Sailing Cruise in Thessaloniki Bay

Sailing Cruise in Thessaloniki Bay. Set sail on a voyage along the Thermaic Gulf on the Daily Cruise in Thessaloniki and feel like a sailor for the day! Your cruise will begin at the Aretsou Marine 15-minutes from Thessaloniki city center. Our designated destination for the day will be Navagio Beach in Epanomi.

Home to crystal clear waters, along sandy coastline and of course an old shipwreck dating back to the 1970s, you’ll have a chance to swim around the beach, suntan, or grab some snorkeling equipment and go explore this abandoned ship underwater. Join this cruise in Thessaloniki to make your vacation one you won’t forget!

The Gulf of Thermaikos is the reason why Thessaloniki has always been an important commercial, economic and military center. Travelers, merchants, crews of ships sailed across the water for centuries and experienced the beauty of the city on the sea side. But nowadays who can think that the bottom of the bay could be a revelation for the history of the city?

The story begins with the mermaid in Thessaloniki, sister of Alexander the Great, who is hiding in her waters and always asks sailors and captains if her brother lives. But beyond this myth, there are evidence that proves the history of the city not only on its streets but also at the bottom of its bay.

In the 10th c. Ioannis Kameniatis, Thessaloniki, describes the time when the ships of the Saracen pirates overwhelmed the bay of Salonika. Its seabed walls are not in good condition and shortly before the attack, Petraeus, then emperor of the emperor, will think of building a peculiar barrier inside the sea. Unique because the dam was made of carved graves that Petronas was taking from the city’s cemeteries and submerging them in the waters of the Thermaikos Gulf, creating an unusual fort. Its completion, however, was halfway through, and the city was first demolished in 904 AD. So who would have thought that Thermaikos’ depths were such a secret?

Another story says that the merchant ship Guadalquivir operating the Marseille-Odessa route through Thessaloniki sank on April 28, 1903, when a group of Bulgarian anarchists decided to blow it up. The cries of the passengers for help are sobering and the anxiety great. Passengers will eventually be rescued and transported by boat, but not the French steamship, which is still hidden today in the bottom of the Thermaic Gulf.

A second shipwreck, however, is the battleship Fatih Boulet, which Admiral Votsis sank, terrorizing the Turks and contributing to the liberation of the city in 1912. A small part of the battleship is now hidden in the Thermaikos Sea, but its mast supports the Greek flag on the White Tower, the symbol of the city.

World War I will also leave its mark on the Gulf of Thermaik, with the downing of the German Zeppelin LZ.85. Zeppelin, which had caused extensive damage since the beginning of 1916, was shot down in early May by allied fire. Later assembled he was exposed to the White Tower and the Thessaloniki daily photographed and photographed with him.

But stories say that even during World War II, the German army sank the enemy ships at their departure.

But there are also more recent shipwrecks, such as that of Epanomi, which, rusty and imposing, has given its own name to the beach and has many different stories to tell.