Halkidiki and Thassos

Dive with licensed local operators, carry an SMB, use conservative profiles, and ask where emergency oxygen is kept before departure. Kelyfos, wrecks, and deeper wall profiles should be matched to certification, recent experience, and buoyancy skill. Freedivers should use a buddy, float, flag, and surface support. Snorkelers should avoid ferry lanes, boat approaches, surge-prone rocks, and crowded swim channels.

Call 112 for emergencies in Greece, 166 for ambulance, and 108 for the Hellenic Coast Guard. Halkidiki serious cases usually route toward Thessaloniki. Thassos has local health centers and infirmaries, but serious cases may transfer to Kavala or onward to Thessaloniki. Northern Greece hyperbaric care is associated with Agios Pavlos General Hospital in Thessaloniki; divers should carry DAN or equivalent coverage and let operators coordinate emergency evacuation.

Halkidiki includes Natura 2000 protected landscapes, and Greece protects underwater antiquities nationally. Do not remove shells, amphora fragments, bottles, wreck pieces, or fishing gear unless instructed during an organized cleanup. Keep fins off Posidonia, avoid anchoring on seagrass, use reef-safe sun practices, and observe monk seals from at least 30 m without feeding, touching, or entering the water with them.