I'VE SPEND HOURS TO FIND REVIEWS ABOUT HALKIDIKI'S BEACHES.

IF THIS IS NOT A TROUBLE, I 'LL POST THEM HERE.
HALKIDIKI HAS REALLY CLEAN AND CLEAR BEACHES AS MOST PEOPLE AND HOLIDAY MAKERS HAVE SEEN .
YOU KNOW WHAT.
I HAVE THE SAME FEELING THE SAME I HAD WHEN MANY PEOPLE WERE SAYING THAT THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN GREECE WOULD OF BEEN A DISASTER.... , A FIASKO .
AND THEY HAVEN'T !!!!!!
SO YOU CAN BE SURE THAT HALKIDIKI'S BEACHES ARE CLEAN & CLEAR !!

SEE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK ABOUT HALKIDIKI'S BEACHES !!

[removed]
....

Don't worry Sakis, I have been coming to Halkidiki for over 25 years and have NEVER seen a problem in Halkidiki itself (nor Thessaloniki actually, but that is another topic).

We have travelled around the world, especially on a world trip for our 25th wedding anniversary, and I can honestly say that I always say to people that wherever we went, however nice it was, the sea was N EVER as clear and clean as in Halkidiki.

Unless we can get specific information that is reliable and accurate, and true, I can see no reason to worry. I spend hours in the sea when I visit. and during our three years of staying most of the year there I never came to any harm, never had any infection, never saw anything horrible (apart from some large jelly fish) in the sea at all.

I love the sea, I spend a lot of time in it, at the side of it, walking by it. I visit loads of areas in Kassandra and Sithonia, and I am not worried a bit. I am quite happy, but I am afraid this awful title of the dirty seas in Halkidiki will put people off when I am sure it is not true.

Please find out what you can. If there is a problem, we need to know and it can be made good. But I personally think there is no big problem at all.

You can't compare Salonica to Halkidiki cause thats a a shipping port and a big city so gonna be dirty,
Like I said and Jane said we need proper information not just "some villages", what good id that to us if you want anyone to listen and believe this then we need to see the info for ourselves.

Overflowing Cesspits, illegally routed foul pipes. SHOCK HORROR!

Of course this doesn't happen anywhere else.

Where there is human existence there is pollution but as far as pollution goes Halkidiki is better than most of Western Europe.

The worst thing about the area is the litter.

I have to agree Mark. I love Halkidiki, been going there 25+ years but the litter is dreadful. I have been told it is the same all over continental Europe, but having only been to Greece I cant speak for the other countries like Spain and Italy which have been named.

We have been to many Greek islands, mainland areas etc., and always you find a lovely secluded mountain spot only to find a rubbish tip halfway down. I can only assume they do not have municipal tips? The general rubbish, well I have to say I have seen loads of tourists doing their bit to leave litter about on beaches etc, so we are all to blame. But the litter of old fridges etc down mountain sides should really stop.

It is such a shame, such a beautiful place. Perhaps the municipalities (councils) need to find a solution as to where people can dump their old belongings.

In general, I like the system of large bins along the roadside. When we lived there for three years we had no problem putting all our rubbish in one not too far away, and they were emptied almost every day in high season, and every few days in low season, and it worked well.

Cheers
Jane

Hi - Quite agree on the litter probelm - this is a problem all over though - it's time people started taking responsibility for their rubbish - do people realise that it takes 400 years for 1 plastic cup to degrade? (no exaggeration, it really does take that long!)

Sorry - don't mean to be a "tree hugger", but it's a frightening thought....

Johnny, as far as Halkidiki's beaches go - have you seen UK beaches? (sorry guys, I love England but our beaches are a bit lacking compared to Greece) - and then have a think!

If you're trying to suggest Halkidiki is dirty - unless you give us proof or specific details so others can prove it, I'm afraid you are as mad as a bag of frogs?.....

Putting my environmental head on again - heaven forbid we should have a few recycling bins??? - think of all those plastic water bottles for starters!!

About the litter in Halkidiki...according to my opinion the communities have good and well-working systems to handle it (from collecting it to the destroying of it). But of course, you see litter know and then. And there are tips in Halkidiki.

But to make all Halkidiki a nice environmental area, some communities have to do something about the sewage-problem (dirty water into the sea). Communities in Halkidiki have got financial contribution from the EU in order to fix this problem. (Her're you have the official side of it, and this is of course possible to check from open sources if you're still doubting this is a problem).

No Johnny, you have GOT to be more specific. You are at the moment scaremongering and it is not fair. I have searched the web for EU Halkidiki Clean Sea Seas Subsidy Subsidies Sewage etc etc, in many variations and all I come up with is tons of sites commending the seas around Halkidiki for being so clean.

Not one person has agreed with you on this so far, so it seems a bit strange (apart from Jeff who mentioned Salonica, but that is a city and is not Halkidiki).

How strange only you know about this problem and not all the readers on this site, and our Greek friends.

More specific info is needed, or I for one will just ignore this post from now on.

Some persons here, I do think, have agreed with me, as an example the one from "btcentralplus". I share is experiance.

The problems in Salonica have of course a connection with Halkidiki (especially with the west-side of Halkidiki), because The Thermaic Golf is shared between Halkidiki and Salonica. The question posed by Nikos if the problems I know of are concerning the villages of Sithonia or the villages of Cassandra...my comment to this is that the Golf of Cassandra is situated between the two legs, meaning if there are problems in one leg it will of course influence the other leg and vice versa.

Some other persons have disagreed. Sakis as an example, but Sakis has business in the area and of course it does not comply with his interests that these problems are discussed here. The information he provided us with is as everybody can se produced by a hotel in the area....

PLEASE HELP TO KEEP THE AREA CLEAN!

Johnny

Cant see anything from BT centralplus, unless I keep missing it.

Still not exact information. Still scaremongering in my opinion.

I am not taking part in this thread any more.

To say Sakis is lying (which is what you imply) as he has a business in the area does not help your point either.

Most cities in the world have dirty water, and no it doesnt necessarily mean that all beaches on an opposite leg of land will get that dirt.

I have not seen any dirty water, I have not swum in any dirty water and I have been going for over 25 years, so I must be blind along with the others who have answered in the negative.

Why you cannot be specific is beyond me. Anyway, I have had enough of this subject. I find the seas in Halkidiki clean and welcoming and believe me if I do see any dirt I will follow it up. But in the meantime, luckily for me, they remain clean.

Having read all the above e-mails I have to agree with the likes of Jane and Kerry, Me myself have worked and visited Halkidiki for the last 11yrs
and have never seen any thing like raw sewages flooding any beaches on the Kassandra peninsular, I would be more interested to find out where you found your information as again I am at a lost to where you came by your info. As we all know most villages have their own councils who are responsible for the comunity and the surrounding areas of the village the only people who are responisble for litter etc are the tourist if we all made a little more effort I am sure we would not be talking about the problem raised.

I am a diver and I have been diving around Halkidiki for the past 8 years and I can assure you that no sewage goes into the water.
Unfortunately it isnt mainly the tourist that make litter the locals do as well.Every year Odyssey dive club www.odysseydive.com runs a beach clean up where they collect rubbish from the beach and underwater.As you can guess most of it is plastic that takes hundreds of years to biodegrade

I did say I wasnt taking part in the thread anymore, but changed my mind. I just will not respond to Johnny unless he comes up with some concrete evidence.

No doubt he will tell you who have been diving there for 8 years that you are wrong and he is right ! But he seems to be on his own.

Therefore, I will not respond to any more of Johnnys scaremongering.

Yes, it would be great to get the litter problem under control. I know the tourists do make a lot, but I agree the locals do as well. You do a great job clearing it up, well done.

Heres to another summer of lovely clean seas around Halkidiki.

Jane

Jane,
Just wan't to tell you that I am not saying Sakis is "lying"... // J.

I agree with Jane.If johnny knows where the so called sewage is going into the sea he should say so or be quiet

ive seen a baby dolphin dead with an hole in its side,ive seen ufos,jelly fish & every thing you could possibly see in kassandra but ive never seen s**t.as a matter of fact i was trail riding deep in the mountains in kassandra & there is a big s**t pit up there but not the sea.the greeks are noy stupid to dump that in the sea because if they lost tourists what would there income be!.i lived there every summer for 16 years

never found anything like that in my 25 years in Sithonia!!!!! This is one of the best places in Europe (for me just behind sardinia)

Hello,
Have a look at this please....

This river is putting out its polluted water into the gulf of Toroneos (between Kassandra and Sithonia). If you are in the area, and if you have an interest in keeping Halkidiki clean, I recommend that you go and watch for yourself in order to get your own opinion.

J.

[www.ac-grenoble.fr]

Johnny, just when I thought it was safe to go into the water.... you appear again ! This report dated April 2003 reflects just one small area, and it is now January 2006. So where is the update.

I am still of to Halkidiki in June, and I have no worries whatsoever. I do wonder what your actual intentions are? Are you wanting to harm the tourism of Halkidiki, or do you have a genuine interest in environmental affairs.

I do hope you have posted this on relevant websites in Turkey and Denmark so they can see their contributions to pollution too.

Yes Jane I am back again. You asked for proof and I published it here. I can't sit silent watching the area being polluted.

I do think you can go on swimming this summer too as you are used to do. But please do try to create an opinion as well in order to keep Halkidiki clean. This is my only interest and I DO NOT want to harm the tourist business in the area, I have myself invested there. (I don't think there is a risk for harming the business when we are discussing the matter on this paricular WEB-site). But if the authorities don't take the proper actions, than I do think there is a big risk that the tourist business will be harmed. Why the authorities of Halkidiki are not taking this environmental quesion seriosly is a great mystery för me!