Travelling to Xanthi? Book a private transfer with a verified Greek driver. Xanthi (Ξάνθη) is a town of about 56,000 people in western Thrace, the regional capital and the cultural centre of Greece's most distinctive multi-ethnic region — Greek Orthodox, Pomak Muslim, Turkish Muslim and small Roma communities have lived alongside each other here for centuries.
The defining feature is the preserved Old Town climbing the hillside above the modern centre — three- and four-storey Ottoman-era tobacco-merchant mansions in pastel colours, narrow stone-paved lanes, the central Metropolitan church, and Greek pastry shops that have been there since the early 20th century. The Old Town is one of the best-preserved urban fabrics in Greece and has been used as a film set for many period productions.
Xanthi is famous nationally for two things: the largest carnival in northern Greece (the second weekend of carnival season transforms the entire city), and the Pomak mountain villages 30 minutes north of the town in the Rodopi range — visit-worthy for the distinct linguistic and culinary culture.
From Thessaloniki, Xanthi is a 2h 30m drive via the A2 (Egnatia Odos). From SKG airport it's 2h 45m. Sedan transfer from SKG runs €200–€260.
Most-booked Luxi transfers in Xanthi: SKG → Xanthi for Old Town visits, multi-day eastern-Macedonia / Thrace tours combining Kavala, Xanthi and Komotini, and Pomak village day-trips into the Rodopi mountains.
For onward travel, Xanthi fits into an eastern Greece itinerary continuing to Komotini (40 min east), Alexandroupoli (1h 30m east) and the Evros river delta on the Turkish border — a route few foreign travellers cover and which rewards a slow pace.