Thasos

Located just six miles off the Macedonian mainland town of Kavala, Thasos’s nickname is the Emerald Isle because it’s so green. In ancient times, this Northern Aegean island prospered thanks to a natural abundance of white marble and gold; there’s a beach, simply known as Marble Beach, about four miles south of the capital Thasos (also called Limenas) where the sand is made up of innumerable tiny brilliant white crumbs of marble. Further around the southeast coast is the archaeological site of Aliki where marble was quarried for centuries. Part of this 2,500-year-old quarry is submerged under the sea making for a unique dive site.

The San Antonio rocks, close to the resort of Potos on the island’s southwest coast, make for an ideal site for novice divers. Among the marine life are moray, tuna, and groupers darting amid the orange coral and sponges. More experienced divers will relish the deep-water challenge of the Giola Archangelos wall where submarines hid during the Second World War. It’s now a habitat for scorpionfish, anemones, and sea turtles. Therefore, Thasos deserves one of the best dive sites in Greece.

Location: Northern Aegean Islands, Greece