Hydra bans private cars and motorbikes, and it has exactly one beach made entirely of sand. For soft sand and an easy day out of Athens, look closer to the port: the best Saronic beaches for that are on Agistri and Aegina, 40 to 55 minutes from Piraeus by fast boat. The clearest water and the prettiest coves are on Hydra and Spetses, and those are mostly pebble, often a beach boat away from the harbour.
Our pick for a single beach day from Athens is Skala on Agistri, where the hydrofoil ties up beside a shallow, sandy beach. For a night or two, Vlychos on Hydra is the one to plan around. The seven beaches below run roughly in order of how quickly you can get from Piraeus onto the sand, with what each is like, how to reach it from the quay and the one thing that might put you off.
Checked November 2026: the beach boats and most beach bars are shut until spring. Everything here is aimed at the season from May to October 2027.
Which Saronic island has the best beaches?
It depends on whether you want sand or scenery. Agistri and Aegina have the sandy, shallow beaches, and they are the quickest to reach. Poros has a mix of sand and fine pebble a short ride from town, which makes it the easiest island for families who still want a pretty bay. Hydra and Spetses have the clearest water and the most beautiful settings, but their beaches are mostly pebble and the best of them involve a boat or a bus.
If you are choosing between Greek island groups rather than between these five, our Ionian vs Cyclades beach comparison covers the other two big options. The Saronic islands are the third: smaller beaches, but no flight and no overnight ferry.
| Beach | Surface | From the port | Facilities | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skala, Agistri | Sand, shallow | Beside the ferry quay | Sunbeds, cafes, restaurants | Easiest day trip, small children |
| Aiginitissa and Perdika, Aegina | Sand at Aiginitissa | KTEL bus, about 9km | Sunbeds and snack bar at Aiginitissa | A quieter Aegina day, Moni islet |
| Russian Bay, Poros | Sand and fine pebble | Taxi or water taxi | Sunbeds, beach bar, sea-access system | History and a sheltered bay |
| Mandraki, Hydra | Sand | 20-minute walk or beach boat | Resort sunbeds, restaurant | The only sand on Hydra |
| Vlychos, Hydra | Small pebbles | Coast-path walk via Kamini (under an hour), or water taxi | Sunbeds, tavernas | A village beach with sunsets |
| Bisti, Hydra | Pebble | Beach boat or water taxi | Organised in season | Water sports, pine shade |
| Agia Paraskevi, Spetses | Large pebbles | Bus or beach boat | Sunbeds, beach bar | Pines to the water's edge |
Agistri and Aegina: the sand closest to Piraeus
These are the cheapest islands to reach by slow ferry, and they give the longest day on the sand for the least travel. Agistri (also spelled Angistri or Agkistri, Αγκίστρι) is the small pine-covered one; Aegina (Αίγινα) is its bigger neighbour.
1. Skala, Agistri
Skala is the beach you can see from the ferry. The main beach runs in front of the church of Agioi Anargyroi, and the newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton describes it as shallow and sandy, lined with restaurants and cafes. For a family with small children it is the simplest beach day in the Saronic Gulf: step off the boat, walk a few minutes, wade in.
The Aegean Flying Dolphins hydrofoil takes 55 minutes from Piraeus, stopping at Aegina; Saronic Ferries' car ferry takes about 1 hour 35 minutes and charges €13.50.
Check where your boat docks. Some sailings use Megalochori (also called Mylos), about 2km west along a paved seafront promenade that the Region of Attica's tourism guide recommends for a late-afternoon bike ride.
The downside is that Skala is the port beach, with the busiest sand on the island. For more space, walk from Skala past Skliri to Chalikiada beach. On the south of the island, a path that starts after Bachos leads down to the small Dragonera beach, according to the same Region of Attica guide.
Chalikiada is the bigger effort. Efimerida ton Syntakton calls the path passable but says the last 200m need care and a little scrambling, and warns against trying it in flip-flops. Bring shade and plenty of water, and expect nudists: Visit Greece says the cove is often favoured by them, and the same newspaper calls it one of the first nudist spots in Greece.
2. Aiginitissa and Perdika, Aegina
Aegina's best swimming is on its south-west tip, away from the main town. Perdika is a harbour village with a small beach shaded by the trees around the cove. For sand, stop short of the village: Visit Greece places Aiginitissa (Eginitissa) halfway along the road from Marathonas to Perdika, a sandy beach with deck chairs, umbrellas and a snack bar.
Getting there takes one bus. The KTEL bus leaves from Ethnegersia Square by the port in Aegina town and runs about 9km to Perdika via Marathonas. Services are infrequent, so check the day's times at the stop. From Perdika harbour, boats cross to Moni, an islet less than 500m off the cape, and the Region of Attica says they run frequently in summer, so a second swim fits into the same day.
Aiginitissa is small, so arrive early or settle for Perdika. Do not confuse the area with Agia Marina, Aegina's resort beach on the east coast. It is a bus ride across the island from town, and in summer Hellenic Seaways sails there direct from Piraeus.
Poros: Russian Bay, past the town beaches
Poros island (Πόρος), the Saronic one rather than the resort of Poros on Kefalonia, lies just off Galatas on the Peloponnese coast. A small ferry crosses between the two every half hour through the day, according to the municipality. The town beaches are fine for a quick dip: Kanali is about 1km from the port, a 15 to 20-minute walk.
3. Russian Bay, Poros
The bay is named after the ruins on its shore. The municipality's tourism site, Visit Poros, explains that the stone buildings in the middle of the beach were a 19th-century supply station for the Russian fleet, and they are now a listed historic monument. Opposite lies Daskalio, a tiny islet with a chapel to the Virgin Mary.
The bay is sheltered, with sand, fine pebbles and clear water. An organised section has umbrellas and a beach bar, a free section leaves room for your own towel, and a sea-access system helps visitors with reduced mobility into the water.
Russian Bay is the last organised beach on the west side of the island, beyond Love Bay. By road it is a car or taxi ride, and the municipality's tourism site adds water taxis, depending on the season. Taxis wait at the rank in the middle of the waterfront and run around the clock in summer (phone 22980 23003). Fast catamarans reach Poros from Piraeus in about an hour; Saronic Ferries' slow boat takes 2 hours 40 minutes for €17.
Hydra beaches: no cars, mostly pebbles, often a boat
Vehicles are prohibited on Hydra (Ύδρα), according to Visit Greece, and people get around on foot or by donkey. That shapes every beach day: you walk the coast path, take a beach boat from the harbour or pay for a water taxi.
- Water taxis charge per boat, not per person, usually for up to eight passengers. Hydra Direct's price list, last updated in May 2025, put Mandraki and Vlychos beach at €25 from the harbour and Bisti at €100, with fares after dark up to 50% higher. No newer list has been published (checked November 2026), so confirm the fare with the driver before you board.
- Beach boats are cheaper and run only in season, from the harbour wall opposite the cathedral clock tower. They sell return tickets only and post their times on signs on the quay.
4. Mandraki, Hydra
The Municipality of Hydra says Mandraki is the only entirely sandy beach on the island. It lies in the bay that was Hydra's old naval harbour, east of town, and a beach resort runs the sunbeds, umbrellas and restaurant.
The walk from the harbour along the coastal road takes about 20 minutes; otherwise beach boats cross every half hour in season, and water taxis run from the main port. Mandraki is the place for sand on Hydra, but it feels like a hotel beach. Most people come to Hydra for a village one.
5. Vlychos, Hydra
Vlychos is that beach. It is an organised beach of small grey and reddish pebbles and clean water, suitable for small children, below a hamlet of white houses and seaside tavernas. Chapels stand on the rocks above the water, and the municipality's own guide singles out the sunsets.
The walk is the classic Hydra outing: west out of town on the coast path, past the fishing harbour at Kamini, then along a dirt track to the bay. The Region of Attica's walking guide puts the whole shore walk from the harbour to Palamidas, two bays beyond Vlychos, at about an hour. Walk out in the morning and take a water taxi back if the heat wins. Bring water shoes for the pebbles. Plakes, the next bay west, is a fully organised beach beside a hotel if Vlychos is full.
6. Bisti, Hydra
Bisti (Μπίστι) is one of the most remote of Hydra's organised beaches: a bay ringed by high rocks next to a pine forest, by Cape Bisti at the island's far western end. It suits water sports and diving off the rocks, and Hydra Direct describes a pebble beach sloping gently into shallow water, about 20 minutes from the harbour by beach boat.
Walking in means a long hike across the island. Take the Bisti beach boat from the harbour in season or a water taxi, which at €100 a boat makes sense only for a full group. Outside the summer season, expect neither boats nor facilities. Agios Georgios, the next cove along, is quieter and has no facilities.
Spetses beaches: pine trees and a beach bus
Spetses (Σπέτσες) is the farthest Saronic island from Piraeus, but two sandy beaches are close to the boat. Agios Mamas is next to the main harbour. Agia Marina, about 10 minutes from the port of Dapia, is organised, with water sports, restaurants and bars, according to the Municipality of Spetses.
7. Agia Paraskevi, Spetses
The island's prettiest beach is on the far side. Agia Paraskevi is large pebbles with pine trees running down to the sea, organised with sunbeds and a beach bar.
Two ways in, both from town. A bus runs from Agios Mamas beach to Agia Paraskevi, Agioi Anargyroi and Xilokeriza, and a daily beach boat leaves Dapia for Agia Paraskevi, Agioi Anargyroi and Zogeria. Agioi Anargyroi, next door, is the longest beach on Spetses, sand mixed with small pebbles, and the better pick if you want sand underfoot.
The problem is distance: at least 1 hour 45 minutes by fast boat from Piraeus, then the bus or beach boat. A summer day trip can work, but Agia Paraskevi deserves a night on the island.
How to get to the Saronic Islands from Athens
Every island has boats from Piraeus, the port of Athens, and the departure gate is printed on your ticket. Times are from the operators' winter timetables on GTP (7 November 2026) and slow-ferry fares from Saronic Ferries' fare list and Poros route page, checked November 2026.
| Island | Fastest crossing | Slow car ferry | Slow-ferry adult fare, one way (€) | Main operators |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegina | 40 minutes | 1 hour 10 to 1 hour 25 | 12 | Hellenic Seaways, Aegean Flying Dolphins, Saronic Ferries |
| Agistri | 55 minutes, via Aegina | 1 hour 35 to 1 hour 40 | 13.50 | Aegean Flying Dolphins, Saronic Ferries |
| Poros | About 1 hour | 2 hours 40 | 17 | Hellenic Seaways, Magic Sea Ferries, Saronic Ferries |
| Hydra | 1 hour 5 direct, 1 hour 45 via Poros | None | No slow ferry | Alpha Lines, Magic Sea Ferries, Hellenic Seaways |
| Spetses | 1 hour 45, via Hydra | None | No slow ferry | Alpha Lines, Magic Sea Ferries, Hellenic Seaways |
Fast boats cost more. Aegean Flying Dolphins' published fare list, dated 1 July 2023 and still the current one, charges €18 one way to Aegina and €18.50 to Agistri (checked November 2026). Alpha Lines, Magic Sea Ferries and Hellenic Seaways publish no fare list for Hydra or Spetses: the price appears only when you search a date on their booking pages.
Fast boats to Hydra and Spetses are passenger-only catamarans. To take a car, use the slow ferries to Aegina, Agistri or Poros; on Hydra a car is useless anyway.
Can you do the Saronic Islands as a day trip from Athens?
In summer, yes, for all five. Summer 2027 timetables for Agistri, Hydra and Spetses were not published in November 2026, so the summer 2026 sailings below show how those boats usually run; the winter times apply until spring.
Aegina gives the longest day, and its 2027 times are out. Hellenic Seaways' summer timetable starts on 27 April 2027, with an 8.30am departure arriving at 9.10am and a last boat back at 5.50pm. From 29 May to 26 September 2027 a later one leaves at 8.50pm, which leaves time for the bus to Perdika and a boat to Moni.
Agistri works all year. From 1 May to 31 October 2026 the Aegean Flying Dolphins hydrofoil left Piraeus at 8am on weekdays (8.50am at weekends) and the last one left Skala at 8pm every day, a beach day of ten hours or more. In winter it shrinks: on the timetable running to 30 November 2026, the 10am hydrofoil arrives at 10.55am and the last one back leaves at 5pm.
Hydra is easy in summer and tight in winter. From 29 May to 30 September 2026, Alpha Lines left Piraeus at 9.45am from Monday to Saturday, reached Hydra at 11am and sailed home at about 8pm (7.45pm on Sundays), time enough for Vlychos in the morning and Mandraki or Bisti after lunch. The current winter timetable has a 9.30am departure arriving at 10.35am and the last direct boats back at about 3.40pm (4.40pm on Sundays).
Spetses becomes a day trip only in summer. The same Alpha Lines boat reached Spetses at 11.40am in summer 2026 and left at 7.15pm on most days, about seven and a half hours on the island. In winter Magic Sea Ferries' 9am boat from Piraeus arrives at 10.55am (Monday to Saturday) and the last leaves at 3pm (4pm on Sundays), so stay a night. One-day cruises calling at Hydra, Poros and Aegina leave little time for any beach.
Beach season on the Saronic islands: May to October 2027
The ferries run all winter, but the beaches are quiet and largely unserviced, and Hydra's beach boats run only in summer.
For a beach trip, plan for the 2027 season. In 2026, Alpha Lines ran two round trips a day to Hydra and Spetses from 15 April to 30 September, and from 29 May the second left Hydra for Piraeus at about 8pm. That makes June and September the most comfortable months for a day trip, with full services and long evenings.
If you are weighing these islands against the bigger ones, our guide to the best beaches in Greece covers Crete, the Ionian and the Cyclades, and our Santorini alternatives list islands that need a flight or a long ferry.
With one day, take the morning hydrofoil to Agistri and swim at Skala. With two, sleep on Hydra and walk the coast path to Vlychos in the morning.
