# Getaway to Hydra from Athens: One Night on the Car-Free Island

A fast boat from Piraeus, a night in a captain's house, a swim off the rocks, dinner at sunset and the island at peace once the excursion boats leave.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/itineraries/one-night-car-free-from-athens · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Hydra

Hydra in a day is fine; with one night it is something else. When the last excursion boats leave at six in the evening, the harbour empties, the donkeys rest and the island goes back to being what it is: a captains' village where you do not hear an engine. This getaway makes the most of the sunset, dinner and the first hour of the morning.

## How do you get there from Athens?

By metro to Piraeus and a Hellenic Seaways fast boat, normally from gate E8: between 1 h 05 and 1 h 45. From the airport, the X96 bus goes direct to Piraeus. There is no car ferry that makes sense: on Hydra you do not drive.

## Where to sleep?

AccommodationAreaWho it suits

Cotommatae 1810200 m from the harbourA captain's house with courtyards

OrloffMiaouli StreetFour stars and breakfast in the garden

BratseraCentreA pool in the courtyard, useful in summer

Hydra HotelUp highThe view over the harbour

## And with another night?

Stay on and spend the day on the southern coves by water taxi, or return via Aegina: from Piraeus, another island an hour away, with the Temple of Aphaia. You have the Aegina page with everything.

## El plan

### Saturday · 08:00 · Boat from Piraeus
Flying Cat or Flying Dolphin; arrival mid-morning.

### Saturday · 10:00 · The harbour and the captains' houses
Leave your bag (a donkey carries it up) and climb the steps.

### Saturday · 13:00 · Lunch at the Bratsera
À la carte by the pool of the former sponge factory.

### Saturday · 16:00 · Swim at Spilia or a water taxi to a cove
Rocks below the cannons or a boat to Vlychos.

### Saturday · 19:30 · Dinner at Téchnē
Modern Greek cooking at Avlaki, with the sun going down; it opens from 17:00 in season.

### Sunday · 07:30 · Climb to Profitis Ilias
In the cool: an hour and a half up and the island at your feet.

### Sunday · 12:00 · Historical museum
Figureheads and the 1821 fleet.

### Sunday · 13:30 · Walk to Kamini and lunch in the little harbour
The coastal path westwards; back by water taxi.

### Sunday · 17:00 · Boat back
In Athens around 19:30.

## Dónde dormir without a car
- **Bratsera Hotel**: A sponge factory turned hotel
Nikolaos Verveniotis founded a sponge factory here in 1860, when Hydra's fishermen went out in fleets to look for them. The building was restored respecting its architecture and today is a boutique hotel. Its name, bratsera, was that of the mother ship of the sponge-fishing fleets.
The rooms
Whitewashed stone walls, wooden beams, plank floors and windows onto courtyards: superior double rooms and junior suites, sober and of good size. At the centre, a courtyard with a pool and the open-air restaurant.
Who it is for
For one or two nights in Hydra with a pool, something scarce in the town, a few minutes' walk from the harbour. Tell them your boat: a donkey can carry the suitcase.
- **Orloff Boutique Hotel**: A Hydra house with forty years as a hotel
The Orloff occupies a traditional Hydra house on Miaouli Street, which climbs from the harbour, renovated as a four-star boutique hotel and updated every year, according to the house. Breakfast is served in the garden courtyard. 100 metres away, the Orloff Legacy Suites occupy a restored 19th-century mansion, with independent suites around a traditional courtyard.
Who it is for
For couples looking for an elegant, quiet Hydra, a few minutes from the harbour. It is a place for weddings and honeymoons. Online bookings accept children aged 12 to 18.
- **Hydra Hotel**: Up high, with the whole harbour in view
The Hydra Hotel is a renovated mansion on the slope, among pedestrian stairways, about 7 minutes' walk from the harbour. Being high up it has what is most prized in Hydra: a view over the cascade of rooftops and the gulf. It is officially category A, traditional apartments, renovated in 2008, and open from 1 April to 10 October.
How it works
Check-in at 14:00 and check-out at 12:00. Breakfast is served from 9:00 to 12:00 in your room or on the patio, with homemade products. Free wifi, room service at no charge, massages and laundry at a supplement. Mattresses of natural materials. Pets are not allowed. The nearest beach is 200 metres away.
Keep in mind
The climb from the harbour is stairs: with a suitcase, ask the hotel for the donkey. From the rooms with a panoramic view you see the whole town.
- **Cotommatae 1810**: Sleeping in a captain's house
Cotommatae is the Cotommatis-Skoulis mansion, a Hydra house of 1810 about 200 metres from the harbour, lovingly restored by the family's descendants to preserve its history. It is on a quiet street, enclosed by its stone walls, with courtyards, a garden and a veranda with a view.
The rooms
Each has its own name and character: the Wine Cellar, the Icons, the Therino, the Sponges, the Dovecote, the Master Bedroom or the Vault of the Muses. Period furniture and wooden floors. The same group also has a separate residence.
Who it is for
For anyone who comes to Hydra to feel the island of the shipowners, a step from the harbour, without noise.

## Dónde dormir in style
- **Bratsera Hotel**: A sponge factory turned hotel
Nikolaos Verveniotis founded a sponge factory here in 1860, when Hydra's fishermen went out in fleets to look for them. The building was restored respecting its architecture and today is a boutique hotel. Its name, bratsera, was that of the mother ship of the sponge-fishing fleets.
The rooms
Whitewashed stone walls, wooden beams, plank floors and windows onto courtyards: superior double rooms and junior suites, sober and of good size. At the centre, a courtyard with a pool and the open-air restaurant.
Who it is for
For one or two nights in Hydra with a pool, something scarce in the town, a few minutes' walk from the harbour. Tell them your boat: a donkey can carry the suitcase.
- **Orloff Boutique Hotel**: A Hydra house with forty years as a hotel
The Orloff occupies a traditional Hydra house on Miaouli Street, which climbs from the harbour, renovated as a four-star boutique hotel and updated every year, according to the house. Breakfast is served in the garden courtyard. 100 metres away, the Orloff Legacy Suites occupy a restored 19th-century mansion, with independent suites around a traditional courtyard.
Who it is for
For couples looking for an elegant, quiet Hydra, a few minutes from the harbour. It is a place for weddings and honeymoons. Online bookings accept children aged 12 to 18.
- **Hydra Hotel**: Up high, with the whole harbour in view
The Hydra Hotel is a renovated mansion on the slope, among pedestrian stairways, about 7 minutes' walk from the harbour. Being high up it has what is most prized in Hydra: a view over the cascade of rooftops and the gulf. It is officially category A, traditional apartments, renovated in 2008, and open from 1 April to 10 October.
How it works
Check-in at 14:00 and check-out at 12:00. Breakfast is served from 9:00 to 12:00 in your room or on the patio, with homemade products. Free wifi, room service at no charge, massages and laundry at a supplement. Mattresses of natural materials. Pets are not allowed. The nearest beach is 200 metres away.
Keep in mind
The climb from the harbour is stairs: with a suitcase, ask the hotel for the donkey. From the rooms with a panoramic view you see the whole town.
- **Cotommatae 1810**: Sleeping in a captain's house
Cotommatae is the Cotommatis-Skoulis mansion, a Hydra house of 1810 about 200 metres from the harbour, lovingly restored by the family's descendants to preserve its history. It is on a quiet street, enclosed by its stone walls, with courtyards, a garden and a veranda with a view.
The rooms
Each has its own name and character: the Wine Cellar, the Icons, the Therino, the Sponges, the Dovecote, the Master Bedroom or the Vault of the Muses. Period furniture and wooden floors. The same group also has a separate residence.
Who it is for
For anyone who comes to Hydra to feel the island of the shipowners, a step from the harbour, without noise.

## Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Bratsera Hotel**: A sponge factory turned hotel
Nikolaos Verveniotis founded a sponge factory here in 1860, when Hydra's fishermen went out in fleets to look for them. The building was restored respecting its architecture and today is a boutique hotel. Its name, bratsera, was that of the mother ship of the sponge-fishing fleets.
The rooms
Whitewashed stone walls, wooden beams, plank floors and windows onto courtyards: superior double rooms and junior suites, sober and of good size. At the centre, a courtyard with a pool and the open-air restaurant.
Who it is for
For one or two nights in Hydra with a pool, something scarce in the town, a few minutes' walk from the harbour. Tell them your boat: a donkey can carry the suitcase.
- **Orloff Boutique Hotel**: A Hydra house with forty years as a hotel
The Orloff occupies a traditional Hydra house on Miaouli Street, which climbs from the harbour, renovated as a four-star boutique hotel and updated every year, according to the house. Breakfast is served in the garden courtyard. 100 metres away, the Orloff Legacy Suites occupy a restored 19th-century mansion, with independent suites around a traditional courtyard.
Who it is for
For couples looking for an elegant, quiet Hydra, a few minutes from the harbour. It is a place for weddings and honeymoons. Online bookings accept children aged 12 to 18.
- **Hydra Hotel**: Up high, with the whole harbour in view
The Hydra Hotel is a renovated mansion on the slope, among pedestrian stairways, about 7 minutes' walk from the harbour. Being high up it has what is most prized in Hydra: a view over the cascade of rooftops and the gulf. It is officially category A, traditional apartments, renovated in 2008, and open from 1 April to 10 October.
How it works
Check-in at 14:00 and check-out at 12:00. Breakfast is served from 9:00 to 12:00 in your room or on the patio, with homemade products. Free wifi, room service at no charge, massages and laundry at a supplement. Mattresses of natural materials. Pets are not allowed. The nearest beach is 200 metres away.
Keep in mind
The climb from the harbour is stairs: with a suitcase, ask the hotel for the donkey. From the rooms with a panoramic view you see the whole town.
- **Cotommatae 1810**: Sleeping in a captain's house
Cotommatae is the Cotommatis-Skoulis mansion, a Hydra house of 1810 about 200 metres from the harbour, lovingly restored by the family's descendants to preserve its history. It is on a quiet street, enclosed by its stone walls, with courtyards, a garden and a veranda with a view.
The rooms
Each has its own name and character: the Wine Cellar, the Icons, the Therino, the Sponges, the Dovecote, the Master Bedroom or the Vault of the Muses. Period furniture and wooden floors. The same group also has a separate residence.
Who it is for
For anyone who comes to Hydra to feel the island of the shipowners, a step from the harbour, without noise.