Athens, then an island with no cars
Three museum-and-neighbourhood nights in Athens, a sunset detour to Sounion, then two islands where the loudest sound is a mule's hooves on stone. Everything routes back through Piraeus in under two hours.
- Length
- 6 days · 6 nights
- Months
- April – June, September – October
- Stops
- 4
The route on a map
1 · 3 nights
Athens (Koukaki)
A walkable base under the Acropolis, close to the museum and the Petralona kitchens.
2 · A day here
Cape Sounion
The Temple of Poseidon on its headland, visited as a late-afternoon detour before doubling back to the city.
3 · 2 nights
Hydra
No cars or scooters on the island; a stone harbour of eighteenth-century merchant mansions reached by hydrofoil.
4 · 1 night
Spetses
A pine-backed harbour town and a short hop from Hydra by local boat.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival, Plaka on foot
Sleep · Athens
Land at Athens, settle in Koukaki, and walk up through Plaka to the Acropolis slopes for the evening light.
Day 2
The Acropolis early
Sleep · Athens
First entry with a licensed archaeologist, then the Acropolis Museum, then lunch in Petralona once the coach groups have moved on.
Day 3
Sounion, then the ferry
Sleep · Hydra
Morning at the National Archaeological Museum, an afternoon drive to Cape Sounion, then back to Piraeus for the evening hydrofoil to Hydra.
Day 4
Hydra on foot and by boat
Sleep · Hydra
A walk up to the Profitis Ilias monastery in the cool morning, then a caïque to Bisti or Vlychos in the afternoon.
Day 5
Across to Spetses
Sleep · Spetses
A short local boat from Hydra to Spetses; a walk around the Dapia and the Old Harbour, and dinner facing the water.
Day 6
Return to Athens
Departure
Morning hydrofoil back to Piraeus and onward to the airport; a departure day rather than a night slept.