Island Hopping Close to Athens: Agistri

Greece is known for its islands – so I knew that although my Greece trip would focus on the mainland, I’d also like to get out and swim in the Aegean.

Luckily, there are a few islands an easy day trip from Athens. Two easy ones are called Aegina and Agistri. Aegina is the bigger one, and having just a day there, I decided to do Agistri because the small size made it seem more manageable.

The same day I went to the Ancient Agora, I then took the Metro down to Piraeus, the main port. It’s funny how easy it is to go there and get tickets! I simply walked up to the ferry ticket office, and had my choice of times and ferries. I picked the “fast ferry” just because it had better pickup and drop-off times, but I was sad to not get the slow ferry. The fast ferries are completely enclosed, whereas the slow ferries are giant ships with decks that you can enjoy the sea air on.

But I was just happy to get out on the water! I enjoyed the ferry ride and getting to see the scenery pass by.

When I got to Agistri, I knew there were a few beaches nearby, so I just started walking along the water. In maybe 300 meters or so, I came upon a beach (and even found a spot in the shade!).

The beaches here are certainly a change from the Philippines, the Red Sea, and even Florida – the sand is extremely rocky! There’s really not much sand, and the whole beach is barely a strip of land. Apparently this is quite common for Greek beaches. I was happy because with the beach I went to being somewhat small, it was also not very crowded. There were just a few other people there!

But the water! The turquoise blue of the water, the sound of the waves splashing, and the boats going by. It was amazing! Swimming in the cool water was so refreshing after all the heat of Athens, and it was incredibly relaxing. Even though the beach was rocky, I laid out my towel and ended up falling asleep for more than an hour!

What woke me up was the sun moving so that I was no longer in the shade. It was hot! I moved down the beach, found more shade, and then continued with my nap, followed with another swim.

It was quite perfect.

Towards the late afternoon, I was getting hungry, so I stopped at this incredibly quaint Greek taverna on the water and had a whole plate of tzatziki with bread. The tzatziki here definitely lives up to the billing. It’s cool, refreshing, and so incredibly tasty!

Then it was time for my ferry to come and take me back to Athens. All in all, it was a perfect island day!