# Hydra harbour and the captains' houses

What to do en Hydra · Hydra

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/things-to-do/harbour-and-captains-houses · Revisado: 2026-11-12

- Duración: 2 h
- Temporada: All year
- Para quién: All ages; many stairs

Walk · 2 h · The amphitheatre-shaped harbour, with no cars, with the stone mansions of the shipowners, the cannons and the donkeys carrying luggage up

Hydra is an island without cars: in the harbour there are no wheels other than those of the rubbish carts. The town climbs in an amphitheatre around the quay, with white houses and, at both ends, the great grey stone mansions that shipowners built in the 18th and 19th centuries, when Hydra's fleet was among the richest in the Aegean and placed its ships at the service of the 1821 War of Independence.
The walk
Start on the quay, with the shops, cafés and the line of donkeys and mules waiting to carry luggage and shopping up. Climb any of the cobbled streets leaving behind it: they are stairways, well whitewashed, between garden walls with bougainvillea. Look for the mansions of the great families, such as Kountouriotis, on the west slope, and return to the harbour along the cannon promenade, which still point to the sea from the batteries at the entrance.
The donkeys
They are the island's transport. When you get off the boat you will see the muleteers on the quay: they carry suitcases to your hotel for an agreed price. Many hotels arrange it if you tell them when you arrive.

## Cómo llegar y contacto

- Coordenadas: 37.3508, 23.4667

## Cerca de aquí

- [Hydra Historical Archive and Museum](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/things-to-do/hydra-historical-museum), a 144 m
- [Cotommatae 1810](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/where-to-stay/cotommatae-1810), a 194 m
- [Bratsera Hotel](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/where-to-stay/bratsera), a 217 m
- [Bratsera restaurant](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/where-to-eat/bratsera-restaurant), a 217 m
- [Hydra Hotel](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/where-to-stay/hydra-hotel), a 227 m
- [Orloff Boutique Hotel](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/where-to-stay/orloff), a 311 m
- [Swimming from the Spilia rocks and a water taxi to the coves](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/things-to-do/spilia-swim-and-water-taxi), a 351 m
- [Téchnē Restaurant & Social](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra/where-to-eat/techne), a 503 m

## Consejos

### Flat shoes
The polished stone stairs are slippery, especially going down.

### Tell the hotel your boat
They wait for you with a donkey for the suitcase.

Destino: [Hydra](https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/hydra.md)