This is the heart of the day. You meet the local boatmen and get on a small boat that moves slowly through open water and reed-lined edges. The pace is calm and photo-friendly, with a good chance to spot birds up close and get that “quiet nature” feeling without hiking or effort. It’s also the best way to understand the scale of the lake and why it matters to the whole region. You may also try products made from buffalo milk, which is a Kerkini specialty, usually in the form of sweets or dairy treats depending on what’s available that day.
The drive itself is part of the experience: farmland, vineyards, olive groves, and wide-open views with two strong mountain lines framing the landscape. Lailias gives the forested, inland look, while Belles/Belasitsa feels bigger and wilder as you approach the lake area. It’s a clean, “northern Greece” landscape that most people never see if they only stick to cities and beaches. If you choose the optional winery, you add a guided visit in the Serres rural area with a simple walk-through of the facilities and a wine tasting, basically a low-effort, high-payoff finish before heading back.
We saw tons of birds flying about and feeding on fish in the vast lake surrounded by mountains. The church and monstery is absolutely gorgeous and the architecture resembles 10th century architecture style.
We were a bit disappointed with this trip. The advertised boat ride was quite a short aspect of it and took us into the lake but we didn't get much chance to see many different birds. The boat skipper was knowledgeable about them though. The rest of the trip consisted of us being taken to see some buffaloes on a farm: no info about why they are in this area particularly or any meeting with the farmer. We went to a restaurant in the woods which was very nice (price of lunch not included in the trip), then to a monastery which again was very nice but in between our guide seemed unsure what to do with us and kept asking what we wanted to do next (I don't know, you're the guide?) and we had to hang around quite a bit waiting for things to open. Not the nature-based tour that we expected based on the description.
Fantastic trip from start to finish. Tassos tailored our trip to our interest and went above and beyond to ensure we had a memorable day. He was very knowledgeable of Greece and the area. The monastery was a bonus as we didn’t know this was included and we were made to feel very welcome. Fantastic views of Lake Kerkini too. We were taken for lunch in a unique forest location with local specialties on the menu, which included buffalo and trout - both delicious. The boat trip was exceptional. Our guide Nic was an expert on birds on the lake and ensured that we were able to get the best possible photos. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience. A big thankyou to Tassos for finding the bee-eaters just before we returned back. Truely fantastic day.
The best of all excursions in my 62 years of life. If you love nature. I am still on vacation, and the good photos are on the camera, but it is truly incredible what you see. And my driver Sotiris did so much for me; it cannot be measured in gold. Thank you for everything!
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