athens-saronic-gulf
Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Cyclades

Athens via Saronic gulf & Poros.

Round-trip yacht charter from Athens through the Saronic: Aegina, Poros, Ermioni, Methana, Palaia Epidavros and Agistri, temples and calm sailing.

The route

Day-by-day route

Click any pin on the map or any day in the route summary below to see that day's stop, story and photos.

Aegina
Day 1

Athens (Alimos) → Aegina

A gentle 15-mile shakedown southwest to Aegina, where a hilltop temple, pistachio stalls and a working fishing quay set the tone for the week.

Distance

16 NM

Sailing

~3.2h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

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

Duration

7 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 / 7
Aegina
1
Day 1

Athens (Alimos) → Aegina

An easy first leg. Fifteen miles down from Alimos gives the crew time to find where everything lives on the boat before the real cruising starts, and the Saronic seldom throws more than 15 to 18 knots at you in July. Aegina's town quay sits on the west side, so you tie stern-to with the afternoon sun on your back; reckon on 25 to 40 euros. The Temple of Aphaia is the reason most people come. It stands on a pine ridge in the northeast, older than the Parthenon, and a short taxi gets you there before the light goes flat. Back at the harbour, buy a bag of the local pistachios from the stalls and try the revithokeftedes, fried chickpea patties the island does well. If the quay feels busy, Perdika down south is calmer.

Things to do

Taxi up to the Temple of Aphaia

Buy Aegina PDO pistachios at the quay stalls

Swim off Marathonas Beach south of town

Order revithokeftedes at a harbour taverna

Dinner among the fish tavernas at Perdika

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Aegina's town quay runs 25 to 40 euros and shelters well from the north, though the wash from ferries and hydrofoils rocks the outer berths until late evening. For a quiet night, drop the hook off Perdika instead.

Poros
2
Day 2

Aegina → Poros

Another short passage, which leaves the morning free. We usually anchor at Love Bay on the south coast first, drop the hook onto sand in five to seven metres, and swim before the day-boats arrive from town. Poros itself sits behind a narrow strait, so the water along the quay stays flat whatever the wind does outside. Tie stern-to below the white clock tower and walk the front in the evening when the tavernas fire up their saganaki. Two things are worth the effort ashore: the scattered ruins of the Temple of Poseidon on the ridge above town, and the lemon groves at Galatas across the channel, a green wall of trees you can loop through on foot or by bike. Berthing runs 25 to 40 euros.

Things to do

Anchor and swim in Love Bay

Climb to the Temple of Poseidon ruins

Loop the Lemonodasos lemon groves at Galatas

Watch flaming saganaki on the waterfront

Evening walk up to the clock tower

Mooring tip

The town quay wraps the whole waterfront and holds well in any wind thanks to the strait, but grab a spot by early afternoon in high season because it fills fast. Love Bay is day-anchoring only, sand at five to seven metres.

Ermioni
3
Day 3

Poros → Ermioni

Ermioni is where the trip slows down. It is a real fishing town rather than a resort, built along a spit of land with water on both sides, so you can pick your harbour by the wind. The north bay is smaller and better for anchoring on sand in four to six metres; the town quay on the south side is longer and costs next to nothing, around 15 to 25 euros. Break the passage at Bisti Beach, three miles short of the port, where a pine wood runs down almost to the shingle. Above the village, a half-hour walk brings you to the old Temple of Demeter and a long view back over the gulf. Down on the quay in the evening you will see octopus hung out to dry and stifado on most menus.

Things to do

Walk up to the Temple of Demeter

Anchor and swim at Bisti Beach

Stroll the pine-covered Bisti headland

Try stifado at a courtyard taverna

Watch octopus drying on the fish quay

Mooring tip

Take the south-side town quay stern-to for 15 to 25 euros; it is well protected from the north. If you prefer swinging room, anchor in the north bay on sand at four to six metres and dinghy across to the tavernas.

Methana
4
Day 4

Ermioni → Methana

Methana is the oddest stop on the loop, in the best way. The whole peninsula is an old volcanic field, and warm sulphur water seeps straight into the port, so pick a berth on the far side of the basin and the smell stays behind you. Stern-to costs around 20 to 30 euros. Late afternoon is the time to walk up to Kameni Chora and out onto the black lava flow, an hour each way over ground that looks nothing like the rest of Greece. Come back down for a soak in the thermal spring by the water, then eat grilled fish on the quay with a cold local rose. If you want a swim first, Vathy Bay just north of the port has clean water and room to anchor.

Things to do

Soak in the harbour-side thermal springs

Hike to Kameni Chora and the lava flow

Swim and anchor at Vathy Bay

Grilled fish and local rose on the quay

Mooring tip

Moor stern-to for 20 to 30 euros on the north-sheltered quay, and choose a berth away from the spring outflow at the head of the harbour, where the sulphur is strongest. Nothing here needs booking.

Palaia
5
Day 5

Methana → Palaia Epidavros

The shortest leg of the week, eight miles up the coast, so there is no rush to leave. On the way in, anchor over the Sunken City off the north cove, where a Roman harbour lies under two or three metres of water and snorkels up clearly on a calm morning. The town quay is small and cheap, 15 to 25 euros, and the village keeps a slow, unpolished feel. The headline is inland: the great theatre of Epidavros, one of the finest antiquities in Greece, sits about four kilometres up the valley and takes a short taxi. If you would rather stay by the boat, the little ancient theatre right in the village sometimes hosts summer concerts. Ladenia, a Greek tomato flatbread, makes a good lunch on the front.

Things to do

Snorkel the Sunken City Roman ruins

Taxi to the great theatre of Epidavros

Catch a concert at the little ancient theatre

Lunch on ladenia tomato flatbread

Paddleboard off the quay at sunset

Mooring tip

Stern-to on the town quay is cheap at 15 to 25 euros and sheltered from the north. Anchor over the Sunken City only as a day stop, on sand at three to five metres, and move into the harbour before the afternoon breeze fills in.

Agistri
6
Day 6

Palaia Epidavros → Agistri

Agistri is tiny, green and largely overlooked, which is exactly why it is worth a night. The crossing back east runs about fifteen miles, with Aegina passing to port near the end. Aim for Skala on the east coast, where the harbour is simple and the tavernas are run by the same families year after year; the local move is lobster spaghetti. Berthing sits around 20 to 30 euros. Before you tie up, stop at Halikiada on the south coast, a pebble cove under a cliff reached only from the water, and anchor on sand in four to six metres for a swim. With time to spare, kayak round to the Dragonera sea caves or borrow bikes and ride the shaded loop through the island's cypress and pine.

Things to do

Anchor and swim at Halikiada cove

Kayak to the Dragonera sea caves

Cycle the shaded cypress-and-pine loop

Lobster spaghetti at a Skala family taverna

Beach afternoon under the pines at Dragonera

Mooring tip

Skala harbour takes you stern-to for 20 to 30 euros with good shelter from the north. Halikiada has no road access, so treat it as a day anchorage on sand at four to six metres and leave before the evening wind.

Athens
7
Day 7

Agistri → Athens (Alimos)

The run home is the longest of the week at twenty miles, but the Saronic usually stays kind and you will have the wind behind you on a northeasterly heading. Break it with one more swim off Moni, the little uninhabited islet just south of Aegina, where the water drops away clear and there is rarely anyone about. Most charter bases want the boat back around two in the afternoon, so leave Agistri by mid-morning and top up the tanks at the Alimos fuel berth before you slot into the marina. Once she is tied up and rinsed, the evening is yours: the tavernas up in Glyfada are a short hop from the base, and the Faliro promenade is the place for a last coffee and a souvenir before flights.

Things to do

Last swim off uninhabited Moni islet

Refuel at the Alimos fuel berth

Crew dinner at a Glyfada taverna

Coffee and souvenirs on Faliro promenade

Mooring tip

Alimos is a lazy-line marina at 70 to 100 euros, so come in bows-out to your allocated berth and pick up the lazy line rather than dropping an anchor. Refuel at the entrance berth first, and confirm your handover slot 24 hours ahead so a place is kept for you.

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