About Us
Welcome to Thessaloniki! Meet your local connection in Thessaloniki, Athanasios and Chrysa Paparnakis of Odyssey Tours! We are happy to assist you in your travels to our beautiful city of Thessaloniki and are proud to be part of whl.travel. We are true nature-lovers and nothing excites us more than exploring new destinations that are off-the-beaten-track and not already exhausted by mass tourism. We are working hard to realize sustainable tourism in our area by supporting our local community, employing only local people and providing tours that acquaint visitors with the real life and culture of Thessaloniki.
Feel free to ask us any questions or for any advice regarding your stay in Thessaloniki. We can give you guidance about what to see and do, as Thessaloniki offers a variety of interesting parts. Not only is it a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the numerous Byzantine monuments, it is also a modern city full of life. We can give you tips about where to eat, drink and stay in the city. The surrounding area is a beautiful area unspoiled by mass tourism, not to mention the abundance of wildlife areas, including Lake Kerkini and the Axios River Delta, the major archaeological sites of Vergina, Pella and Philippi and of course the nearby cultural heritage areas Naousa and Xanthi. We think that the most interesting thing about our area is the possibility that visitors have to get to know the true life of the area and the opportunity to have a holiday combined with culture, religion, cuisine and knowledge!
Meet the team
Meet Athanasios Paparnakis, born and raised in Thessaloniki. Thanasis and his wife Chrysa run Odyssey Tours together and both enjoy the outdoors and being in nature. They love exploring new destinations by motorcycle and mixing with the locals and eating where they eat, drinking what they drink, and just talking with them. They decided to work in the field of tourism to spread their knowledge of the area and help people truly appreciate and understand the area. Thanasis used to be an open water swimmer so he loves the sea and Chrysa is very interested in cooking and cuisine.
Odyssey Tours is a family-run business, opened in January 2007. Our main objective was to provide tours in the area we know best, northern Greece. We now provide all sorts of theme tours, including motorcycle trips, wine tasting, bird-watching, and archeological tours, always combining these themes with a good taste of Greek culture and life. We work with small groups in scheduled tours and on demand, also preparing special tours for couples and friends. We would be happy to tailor a tour just for you!
What we do
The plan of Odyssey Tours was and still is to provide vacations and tours that will bring visitors close to the real side of the destination. In order to achieve this, we work with local people and prefer hotels that employ local staff and use or promote local products. For our tours, we use local guides and experts and inform our clients about the environmental or socio-economic problems that may exist in the area and also encourage visitors to taste or buy local products.
Lastly, but most important, we are adamant about keeping our group size as low as possible, in order to not to disturb the natural balance of the destination and the local population.
We are happy and excited to assist visitors in their visit to Thessaloniki! Don't hesitate to ask us any questions or for any recommendations while you travel to this amazing city. Ask us about our local tours and accommodation!
