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Route · 14 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Cyclades

Athens via Saronic gulf (14 day).

Sail 14 days from Athens through the Saronic Gulf to medieval Monemvasia and back via Hydra, with quiet Peloponnese anchorages and famous fortress towns.

The route

Day-by-day route

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Poros
Day 1

Athens (Alimos) → Poros

A 28-mile opening leg runs southwest to Poros, finishing stern-to on the town quay beneath the clock tower.

Distance

27 NM

Sailing

~5.4h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

May – mid-October (peak Jun – Sep, meltemi Jul – Aug)

Duration

14 days

Departure

Athens

Sailing area

Cyclades

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

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The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 14
Poros
1
Day 1

Athens (Alimos) → Poros

The first leg is longer than most, so we like to slip out of Alimos by mid-morning while the water is flat. The run down to Poros stays inside sheltered Saronic water the whole way, which makes it a forgiving day to find your rhythm with a new boat and crew. Poros sits in a narrow channel across from the lemon groves of Galatas, and the town quay runs the length of the waterfront under the clock tower. Before tying up, drop the hook for an hour at Love Bay on the south side, a pine-ringed cove that shelves gently into sand. Ashore, the ruins of the Sanctuary of Poseidon reward a short climb, and the waterfront kitchens flame saganaki at the table. Water and fuel are easy here.

Things to do

Anchor and swim in Love Bay

Climb to the Sanctuary of Poseidon ruins

Flamed saganaki on the Poros waterfront

Cycle the Lemonodasos lemon groves at Galatas

Mooring tip

Stern-to along the Poros town quay runs €25–40 a night and stays sheltered from every direction. Arrive by late afternoon in peak season, as the central berths fill first.

Spetses
2
Day 2

Poros → Spetses

Spetses keeps cars out of the old town, so the loudest thing you will hear on the waterfront is hooves. Horse carriages and bicycles do the work here, and the harbour of Dapia still has its row of old cannons pointing out to sea. We usually break the passage with a swim at Zogeria on the northwest coast, where the bottom is clean sand in five to seven metres and the pines come right down to the shore. Ashore, walk east to the Old Harbour, past the shipyards where wooden hulls are still repaired and the nineteenth-century mansions of the shipowning families face the water. The perimeter road makes a fine flat cycle if the crew has energy. Come evening, the bars around the Baltiza inlet fill up slowly.

Things to do

Swim the sandy bay at Zogeria

Walk the Old Harbour shipyards

Cycle the flat perimeter road

Sunset drinks around the Baltiza inlet

Mooring tip

Tie stern-to in Dapia harbour for €30–50 a night; it holds well and is protected from the north. The smaller Old Harbour is a quieter alternative if you want the mansion frontage to yourself.

Kiparissi
3
Day 3

Spetses → Kiparissi

This is the leg that leaves the busy Saronic behind. Thirty-two miles of open water bring you to Kiparissi, a scatter of white houses at the foot of Mount Parnon on the Laconian coast. Almost no charter boats push this far south, and the payoff is the quietest night of the fortnight. The anchorage sits in the bay below the village on good sand in five to seven metres, sheltered from the north. There is not much ashore beyond a handful of tavernas and a pebble beach, which is rather the point. Provision properly before you leave Spetses, because the village shop is small and the mountains cut it off from easy resupply. If the crew wants a walk, the old stone hamlet of Vrisi climbs the slope behind the harbour.

Things to do

Hike up to Vrisi stone hamlet

Snorkel the rocky shore north of the bay

Grilled fish at a quayside taverna

Watch sunset behind the Parnon ridge

Mooring tip

Anchor free in Kiparissi bay on sand at five to seven metres, well sheltered from the north. Shore facilities are minimal, so fill water, fuel and food before leaving Spetses.

Monemvasia
4
Day 4

Kiparissi → Monemvasia

Monemvasia hides its whole town on the far side of a great rock, invisible from the sea until you round it. Locals call it the Gibraltar of the East, and the comparison holds. The anchorage lies off Gefyra, the modern town on the mainland, on sand in five to eight metres with shelter from the north. From there a single causeway carries you across to the medieval Lower Town, where perhaps a hundred people still live among the stone lanes, chapels and vaulted passages. Give yourself the stiff climb to the ruined Upper Town for the view back over the sea. This coast gave its name to Malvasia wine, the sweet Malmsey that medieval Venice shipped across Europe, and the local cellars still pour it. Book a marina slot inside Gefyra if the wind is building.

Things to do

Walk the car-free medieval Lower Town

Climb to the Upper Town ruins

Taste sweet Malvasia wine at a cellar

Photograph the rock from the causeway at dusk

Mooring tip

Anchor off Gefyra on sand at five to eight metres, sheltered from the north. When the breeze picks up, a slot inside Gefyra's small marina runs €30–40 and is worth booking ahead.

Gerakas
5
Day 5

Monemvasia → Gerakas

Gerakas is the sort of place you remember long after the charter. A narrow fjord bites into the Cape Maleas peninsula, and once you are inside, the swell and wind simply stop. This is the southernmost natural harbour on the Greek mainland, and its all-round shelter and firm sand make it one of the safest overnights on the route. The community is tiny: a few fishing boats, a couple of tavernas serving whatever came up that morning, and a single road climbing to the ancient ruins of Zarax on the cliff above. Swim in the still water of the inlet, then follow the olive-grove path along the ridge for the long view down the coast. There is little to do here in the organised sense, and that is exactly why we linger.

Things to do

Hike to the ancient Zarax ruins

Swim the calm inner inlet

Grilled octopus at a fishing taverna

Walk the olive-grove ridge path

Mooring tip

Anchor free on sand at five to seven metres with all-round shelter, or take the small village quay for €15–25 when a berth is open. Holding is excellent.

Leonidio
6
Day 6

Gerakas → Leonidio

Turn north now and start working back up the coast. Leonidio sits a few miles inland at the foot of a vast wall of red conglomerate rock that glows at the end of the day. The harbour is at Plaka, a small port among citrus orchards where you can lie stern-to on the quay or anchor in the bay outside. The town belongs to the Tsakonian region, which keeps its own ancient dialect and grows the prized Tsakoniki aubergine, deep purple and mild, that turns up in half the local dishes. Climbers know these cliffs well; in the cooler months Europeans come for the sport routes on the red rock. If you want a walk, the road up the gorge leads to Elona Monastery, clinging to the cliff face high above the valley.

Things to do

Drive up to Elona Monastery in the gorge

Taste the local Tsakoniki aubergine

Slow-cooked goat at a Plaka courtyard

Watch the red cliff glow at sunset

Mooring tip

Lie stern-to in Plaka harbour for €15–25 a night, sheltered from the north. If the quay is full, anchor in the bay outside on sand at five to seven metres.

Sampatiki
7
Day 7

Leonidio → Sampatiki

Sampatiki asks nothing of you, which is why it earns a lay day. A short sail north of Leonidio brings you to a quiet inlet with a Venetian watchtower standing guard on the headland and no proper road linking it to the main Peloponnese routes. The pebble cove holds well on sand in four to six metres with shelter from the north, and two small tavernas cover everything you need for lunch and dinner. Spend the morning snorkelling the rocks below the tower, then climb up to the ruins for the view over the bay. The afternoon is for the cockpit and the cicadas. Because there are no services here, do your provisioning back in Leonidio or before, and arrive with full water tanks.

Things to do

Snorkel the rocks under the watchtower

Climb to the Venetian tower ruins

Chickpea pitaroudia fritters at a beach taverna

Read on deck through the afternoon

Mooring tip

Anchor free on sand at four to six metres, sheltered from the north. There are no marina services, so arrive with full tanks and provisions already aboard.

Nafplio
8
Day 8

Sampatiki → Nafplio

Nafplio is the prettiest town on the route and knows it. This was the first capital of independent Greece, and the Venetian past shows in the fortress walls, the marble Old Town squares and the little Bourtzi castle sitting on its islet in the middle of the harbour. Boats moor stern-to in the small marina beneath the Palamidi, the great hilltop fortress reached, so the story goes, by nine hundred and ninety-nine steps. Climb them in the late afternoon when the heat has eased and the light turns gold over the gulf. Down in the Old Town, the pedestrian streets are made for a slow evening: worry-bead shops, marble stairways, and cafés serving the almond amygdalota that the town is known for. It is a good place to reprovision properly.

Things to do

Climb the 999 steps to Palamidi

Wander the marble Old Town squares

Buy komboloi worry beads

Almond amygdalota at a back-street café

Mooring tip

Stern-to in Nafplio marina costs €30–50 a night with shelter from the north. The town quay is not open to charter boats, so plan on the marina and reprovision while you are here.

Dhokos
9
Day 9

Nafplio → Dhokos

Dhokos is a bare island with a big secret on its seabed. Lying between the Argolic peninsula and Hydra, it has no village, no road and no shop, just goats, dry-stone walls and a single chapel. Divers know it as the resting place of the Dokos wreck, a cargo of Bronze Age pottery that went down around 2200 BC and counts as the oldest shipwreck ever found. The pottery sits at about fifteen metres, so only certified divers reach it, though snorkellers can float over the shallower ground nearby. We anchor in Skindos Bay on the north coast, on sand in five to seven metres, tucked in from the south. Bring everything with you, because there is nothing here but the island itself. Sunsets over an empty horizon are the whole evening's entertainment.

Things to do

Snorkel above the Bronze Age wreck site

Walk the island's dry-stone walls

Beachcomb the empty north shore

Deck picnic of feta and figs

Mooring tip

Anchor free in Skindos Bay on sand at five to seven metres, sheltered from the south. There are no services on Dhokos, so arrive fully provisioned with water and fuel.

Hydra
10
Day 10

Dhokos → Hydra

Hydra runs on donkey power. No cars, no scooters, no bicycles even; mules and porters haul everything up the stepped lanes to the grey-stone mansions the sea captains built with their fortunes. The harbour is a natural amphitheatre and one of the loveliest in Greece, which is why the stern-to slots go fast. Aim to be tied up by mid-afternoon, and if the quay is full, anchor off Mandraki Bay a mile east and tender in. Once ashore, the island is all walking. Swim off the flat rocks at Spilia below the old cannons, or stroll fifteen minutes west to the shingle at Vlychos. The energetic can climb to Profitis Ilias monastery for the view. Come sunset, the cliff-cut bar at Spilia is the spot everyone drifts toward.

Things to do

Walk the car-free stone lanes uphill

Swim off the rocks at Spilia

Stroll west to Vlychos shingle beach

Climb to Profitis Ilias monastery

Mooring tip

Hydra harbour is stern-to at €30–50 a night, and slots fill by mid-afternoon; arrive early or anchor in Mandraki Bay a mile east on sand at six to eight metres.

Palaia
11
Day 11

Hydra → Palaia Epidavros

Palaia Epidavros is a low-key mainland port with two archaeological draws, one wet and one dry. Just off the beach lies the Sunken City, the ruins of a Roman villa complex resting under two or three metres of clear water, close enough to the surface that a mask and snorkel show you the walls and jars quite clearly. We usually anchor there for the swim before moving to the town quay for the night. The bigger prize is inland: the fourth-century theatre of Epidaurus, whose acoustics are so precise that a coin dropped on the stage carries to the top row. It is a short taxi ride up, and worth the trip. Back at the harbour, look out for ladenia, the local tomato-and-onion flatbread, on the taverna menus.

Things to do

Snorkel the underwater Sunken City

Taxi to the ancient theatre of Epidaurus

Ladenia tomato flatbread at the quay

Paddleboard off the town beach at sunset

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Palaia Epidavros town quay runs €15–25 a night, sheltered from the north. Day-anchor over the Sunken City on sand at three to five metres before mooring.

Aegina
12
Day 12

Palaia Epidavros → Aegina

Aegina is pistachio country, and the roadside stalls near the harbour sell the local Fistiki Aeginis by the bagful, sweeter and greener than most. Rather than the busy main town, we drop down to Perdika on the south coast for the night, a small fishing harbour where family tavernas line the quay and caïques run across to the islet of Moni. The headline sight is the Temple of Aphaia, a Doric temple from the fifth century BC that stands almost complete on a pine-covered hill in the northeast, older than the Parthenon and one of the best-preserved in the country. It is a short taxi ride from Perdika. Round off the evening with a slice of pistachio baklava and a walk along the water as the fishing boats come in.

Things to do

Taxi to the Doric Temple of Aphaia

Eat at the Perdika quay tavernas

Buy Aegina pistachios from a stall

Pistachio baklava at a kafeneio

Mooring tip

Stern-to in Perdika harbour costs €20–30 a night in a calmer setting than the main town. Aegina town quay is the alternative if you want the bigger waterfront and its cafés.

Athens
13
Day 13

Aegina → Athens (Alimos)

The last full day is deliberately easy. Fifteen miles northeast takes you back toward Alimos, and there is time to break it with a final swim; the sandy shallows off Skala on Agistri, just west of Aegina, make a good last dip before the marina. Aim for a mid-afternoon arrival so the crew is not rushing the tidy-up. Refuel at the fuel berth by the entrance before you take your berth, and give the boat a proper clean while things are still relaxed. Confirm your handover slot with the base a day ahead so the morning runs smoothly. In the evening, the tavernas up in Glyfada are an easy walk or a short taxi from the marina, and the Faliro promenade is the place for a last souvenir stroll along the water.

Things to do

Last swim off Skala beach on Agistri

Refuel and clean the boat at Alimos

Crew dinner at a Glyfada taverna

Souvenir stroll on the Faliro promenade

Mooring tip

Alimos Marina is stern-to with lazy lines at €70–100 a night. Refuel at the entrance berth before mooring and confirm your handover slot with the base 24 hours ahead.

Athens
14
Day 14

Aegina → Athens (Check Out)

Checkout mornings move quickly, so keep the last night's packing tidy. The base wants the boat handed back before nine, and the inspection is done with the skipper aboard so anything found gets agreed on the spot. Photograph any mark or scrape the manager notes before you sign the paperwork, and the deposit is normally released within a week once everything checks out. If the service was good, the dock crew appreciate a tip. Athens airport is only about twenty-five minutes away by road, though Friday traffic can stretch that, so allow a full hour if you are flying out at the end of the week. With time to spare, the Glyfada promenade is a short walk for a last Greek coffee before the transfer.

Things to do

Walk-through inspection with the base manager

Photograph any noted damage before signing

Last Greek coffee on the Glyfada promenade

Tip the dock crew if deserved

Mooring tip

Hand back at Alimos before 09:00 for the inspection; the deposit is usually released within seven days. Take photos of any damage the base notes before signing off.

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