The Greek islands an hour from Athens
Most Greece guides cover everything and say nothing. This one goes archipelago by archipelago. First up: the Saronic Gulf, close enough to reach on a morning ferry from Piraeus in as little as 30 minutes, and different enough from each other to be worth choosing between.
The Saronic Gulf
Six islands in the gulf right next to Athens. Easy day trips, no airports, classic Greek summer in a couple of hours from Piraeus.
Aegina
Aegina (pronounced "EH-yee-na" in Greek, not "ay-JEE-na") is one of the islands Athenians travel to most, simply because it is so close. It is mainly famous for... its pistachios!
Agistri
The greenest island in the Saronic Gulf. 87% pine forest, turquoise beaches and just three small villages. The perfect escape from Athens for anyone avoiding mass tourism.
Hydra
No cars, no motorbikes: just donkeys and boats. Perfectly preserved neoclassical architecture and international artists.
Poros
Separated from the Peloponnese by a 200-metre channel. A clock tower with a view, pine woods down to the water, and a lemon forest on the far shore. The green escape of the Saronic.
Salamis
The largest island in the Saronic Gulf and the closest one to Athens. Famous for the Battle of Salamis (480 BC), where Themistocles defeated the Persian fleet. Today it is a weekend destination for Athenians.
Spetses
Elegant and cosmopolitan. Horses and carriages at the port, secret beaches and nineteenth-century shipowners' mansions.
Which one suits you
Same gulf, very different islands. Aegina is the cheap, everyday one with pistachio orchards and a temple. Hydra has no cars at all, only donkeys and boats. Agistri is the small pine-covered one people go to when Aegina feels busy.
The rest of Greece
66 more islands across six archipelagos are researched and written one at a time, in the same depth as the Saronic Gulf. The Cyclades are next. Nothing gets published here until it is worth reading.
Cyclades
Best Jun – Sep
Dodecanese
Best May – Oct
Ionian
Best May – Oct
Sporades
Best Jun – Sep
North Aegean
Best May – Oct
Crete
Best Apr – Oct