Climbing Mount Olympus and Thessaloniki
 

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon to Greece, and we really want to climb Mount Olympus. We have two weeks for the trip, and we were wondering if Thessaloniki or any other areas close to Mount Olympus are really worth it, or if we should just head down to Athens and/or the islands after our climb.

Also, any advice on the best plan for climbing Mount Olympus would be great!

Hi there!

I spent 4 weeks in Thessaloniki last summer, and while it holds a dear place in my heart, it is not full of the beautiful white buildings you picture when you think of Greece- it is a true urban centre. The resort area of Chalkidiki is worth a visit, but if you plan on heading to the islands, you will get more than enough beach time.

Instead I would consider visiting the Meteora monasteries in Kalabaka on your way back to Athens. This place is absolutely breath-taking, and definitely worth a visit.

Mount Olympus is the highest mountain of Greece with 2918 meters.
You should overnight in Litochoro, and contact the local Mountaineering association :

Tel: 23520 82444, 69892 93017
Fax: 23520 82444
e Mail: [email protected]
Skype: eos.litohorou
Facebook: eos.litohorou


Greece is a whole country and a very diverse one, the whitewashed houses can only be found on the Cyclades islands..
Greece is much more than just that though.

Thessaloniki is a big city with 1 Million inhabitants, with many byzantine churches and monuments and very interesting museums. It is a nice city to spend a couple of days.

The whole area has a lot of nice places, like Chalkidiki with it's sandy beaches, the archaeological site of Vergina, beautiful cities like Kastoria or Edessa with it's waterfalls, and a bit further away the city of Kavala and the island of Thassos.

You can spend 2 weeks in that area and still discover new places every day, Greece is so much more than Naxos, Santorini and Mykonos :)

Hi Laura, are you still around? I have seen no activity on your account other than this post.

As my wife & I hope to walk up Mt Olympus this May, we wondered if you have any suggestions. Did you find a good guide book?

Thanks

Ricardo, Rough GUide to Greece will give a straightforward assessment of the worth of climbing Mt. Olympus. It was revered by Ancient Greeks ... it is not ciimbed by many. Maybe you have some kind of "bucket list" of "famous" mountains you want to say you have climbed. If so, go for it! Otherwise, I think you can get far more thrilling experiences by exploring the many mountains and gorges, and ancient ruins, and fabulous shorelines of a place like Western Crete. I have visited more than 25 islands ... in almost every one there is an "acro" holy place ... where there's a church atop the highest hill or foothill, or mountain on the island. Every time I reach a island high point topped by a chapel --- in SIfnos, Serifos, Milos, Paros etc ... and thrill to the view, It's Olympus to me.

Climbing Mount Olymp is quite popular and attracts visitors from all over the world.
I don't see any reason to send someone interested in Mount Olymp to the Cyclades...

Ricardo you can get a lot more information about climbing OLymp and the various activities that are beeing offered here : http://www.olympus-climbing.gr/index.php

There was quite an interesting report on Thessalonica and its hinterland on this forum about a decade ago.

The author got disappeared over some infraction or other: but I suspect the facts are still more or less correct:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...perhaps-th.cfm