The islands of the Saronic Gulf are so close to Athens that each summer Athenians flee there for some relief from the heat and the crowds in Athens. If the summer of 2007 -- the hottest in at least 90 years -- really is a sign of the future, more and more Athenians will head for the Saronic Gulf islands each year. In addition, these islands are popular destinations for European and American travelers with limited time who are determined not to go home without seeing at least one Greek island. You can make a day trip to any of these islands, and some day cruises out of Piraeus rush you on and off three islands! Usually, that involves quick stops at Hydra, Poros, and Spetses before you're deposited back on the mainland. If you plan to spend the night on any of these islands in summer, book well in advance. The website www.saronicnet.com is a useful resource for all the islands.
The easiest island to visit is Aegina, a mere 30km (17 nautical miles) from Piraeus. The main attractions -- in addition to the ease of the journey -- are the graceful Doric Temple of Aphaia, one of the best-preserved Greek temples; several good beaches; and verdant pine and pistachio groves. That's the good news. The bad news is that Aegina is so close to the metropolitan sprawl of Athens and Piraeus that it's not easy here to get a clear idea of why the Greek islands are so beloved as refuges from urban life. Aegina has become a bedroom suburb for Athens, with many of its 10,000 inhabitants commuting to work by boat. That said, Aegina town still has its pleasures; and both the Temple of Aphaia and deserted medieval town of Paleohora are terrific.
Poros is hardly an island at all; only a narrow (370m/1,214-ft.) inlet separates it from the Peloponnese. There are several decent beaches, and the landscape is wooded, gentle, and rolling, like the landscape of the adjacent mainland. Alas, Poros's pine groves were damaged by the summer fires that swept through Greece in 2007. Poros is popular with tour groups as well as young Athenians (in part because the Naval Cadets' Training School here means that there are lots of young men eager to party). On summer nights, the waterfront is either very lively or hideously crowded, depending on your point of view.
Hydra (Idra), with its bare hills, superb natural harbor, and elegant stone mansions, is the most strikingly beautiful of the Saronic Gulf islands. One of the first Greek islands to be "discovered" by artists, writers, and bon vivants in the [?]50s, Hydra, like Mykonos, is not the place to experience traditional village life. The island has been declared a national monument from which cars have been banished. Its relative quiet is increasingly being infiltrated by motorcycles. A major drawback: Few of the beaches are very good for swimming, although you can swim from the rocks in and just out of Hydra town. Spetses has always been popular with wealthy Athenians, who built -- and continue to build -- handsome villas here. If you like wooded islands, you'll love Spetses, although summer forest fires over the last few years have destroyed some of Spetses's pine groves. This gentle, forested island is very unlike the images of most Greek islands shown on countless tourist posters that depict the Cycladic isles with their bare, austere landscapes and simple whitewashed houses. The island has some good beaches; alas, several of the best have been taken over by large hotels.
If possible, avoid June through August unless you have a hotel reservation and think that you'd enjoy the hustle and bustle of high season. Also, mid-July through August, boats leaving Piraeus for the islands are heavily booked -- often overbooked. It is sometimes possible to get a deck passage without a reservation, but even that can be difficult when as many as 100,000 Athenians leave Piraeus on a summer weekend. Most ships will not allow passengers to board without a ticket.
Something to keep in mind: Some hydrofoils leave from the Piraeus Main Harbor while others leave from the Piraeus Marina Zea Harbor -- and some leave from both harbors!
If you go to one of these islands on a day trip, remember that, unlike the more sturdy ferryboats, hydrofoils cannot travel when the sea is rough. You may find yourself an unwilling overnight island visitor, grateful to be given the still-warm bed in a private home surrendered by a family member to make some money. I speak from experience. Greek Island Hopping, published annually by Thomas Cook, is, by its own admission, out of date by the time it sees print. That said, it's a very useful volume for finding out where (if not when) you can travel among the Greek islands.
Easy Cruising -- In 2007, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the endlessly energetic Greek founder of easyJet and a myriad other easy-companies, added Greece to his easyCruise options. For detailed itineraries and prices, check out www.easycruise.com.
