Sithonia, the middle of the three peninsulas, is the most beautiful — and the consensus pick of most Greeks for a Halkidiki beach holiday. Where Kassandra is built up and Athos is closed, Sithonia is mostly pine forest running straight down to small, sheltered coves of pale sand and turquoise water.
There is a single ring road that loops the peninsula. The main settlements are Neos Marmaras on the west coast and Sarti on the east — both pleasant low-rise resort villages. Camping on the beach, especially around the wild south coast at Kalamitsi and Karydi, is still common (though slightly contested with the authorities) and remains the classic Sithonia experience.