7 Islands to Visit from Athens

Most people arrive in Athens with the Acropolis on their mind and the islands as an afterthought. That’s understandable, but some of Greece’s most characterful islands are sitting right on the city’s doorstep. You don’t need a flight, a hire car, or much planning. A high-speed ferry from Piraeus and two hours later, you could be eating grilled octopus at a harbour-front table on Hydra.

The closest islands sit in the Saronic Gulf and the western Cyclades, and ferries connect Athens to Aegina, Agistri, Hydra, Poros, Spetses, Kea, and Kythnos throughout the year. Some take less than an hour. All offer something quite different from each other, which is part of what makes the choice interesting.

Piraeus is the main hub for the Saronic islands: Aegina, Agistri, Hydra, Poros, and Spetses. Metro Line 1 from Syntagma Square gets you there in about 25 minutes, arriving steps from the ferry terminals.

Lavrio, at the southern tip of Attica, is your port for Kea and Kythnos. Public buses connect it to central Athens and the airport, handy if you’re heading straight from a flight.

Rafina handles Andros and the northern Cyclades. Closest to the airport, it’s worth knowing about if you want to skip central Athens entirely on arrival.

Book tickets online before you go, especially for summer weekends. The Saronic islands are popular with Athenians, and early ferries fill up fast.

Ferry from Piraeus: 40 – 70 minutes | Ticket: approximately €8 – €14

Aegina is the closest proper island to Athens, and it’s the one most locals choose to visit. It was also Greece’s first capital after independence in 1828, which explains the dignified neoclassical buildings lining the harbour.

The main draw is the Temple of Aphaia, a Doric temple dating to around 500 BC. With 20 of the original 32 columns still standing, it sits on a hill with sweeping views of the Saronic Gulf. It forms part of a geographical “Sacred Triangle” alongside the Parthenon and the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, a geometric coincidence that continues to puzzle archaeologists. The KTEL bus from the port connects it with the Monastery of Agios Nektarios on the same route.

The pistachios are the island’s other claim to fame, holding EU protected designation of origin status and celebrated each September at the Fistiki Festival.

For beaches, Agia Marina suits families, while the fishing village of Perdika in the south has calmer water and better tavernas. From there, small boats cross to Moni, a tiny uninhabited islet with deer, peacocks, and exceptionally clear water.

Good to know: Aegina works year-round and covers a full day comfortably. It’s an ideal first Greek island.

Ferry from Piraeus: 1 hour 20 minutes – 2 hours | Tickets from around €30

Hydra bans all motorised vehicles. Transport is by donkey, foot, or water taxi, and the result is a harbour that feels genuinely peaceful even when yachts crowd the port in August. Chagall, Picasso, and Leonard Cohen all spent time here; Cohen lived on the island for several years in the 1960s.

The upper town is worth exploring beyond the port, with well-maintained footpaths connecting to quieter coves. Water taxis charge fixed rates between points around the island, worth taking for the more remote beaches like Bisti and Agios Nikolaos. Look for amygdalota (dense almond sweets) at the bakeries near the port; they’re a local speciality.

A full day is possible, but two nights is when the island truly reveals itself. The day-trippers leave on the last afternoon ferry and the harbour becomes a completely different place.

For a deeper look at what to do, where to eat, and how to plan your time, our Hydra travel guide covers everything.

Good to know: Book return tickets well in advance in July and August, crossings sell out in both directions. Pack light; your luggage travels by donkey.

Ferry from Piraeus: 50 minutes – 1 hour 15 minutes | Tickets from around €13.50

Agistri is small, green, and largely off the international tourist radar.

Beaches:

• Dragonera has pine trees to the shoreline and clear green water.
• Aponisos is a sheltered turquoise cove.
• Skala is the most accessible, and suits families.

You can cycle the entire island in a couple of hours, with bikes available for hire at the port.

Good to know: Agistri is the easiest island to combine with Aegina, a boat connects the two in under 30 minutes, and summer sees up to 10 daily sailings from Piraeus.

Ferry from Piraeus: 55 minutes – 1 hour 15 minutes

Poros is actually two connected land masses. The smaller island of Sferia, volcanic, compact, built up in pastel, holds the main town. The larger island of Kalavria is green and largely wild, covered in pine, olive, and lemon groves with freshwater streams running through.

Love Bay Beach is the most photographed spot, framed by pines and a whitewashed church. The Sanctuary of Poseidon on Kalavria is modest archaeologically, but the setting, pine forest, sea views, makes the short ride worthwhile.

Good to know: Poros sits just 300 metres from the Peloponnese coast. Small boats cross to the mainland village of Galatas, which is an easy addition if you want a bit of spontaneity.

Ferry from Piraeus: 1 hour 45 minutes – 2 hours

Like Hydra, Spetses restricts private cars. A handful of taxis operate here, but most visitors hire a scooter at the port or take one of the horse-drawn carriages between sights, which gives the island an unhurried, slightly cinematic quality.

The island is famous for Laskarina Bouboulina, a local heroine of the Greek War of Independence and the first woman to command a naval fleet in European history. Her statue and the Bouboulina Museum both sit in Spetses Town.

The beaches at Agia Paraskevi (pine-shaded, calm) and Agioi Anargyri (livelier, with a sea cave) are the best on the island.

Good to know: Spetses is the furthest Saronic island from Athens, which keeps it quieter than Hydra or Aegina in summer. It pairs well with Hydra as an overnight trip.

Ferry from Lavrio: approximately 1 hour | Tickets: approximately €11.50 – €14

Kea doesn’t look like a typical Cycladic island, stone buildings in earthy colours rather than the white-and-blue you’d expect. Because it departs from Lavrio rather than Piraeus, it stays well under the international tourist radar. That’s its advantage.

The Lion of Kea, a 600 BC sculpture carved from a single piece of bedrock, sits above the hilltop town of Ioulida and is in remarkable condition. The walk up takes around 20 minutes.

The marina at Vourkari is the social hub, lined with tavernas serving loza (cured pork) and fresh lobster pasta.

For beaches, Otzias suits families; Koundouros has beach clubs and clearer water.

Good to know: Renting a car or motorbike on arrival makes exploring much easier. Kea is also the closest Cycladic island to Athens, genuinely worth the Lavrio detour.

Ferry from Lavrio: 1.5 – 2.5 hours | Ferry from Piraeus: approximately 3 hours

Kythnos, sometimes called Thermia, is modest and hospitable, unexpectedly beautiful and serene, with a history stretching back to the Mesolithic period.

The island has thermal springs at Loutra, in continuous use since antiquity, and one of the finest twin beaches in the Cyclades: Kolona, a narrow sandbar connecting the main island to a smaller peninsula, with sea on both sides. The beach at Dryopida is harder to reach but rewards the effort.

Highlights include the beach of Kolona, the cave of Katafyki, and the Castle of Oria.

The island’s villages, Chora, Dryopida, and Loutra, are all small enough to walk through in an hour, and genuinely authentic in the way that islands with less tourism tend to be.

Good to know: Kythnos is better suited to a two or three-night stay than a day trip, given the longer ferry journey from Lavrio. It’s also an excellent first step for anyone planning to island-hop further into the Cyclades.

Best time to go: April to June and September to October offer the best balance of weather and manageable crowds. July and August are beautiful but busy, plan ahead or accept the pace.

If you’re still planning your trip, our guide to the best time to visit Athens is a good place to start.

Book ferries early: Saronic ferries sell out in high season, in both directions. Use Ferryhopper or Ferryscanner to compare times and buy e-tickets, you won’t need paper at the port.

Know your gate: Piraeus is large. Gate E8 handles most Saronic island departures. Look it up before you arrive; the walk between gates is further than it looks on a map.

What to bring: Sunscreen, a light layer for the return journey, comfortable shoes (essential for Hydra), and some cash for smaller tavernas and village shops.

Three-island day cruises: Organised excursions combining Aegina, Poros, and Hydra in one day are widely available from Piraeus and nearby marinas. They’re a reasonable introduction, but time on each island is short. If one island has caught your attention, go there directly.