It's a great balance for families and backpackers alike

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When it comes to bagging yourself a slice of paradise for the summer holidays you really are spoilt for choice when it comes to the Greek islands. But it can be tricky finding the right balance. Some of the islands are real party spots where you're going to be raving it up in nightclubs until the early hours, and others are tiny isolated places with plenty of scenery - which are brilliant for explorers, but less accessible if you want a family holiday with the kids.

One easily accessible island ticks both boxes though. Thassos has enough out-of-the-way beaches, coves and mountain tracks to be interesting to those in search of unspoiled isolation, but it's also got decent resorts and accommodation - albeit some of it a bit dated.

Thassos sits in the North Aegean group of islands and is much greener and lusher than many of the other islands. Large parts of it are covered in pine, plane and oak trees. It's an easy four-hour flight from London Gatwick to the old military airport at the town of Kavala, a short bus journey to the coastal pot of Keramoti and then a half-hour ferry ride across to the island. This is a brilliant way to get there, as, after the flight you can stand out on the deck of the ferry, and watch the seagulls fly and the mountainous island approaching across the Azure sea.

READ MORE: The stunning European seaside town that's a 3-hour flight from London Gatwick

You dock at the bustling port of Thassos Town or Limenas which - as usual with Greek islands - is punctuated by the sounds of scooters revving up and down the main streets. The port has a collection of small shops and restaurants, and it's a laid back affair. But there's a lot more here than meets the eye an it's worth taking time during your visit to explore it properly.

Along the colourful mountain-backed quayside, where many fishing boats still dock, there are numerous taxi boats which will take you on trips to beaches around the island. Just around the corner is the lovely old harbour, with a small quayside lined with little restaurants. It's a gorgeous place to sit and have a coffee or some calamari and a Greek salad.

A short but tiring stroll up the hill from here, and you can get incredible views of the sea through the pines, and you can wander to a reconstructed Greek theatre where they sometimes still stage plays in the summer. Further up the hill, and you can walk around the walls of the old fortress (Acropolis) which once dominated the port town. Be warned, it's pretty tiring in the summer heat though.

Then, tucked away in the back streets behind the selection of low-key bars and restaurants, are the strewn remains of an ancient market (Agora) where more than 2,400 years ago, shopkeepers would have sold their produce. Nearby there's a nice archaeological museum displaying some of the artefacts that have been dug from the many ancient sites on the island including coins, vases and statues.

There are many decent beaches on the island but the best is probably Golden Beach on the east coast. It's a short bus journey over the mountain road from the main town and is a golden 2km strip of sand backed with some laid-back tavernas and shops and apartments and surrounded by mountains. Up above it in the hills are several much more traditional villages with their own shady village squares and little fountains and traditional houses.

A great way to get around the island is to hire a small car or moped. It's a good way to explore the little coves that dot the island's coastline. Further down the east coast is the small settlement on Alyki, which has more ancient ruins and a nice secluded beach backed by traditional tavernas.

Down at the foot of the island is another pleasant seaside resort of Limenaria which has a few shops and restaurants and a nice little beach. Watch out for the sea urchins here, which cling to rocks almost up to the shore. Here you can also tour the marble mines that once made Thassos famous. From here a road leads into the interior of the island and you can visit the very traditional village of Theologos where life has remained pretty much the same for centuries. It's the oldest village on the island and - with its traditional chapels and flint rooves - will take you back to a time before tourists ever arrived here.

The west coat of the island is where most of the larger and busier tourist resorts are positioned, and it's less spectacular than the stunning east side, but still has many pleasant beaches. While you're here you can take a day trip back over to the mainland port of Kavala where there's some very interesting history dating from when the Ottoman Turks occupied the town. It has old mosques and is dominated by a fortress high above it. Back at the port there's excellent locally caught sea food to be had.

If you're looking for some real adventure you could head back to the mainland and take a bus to the port of Aleaxdroupolis and then another ferry out to the much less touristy island of Samothraki. I never made it this far, but it's mountainous and secluded with a huge mountain peak in it's centre and forests of plane and oak trees. The jewel in its crown is an ancient sight called the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, which was a shrine to the gods that rules Greece way back even before the time of Zeus and Hera.

All in all, Thassos has plenty to offer and has a great mix of the modern and authentic. It's a place where you can get a traditional slice of Greece without having to completely go bushwhacking.

There's no airport on Thassos so you have to fly to nearby Kavala which is a former military airport. You easiest way to get there directly is to book a package tour with a company such as TUI or Olympic Holidays as they will offer direct flights from Gatwick.

If you want to travel independently you could fly to Athens or Thessaloloniki from London Gatwick or Heathrow and take a bus to the port of Keramoti to take the ferry to Thassos but this is a much more time consuming route.

At the time of writing the charter companies are the only services offering direct flights to Kavala.

To visit Samothraki directly you'll need to fly to Athens or Thessaloniki from a London airport (many airlines run these routes) and take an internal flight or bus to the port of Alexandroupolis before catching a ferry to Samothraki.

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