Athens and which island?

[Chocbuttonsandredwine]

Thinking of doing twin centre holiday… 3/4 nights in Athens then catch a ferry to somewhere chilled, beach/small town… ideally not too far away.

can anyone recommend?

Oh, I'd like to know this as well.

You could try Aegina. I've only been there on a boat trip but it looked good.

Thanks will take a look

Naxos is lovely. We did that by ferry from Athens once.

Not an island but Nauplia is gorgeous.

Poros is gorgeous and fits the bill

Ive been to poros and aegina. I cannot remember which one we went to Athens from though. But both lovely.

I did Athens, Peloponnesos and Aegina over two weeks, albeit decades ago.

Stayed in Aghia Marina while on Aegina, with excursions to Aegina town by bus, and the Temple of Aphaea which is walkable from Aghia Marina.

From Aegina you could also easily do a day's boat trip to Poros and Hydra (I assume these trips still run).

I really fancy, almost to the point of obsession, of having a few days on Idra, aka Hydra. No wheeled vehicles on the island, and the island Leonard Cohen based himself on for several years in the 60s.

Can I snoop on this thread? It's a combination we're also interested in. Well travelled but Greece is a blind spot we want to fix - preferably via the train (mad I know!)

When I was a teenager we had a family holiday on Hydra but that was over 40 years ago!

Get a flying dolphin over to Aegina.

Aegina is where the Athenians go for weekends in the summer!

Or you could stay on mainland Greece as there are some lovely places!

Agree that mainland is well worth it too, OP. Try Nafplio - gorgeous beaches and lovely town, though it definitely is a well-oiled money removal machine for (usually Greek) tourists.

I did this in October. Easy and fantastic trip. Athens then metro to Piraeus. Ferry to Idra ( hydra). Magical. No traffic. Fab bustling harbour. Views from hilltops to die for. Then ferry to Poros.

Many years ago we got the ferry from Pireaus to Epidauras via Aegina and Agistri. Agistri looked like a beautiful island to visit. Very small and quiet.

Another vote for Aegina, went in 2019, a fantastic holiday. Absolutely beautiful and I plan to go back, but combining Athens too...

I spent 2 weeks in Aegina in 1990 and have always wanted to return.

I would definitely say spend a few days there and do a trip to Poros and Hydra. My friend did the trip last summer from Athens and absolutely fell in love with Hydra.

Hydra hydra hydra hydra :)

just two hrs on ferry and heaven on earth

That's exactly what we did, down to travelling in October ! We spent 1 night on hydra and 6 in the city

Mumdiva
I've stayed on Angistri, thinking Aegina might be a bit too touristy. IMO it was a bit TOO small though- not a lot to see. And in fact I went on a day trip to Aegina, and it was more interesting and less touristy than I thought it would be (it was Easter though, it might be rammed in the summer).

Agistri! It’s the next stop from Aegina, but small, peaceful, you can moped around the island in half a day! So relaxed, great food and only an hour ferry from Piraeus.

Despite being fairly well travelled, we've not been to Greece so intending to go this year but no idea where so this thread is perfect timing.

Any more info is welcome plus have you all booked the various components yourselves or via an agent & if the latter, who is good for this?

@Floralovesflowers i just booked everything separately. EJ flights, air bnb in the city, guest house on hydra direct and ferry tickets on Blue Star Ferries website
we went in 2019 abd I know tourism has boomed massively since then so I'm glad we went then as Athens is now on the top 5 overtouristed cities - but it's easy to see why as it's glorious

We're planning to do Athen and an Island in Oct half term - I've been keeping an eye on this thread and this is exactly the sort of suggestion I'd been hoping for. Thank you.