Greece / Athens & the Saronic Islands / HydraHydra
A Car-Free Island of Stone Mansions and Donkeys
A Saronic island two hours or less by fast boat from Piraeus, with no cars or scooters: donkeys and water taxis carry everything. Grey-stone captains' mansions climb from a horseshoe harbour; you swim off rocks at Spilia and Hydronetta or take a water taxi to Vlychos and Bisti. A popular escape from Athens for a night or two, quieter and more polished than the big Cyclades. Ferries run all year, fewer in winter, and the fast boats are cancelled in strong wind. No airport.
Highlights
- Car-free harbour town
- Swim off the rocks at Spilia
- Water taxi to Bisti cove
- Hike to Profitis Ilias monastery
- Sunset at Hydronetta
- Captains' mansions
Things to do
- Harbour, mansions and the Historical Archives MuseumMorning · 2h 30m
- Coastal walk to Vlychos and a swimAfternoon · 3h
- Water taxi to Bisti and Agios Nikolaos covesMorning · 4h
- Hike up to Profitis Ilias monasteryMorning · 3h
- Sunset drinks at HydronettaEvening · 2h
Tours & tickets
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When to go
Best time: May – June, September – October
Worth knowing
Winter: Fast Boats Stop, Many Hotels Close
From November to March the high-speed ferries stop, island-to-island boats run a few times a week, and most resort hotels, beach bars and boat tours close. The towns stay open with some hotels and tavernas, the conventional ferries and the flights from Athens keep running, and storms can still cancel sailings: keep a spare day before a flight home.
Worth knowing
Mid-August: Greeks on Holiday
The week around 15 August (the Assumption) is the peak of the Greek holidays: ferries from Piraeus and Rafina and island rooms are booked out weeks ahead, and prices are the year's highest. Book every boat and bed early, or come in June or September.
- Orthodox Easter (Pascha) — Greece's biggest festival: candlelit Good Friday processions, the midnight Resurrection service on Saturday with fireworks and church bells, and lamb roasts on Sunday. Corfu's is the most famous, with clay pots thrown from balconies on Holy Saturday morning. Greeks travel home, so ferries, flights and hotels fill, and shops, museums and sites close or shorten hours from Good Friday to Easter Monday. Book well ahead.
- Epiphany: the Blessing of the Waters — Priests throw a cross into the sea, a river or the harbour and young men dive to bring it back, at Piraeus, Thessaloniki's seafront and island harbours. A public holiday.
- Dekapentavgoustos (the Assumption) — The feast of the Virgin Mary and the peak of the Greek summer holiday: village festivals (panigiria) with music and food the night before, a great pilgrimage to Paros' Church of a Hundred Doors, and every ferry and island room full in the week around it. Athens empties and many of its shops close.