Mandraki
A 25 minute walk east of the port. This is where the historic shipyards stood that turned Hydra into a maritime power in the 18th century. Today it holds the island's only sandy beach.
Mandraki is the bay east of Hydra’s main port and it has a double identity: on one hand it was the island’s naval industrial heart in the 18th century, where the great merchant ships that carried grain from the Black Sea to western Europe were built and repaired; on the other, today it houses the Mandraki Beach Resort, the island’s only resort hotel with its own sandy beach. The paradox is typical of Hydra: what was once a shipyard with dozens of carpenters, blacksmiths, caulkers and sailmakers is now a quiet holiday complex where people read novels on teak loungers.
Getting there is pleasant. You leave the port heading east (the opposite side to Kaminia) and follow the coastal path for about 2.5 kilometres. The route is practically flat, tarmacked on the first stretch and then stone paved. It hugs the sea the whole way, with sections of pine and olive trees planted on old terraces. It takes between 25 and 35 minutes on foot depending on your pace, and halfway along you will see the traditional shipyards that are still working: the caiques (wooden fishing boats) of the local fishermen are still repaired here with techniques that have barely changed in two hundred years. If you arrive in the heat, or you are with children, the quick alternative is the water taxi from the main port: it takes 5 minutes and costs around 8 euros per person in a group. There is also a resort shuttle boat every 30 minutes in summer.
What you will find at Mandraki is quite unlike the rest of Hydra. The beach (see its own entry) is the only sandy one on the island, with all the usual resort services: sunbeds, umbrellas, a restaurant at the water’s edge, changing rooms, showers, paddleboard hire, snorkelling and jet skis (the only engines allowed on Hydra, paradoxically, are the marine ones). Next to the beach are the facilities of the Mandraki Beach Resort, a four star hotel with rooms spread across low buildings surrounded by gardens. Guests get priority on the sunbeds; outside visitors pay a minimum spend (around 20 to 25 € per person, normally recoverable in drinks and food at the beach bar).
Who is Mandraki for? Three very clear profiles: families with children who need sand, organised shade and a safe swim without having to scramble over rocks; couples who want a relaxed day of loungers and food without moving; and travellers arriving by yacht who use the anchorage for a quiet afternoon. If what you are after is authentic Hydra, unspoilt coves and family tavernas, Mandraki will strike you as somewhat touristy and expensive. But if you are with children, or you simply want to spend a day without thinking about anything, it is the most comfortable option on the whole island.
There is another reason to come, more to do with heritage: on the hillside behind the resort, half hidden in the scrub, the base of an old windmill and traces of the naval warehouses survive. They are not signposted and cannot formally be visited, but if you walk a hundred metres or so inland you will see the stone walls. Some older Hydriots say their grandfathers worked here when ships were still being launched. It is a detail that gives the place context and reminds you, while you order a mojito on your lounger, that you are sitting on what was once a noisy shipyard full of trades that have since disappeared.