ civil war. The Second Triumvirate declared that war to avenge the killing of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Wikipedia says up to 200,000 men took part, in one of the largest of the Roman civil wars.
Brutus camped north of the Via Egnatia and Cassius south of it, about 3.5 kilometres west of Philippi. Antony beat Cassius, who killed himself because he wrongly heard that Brutus had lost too. After the second encounter Brutus ended his own life, and the triumvirate held power.
What is Thasos, the island close to the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki?
Thasos is an island in the north of the Aegean, off the coast of Eastern Macedonia. Among the big Greek islands it sits furthest north, and Wikipedia ranks it twelfth by area. The island measures 380 square kilometres, and roughly 13,000 people live there.
Thasos forms its own regional unit, and its capital is Thasos town on the northern side. Wikipedia names regular ferry lines from Keramoti to Thasos town and from Kavala to Skala Prinou. Tourism is the main economic activity, and the island also produces honey, almonds, walnuts, olives and wine.
Which region does the Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki reach?
Greece has thirteen administrative regions, and Kavala and Philippi both lie in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It covers the eastern part of Greek Macedonia, Greek Thrace and the islands of Thasos and Samothrace. Its capital is Komotini.
Kavala regional unit is the easternmost in the geographical region of Macedonia. The Pangaion hills lie about 40 kilometres west of Kavala, and Wikipedia gives their highest point as 1,956 metres. The Kavala and Philippi day trip from Thessaloniki therefore crosses from Central Macedonia into this region.