A week from Athens: Poros, Hydra, Spetses
The Saronic Gulf is Greece's most accessible charter area: Alimos marina is half an hour from Athens airport, the islands sit in a chain 10–20 nm apart, and the meltemi hardly reaches here. This is a route about towns and tavernas: a new port, a waterfront and fresh fish every evening. A loop of roughly 120 nm, and the only long day is the first one — after that the legs run two to three hours.
Day by day
Alimos (Athens)
- Alimos37.911, 23.709
Handover after 17:00, provisioning at the AB Vassilopoulos supermarket across the road from the marina, night on the pontoon. If the boat is released early, it is worth moving to Perdika on Aegina for the night — that takes the pressure off the first sailing day.
Alimos → Poros
- Poros37.499, 23.455
The longest leg of the week, and it lands you straight in the best harbour in the gulf. Poros is separated from the Peloponnese by a strait only 200 metres wide: moor alongside the quay right under the clock tower, and in the evening take the tavernas of Kanali and the lemon grove on the mainland shore.
Poros → Hydra
- Hydra37.350, 23.467
Hydra is an island without cars: only donkeys, stone and an amphitheatre of a harbour. Arrive by 14:00 — quay berths go fast; the fallback is Mandraki bay a mile to the east.
Hydra → Ermioni
- Ermioni37.386, 23.249
A short hop to the mainland and a day for swimming. Ermioni sits on a narrow headland with a bay on each side: a fishing harbour on one, pines and windless water on the other.
Ermioni → Spetses
- Spetses37.263, 23.159
Spetses: boatyards where wooden hulls are still built, horse carriages instead of taxis and the evening promenade at Dapia. Berth in the new harbour or in the Old Port, which is prettier and tighter.
Spetses → Methana
- Methana37.578, 23.390
Back north along the Argolid coast. Methana is a volcanic peninsula with hot springs and an almost empty waterfront: after Hydra and Spetses it is an abrupt change of volume.
Methana → Aegina
- Aegina37.746, 23.428
Aegina: pistachios, a horseshoe harbour and the Temple of Aphaia on the hill, worth a taxi ride up. For the night you can move to Perdika in the south of the island, a fishing village on the sunset side.
Aegina → Alimos
- Alimos37.911, 23.709
A morning passage, refuelling, handover by 17:00 (most fleets refuel the evening before and check out in the morning).
Coordinates are approximate, for the harbour or bay. Paste them into Google Maps or a chartplotter, and check the chart and pilot book before you moor or anchor.
Good to know
- Wind: 10–18 knots in summer, strengthening after lunch in the straits off Poros and Methana. The meltemi is gentler in the Saronic than in the Cyclades — a good area for a first Greek charter.
- Berths: town quays are almost everywhere free or nominal, but there are no lazy lines — moor stern-to on your own anchor. Electricity and water are not available everywhere: keep the tanks full.
- There is only one long day here. If the crew lands in the evening and starts late, the Alimos — Poros leg splits with a night on Aegina, and Methana drops out of the loop.
- Logistics: 30–40 minutes by taxi from Athens airport to Alimos. Provisions are cheapest in Alimos and on Aegina.
When to go and what it costs in Greece
Median € per berth per week from the agent's latest check, monohulls; each month's page has both boat types, a chart and boats departing that month.
Discounted boats in Greece
All boats in Greece
How long is the Athens — Hydra route and where do you stay overnight?
8 days and about 120 nautical miles in a loop, starting and finishing in Athens. Overnight stops in order: Alimos, Poros, Hydra, Ermioni, Spetses, Methana, Aegina. The longest leg is day 2, 30 nm.
When is the best time to sail the Athens — Hydra route?
Greece's season runs April to October. In July–August the meltemi blows 25–30 knots in the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, so beginners are better off in the Ionian or the Saronic Gulf in those months. June and September bring warm water, gentler wind and prices below the peak; April, May and October are the shoulder months and the cheapest weeks of the season. By the agent's latest checks (monohulls), the cheapest month is March: a median of ≈€240 per berth per week. The most expensive is December, at ≈€283. The most boats with 20% off or more are in October: 41%. The agent checks the current month and the next five; each month has its own page with the numbers.
How much does a yacht for this route cost?
A whole boat in Greece for a week starts from €1,770 in the agent's current selection: the cheapest discounted week departing in the next three months. Prices per berth by month are higher up the page; the boats are under “All boats in Greece”.
Do I need a licence to charter a yacht?
For a bareboat charter (no skipper or crew provided), yes: a skipper's licence and, as a rule, a VHF radio certificate. Without a licence, we add a skipper, paid separately from the boat price.
What's included in the boat price?
Just the boat, for a week. Usually paid separately: transit log and final cleaning, fuel, marina fees, the security deposit (or deposit insurance), a skipper, cook and hostess if you need them, and extras (SUP board, on-board Wi-Fi, coffee machine, child safety netting).
