Therma would be a source of gold for Ikaria. In my opinion, not enough is being done about it. I know that money… The Apollon bathhouse with private tubs and the hammam with a sweat cave and two small swimming pools is actively visited by many older Greek people between June and October. From a distance Therma looks very pretty. There are many dilapidated houses in the village interior. Nevertheless, I like to go to Therma, to swim on the beach, where you can occasionally feel warm currents on your feet, or to the hammam. It is clean, even if it looks a bit rusty in parts. The minerals in the healing water discolor anything made of metal, that’s all.
The visit to the hammam
For just a few euros, a visit is worth the money! If you compare it to our modern wellness oases, the hammam in Therma is a fun, rustic experience. You’re sweating in your swimsuit in a small, dim cave where it’s partly hot and dripping from the ceiling. Instead of a eucalyptus infusion, eucalyptus fronds (small branches from the tree) hang on the walls, which you can occasionally slap on your back with. A bath attendant closely monitors the time spent in the cave and in the subsequent bath.
Opening hours:
Closed on Mondays and public holidays
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m
Wednesday and Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m
Tel: +30 22750 24049
Kratsas Spring
Tel: 0030 22750 23 206
Ursula’s insider tip:
There are toilets and changing rooms in the hammam (steam bath). Swimsuit is mandatory and you must bring your own towel. Ev. Shampoo or shower gel too, which I don’t recommend at all! After the hammam, your skin feels baby-soft for the next two days and you feel a pleasant warmth throughout your body. So I recommend that you don’t immediately scrub the brine water down with soap.
The ultimate super spa: after the hammam in the sea, swim along the harbor pier on the far right behind the hammam house, under the harbor jetty to the rock wall, where the hot spring pours directly into the sea and you can wonderfully splash around on the rocks in the warm water!
Especially in July and August, it’s wonderful to sit on one of the benches on the plaza or in one of the many tavernas around the beach and watch all the people with sticks, scarves around their heads and in bathrobes. It always feels like I’m in a Fellini film.
The ancient Therma and the remains of the ancient thermal baths
Find out about the path that leads to the Leumakia springs (Lefmakia) at the beautiful guesthouse “Agriolykos” at the top of the beach (on the left when you look out to the sea, accessible by stairs). It goes behind this guesthouse, you have to walk through the bushes for about 5-10 minutes, it leads down to the right, past the almost overgrown and barely visible ancient foundation walls of the old bathhouses, to rock slabs and the hot springs in the sea.
Report by Edith Bühler Jud