37.75° N · 23.43° E
A day trip from Athens by ferry: the Temple of Aphaia, St Nektarios, Palaiochora, the pistachio and the fish of Perdika. Boats, timetables and where to sleep.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Visit · 1 h 30 · A Doric temple of about 500–490 BC with 24 of its 32 columns standing, on a pine-covered hill 12 km from the harbour; €10
Visit · 2 h · Greece's great pilgrimage shrine and, on the hill opposite, the island's abandoned capital with its medieval chapels
Excursion · half a day · The fishing village in the south of Aegina and a short boat to the islet of Moni, with pine woods and clear-water coves
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
All year, because boats leave Piraeus daily. From April to June and in September and October you add swimming without the August crowds, when half of Athens comes at weekends. In winter, fewer boats and the boat to Moni doesn't run.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Aegina is done without a car: metro to Piraeus, a one-hour boat and Aegina town on foot. For the temple of Aphaia and Perdika there are taxis and local buses on the quay, or a hire motorbike if you are confident.
Aegina is the island closest to Athens: you fly direct from Spain to Athens and in a little over an hour by boat from Piraeus you are at Aegina harbour. It can be done as a day trip from the capital or with a night to see Perdika at sunset. If you come for the day, take the first boat.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Aegina is the first boat trip in Greece for many children: an hour of ferry, a temple on top of a pine-covered hill, pistachios everywhere and a short boat to an islet for swimming. Small distances and no rush.
With teenagers, Aegina gives a day with some adventure: climbing among the chapels of Palaiochora, a capital abandoned for fear of pirates, the temple of Aphaia and a swim at Moni.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A small hotel in a 1928 house with a pistachio-tree garden, above old Aegina, 700 m from the harbour and 150 m from the sea; rooms, maisonettes and bungalows.
Why we like it: A 14-room guesthouse on the Perdika shore, 20 m from the sea and a 5-minute walk from the harbour tavernas, with free sunbeds and contactless entry.
Why we like it: A hotel open all year on Aegina's coastal promenade, beside the Kolona temple of Apollo, a kilometre from the centre, on the sea.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the grilled fish of the day, octopus and a salad with island pistachios
Takeaway and markets
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
You gain the cool morning for Aphaia.
The hydrofoil bounces a lot in a swell.
In summer the afternoon boats fill up.
Even if you are coming for the temple, Perdika and Moni are tempting.
Aegina is the island closest to Athens: an hour and ten minutes by ferry from Piraeus, or less on the fast boats. That makes it the easiest boat excursion from the capital. It has one of the best-preserved Greek temples, that of Aphaia, among pine trees; a large pilgrimage monastery; an abandoned medieval capital with dozens of chapels; pistachios everywhere and a fishing village, Perdika, for eating fish looking out at the sea.
By boat from Piraeus. From central Athens you get to the port on metro line 1, the green one; from the airport, on the X96 express bus.
There are departures every day of the year. In summer and at weekends, buy your ticket online in advance.
The order that works best: the first boat, the Temple of Aphaia in the morning, on the east of the island, about 12 km from the port; on the way back, the monastery of St Nektarios and the chapels of Palaiochora; lunch at the port or in Perdika, and before the boat back, a walk to Kolona, the column of the Temple of Apollo, and a pistachio sweet on the promenade.
If it is summer and you prefer the sea, swap the afternoon for Perdika and the boat to Moni, the pine-covered islet with transparent water. You have the full plan in the day trip to Aegina from Athens.
Without your own car, by taxi, which waits on the quay, or on the local buses that leave next to the port: the Agia Marina one goes past the Temple of Aphaia. Confirm the timetables at the stop. If you are comfortable on a motorbike, hiring one at the port gives you freedom; with children, a taxi is better. If you are going to sleep several nights or want to tour the whole island, the ferry carries cars.
The ferry, from €12 each way. The Temple of Aphaia, €10 (reduced, €5), free for EU citizens under 25 and on the first and third Sunday of each month from November to March. A taxi to Aphaia and a fish lunch push up the bill: allow about €60 to €90 per person for everything.
In Aegina town, the Rastoni, a house from 1928 with a pistachio garden 700 m from the port, and the Hotel Danae, over the sea next to Kolona, open all year. In the south, Perdika Mare, 14 rooms 20 metres from the water, five minutes' walk from the harbour of tavernas.
In Perdika, the fish taverna Antonis, with tables by the harbour. In town, the pastry shop Aiakeion, open since 1958, for the sweets and the pistachio creams.
Both can be done in a day from Piraeus. Aegina is closer, cheaper and has the Temple of Aphaia and the life of an ordinary island, with cars and villages. Hydra, one or two hours away by fast boat, has no cars: it is a stone harbour and captains' houses where you get around on foot or by donkey, more elegant and more expensive. If you only have one day, Aegina; if you have one night, Hydra.
Questions
1 h 10 on the Saronic Ferries ferry from Piraeus; less by hydrofoil. From central Athens to Piraeus, about 20 minutes by metro.
From €12 each way for the passenger fare and €29 for the car.
Yes: with the morning boat you see Aphaia, St Nektarios and the port, and come back in the afternoon.
By taxi, about 17 minutes, or on the local Agia Marina bus, which goes past the temple.
Yes. From Perdika boats leave for Moni, with very clear water, and there are coves all along the coast.
The name given to three temples around the Saronic Gulf, the Parthenon, the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion and the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina, which form a triangle on the map.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/aegina
