Greece - Korina Miller [237]
Cybernet ( 25102 30102; Erythrou Stavrou 64; per hr €2; 6am-4am)
Port Authority ( 25102 23716; cnr Ethnikis Andistasis & Averof)
Post office (cnr Hrysostomou Kavalas & Erythrou Stavrou)
Tourist information centre ( 25102 31011; detaktic@otenet.gr; Plateia Eleftherias; 8am-9pm Mon-Fri) Helpful, English- and German-speaking staff provide maps, plus transport and events information and hotel booking assistance.
Tourist police ( 25102 22246; Omonias 119)
Sights & Activities
The Archaeological Museum ( 25102 22335; Erythrou Stavrou 17; adult €2; 8am-3pm Tue-Sun), on Ethnikis Andistasis’ western end, displays sculpture, jewellery, grave stelae, terracotta figurines and vases from ancient Amphipolis, an Athenian colony west of Kavala that operated gold mines on nearby Mt Pangaeum. The Municipal Museum of Kavala ( 25102 22706; Filippou 4; admission free; 8am-2pm Mon-Sat) displays contemporary Greek art. Its folk-art collection includes costumes, jewellery, handcrafts, household items and tools.
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DO IT YOURSELF: DRAMA & BEYOND
From Kavala, intrepid travellers can head northwards in Macedonia – and even try a cross-border jaunt to Bulgaria – to enjoy great local wines, tranquil forest hikes, and unusual traditional villages.
Some 36km from Kavala, the small city of Drama has midrange hotels, restaurants and services. Frequent buses connect it with Kavala, Xanthi and Thessaloniki. Drama’s also on the Thessaloniki–Alexandroupoli train line. Although it lacks tourist attractions itself, the city does boast the renowned Chateau Lazaridi Winery ( 25210 82050; www.chateau-lazaridi.com; Agora village; 9am-2pm Mon-Fri), 12km east in Agora village (near the slightly larger Adriani village). Tasting tours at Lazaridi’s modern facilities are free, though large groups should book in advance (for more wineries, see Wineries of Northern Greece, Click here).
Lovers of the great outdoors should drive 62km north of Drama to Skaloti, the last village with services. Some 10km further is Elatia (1600m), the base station for hikes in Karadere Forest (the name means ‘Black Forest’ in Turkish), a gorgeous wilderness of pines and rolling hills spilling across the border. According to Ioannis Kritoglu, a teacher from nearby Kato Nevrokopi and an enthusiastic hiker, ‘Karadere has wonderful hiking trails, and the clean rivers are full of trout’.
Hikers can sleep free in multiple mountain huts that have fresh spring water for drinking, but no electricity or toilets. Trails are marked, and not too difficult (the highest point in the mountain range is 1814m). Even in summer, temperatures may drop significantly at night, so bring warm clothes. Kritoglu also notes that drivers should fill up on petrol before leaving Drama, since there are no petrol stations on this road north.
For more information on hiking in Karadere, visit the website of the prefecture of Drama (www.drama.gr). Also consult the forestry service’s Ioannis Aptoglu ( 69428 41114), the main man responsible for providing information and maps, as well as issuing permits for special visits to the forest’s protected areas.
Finally, from Kato Nevrokopi, it’s just 10km to the Bulgaria-border post of Exohi. This recently opened, bear-friendly border crossing (the road traverses a tunnel, so as not to disturb our furry friends) leads to the sleepy town of Gotse Delchev, where accommodation and services are cheap (there are also buses here from Drama, leaving at 6pm Monday and Friday, and more buses on the way back to Drama). Here travellers can check out two remarkable nearby traditional villages. Some 25km east, elevated Kovachevitsa has idyllic guest houses and tasty restaurants, with sweeping views of the forested valley below. And, just 10km west of Gotse Delchev, the almost unvisited mountain village of Delchevo is the real deal – crumbling, but lovely homes with scarcely a few elderly inhabitants (including the keeper of the hamlet’s one old-style cafe, a living legend who recounts Delchevo