Once, I decided to head uphill from my hotel, and my small detour became a delightful little odyssey. While I had no intention of anything more than a lazy stroll, one inviting lane after another drew me up, up, up to the top of the town. Here, shabby homes enjoyed grand views, tired burros ambled along untethered, and island life trudged on, oblivious to tourism. Although Hydra's beaches are nothing to get excited about, there's no shortage of places to swim. The one swimming spot right in Hydra town has steps that lead down from the sidewalk to a series of small concrete platforms with ladders into the sea.
And a few decent beaches lie within a pleasant, easy walk of town: Mandraki Bay , Kaminia Castello , and Vlychos. Distant beaches on the southwestern tip of the island Bisti and Agios Nikolaos really get you away from it all, but are best reached by boat. As sunset nears, I head for the rustic and picturesque village of Kaminia, which hides behind the headland from Hydra, about a minute walk along the coastal path.
Kaminia's pocket-sized harbor shelters the community's fishing boats, and its taverna , perched on a bluff above, boasts my favorite, irresistible dinner views on Hydra. Sitting on the porch with a glass of ouzo and some munchies, I watch the sun dip gently into the Saronic Gulf. At twilight, I walk back to town along the lamplit coastal lane, under a ridge lined with derelict windmills.
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The small, boat filled harbor ringed with cafes, restaurants and gold shops is surrounded by a village of stone houses and mansions that rise up the hills like an amphitheatre. As my favorite writer, Henry Miller described it when he visited with the poet George Seferis in in his book The Colossus of Marousi The town, which clusters about the harbor in the form of an amphitheatre, is immaculate.
There are only two colors, blue and white, and the white is whitewashed every day, down to the cobblestones in the street. The houses are even more cubistically arranged than at Poros. Aesthetically it is perfect, the very epitome of that flawless anarchy which supersedes, because it includes and goes beyond, all the formal arrangements of the imagination.
This purity, this wild and naked perfection of Hydra, is in great part due to the spirit of the men who once dominated the island. Hydra is the island that launched Greek tourism. Edmund Keeley's book, Inventing Paradise , explores this period of in lives of Miller, Seferis and Laurence Durrell, the men whose writings introduced the literary world to the romance and beauty of the Greek islands.
As Helen of Troy was the face that launched a thousand ships, Miller and Durrell, with Nobel Prize winning poet George Seferis and larger than life man of letters George Katsimbalis, acting as their hosts and guides , were the voices that sent an army of romantics to the wine dark seas, looking for the white-washed villages and the long nights of retsina inspired discussions in the cafeneons and tavernas of this far away but somehow familiar land.
Thousands of young and old people came to Greece looking for the Hydra described by Miller and they were not disappointed. Poet-musician Leonard Cohen bought a house here in the sixties and his successful musical career single handedly created the idea among a generation of poets, musicians and writers that if you could just get away to a Greek island you could write your masterpiece.
Some people did. Many more just became alcoholics. But they sure had a lot of fun along the way. For those of us who grew up in Athens, Hydra was the island our parents brought us to while they flirted with the idea of buying a house there. In our teens it was the island we went to escape our parents where we could drink and smoke hash and not be worried about getting run over by anything bigger than a donkey.
Our girlfriends came with their portable cassette players, listening to James Taylor and Leonard Cohen, hoping to catch a glimpse of the poet or maybe a Suzanne or Maryanne. In our twenties we came with our guitars and sat beneath the monument overlooking the sea at Spilia, drinking poppy tea and dreaming of the day we would be famous. As we grew older we came with our lovers, wives, children and grandchildren until we were no longer able or no longer cared enough to come at all.
And through the years and decades Hydra stayed pretty much the same. Of these islands, Hydra is the most unspoiled even though it is the most popular.
The reason is because growth has been limited and while the other islands expand outward to accommodate tourism, Hydra has remained the same by not allowing new buildings, only the restoration of old ones, many of which are from the 19th century and older. One of the most charming things about Hydra is that there are no cars.
Everything is moved by donkey, including groceries, building supplies, people and their luggage. Chances are the first thing you will notice upon arriving in Hydra are the donkeys and mules lined up in the port, waiting for something or someone to carry. Most visitors to Hydra just come for the day either because they are on the One-Day Saronic Cruise or because there are simply not enough places for them to stay. If you do want to stay overnight, or over many nights, which I recommend , then I would book a hotel in advance during the summer because if you wait you won't find one.
But because of its proximity to Athens it is the perfect island to visit in the off season when rooms are easy to find. Being across from the Argolis Peninsula where they grow oranges in the winter, Hydra has a mild climate.
There are usually people there year round, especially during weekends, including the odd writer or poet wintering on the island of Leonard Cohen, in search of inspiration or an excuse to keep drinking in the tavernas that stay open for the locals through the winter. One of the best things to do in Hydra is to visit its museums.
As for Hydra beaches, they are the ideal places to escape the summer heat! The best beaches in Hydra are Vlichos, Kaminia, Bisti and Agios Nikolaos, which you can reach by boats departing frequently from the main town! Explore Hydra island through the lens of the talented members on Greeka community. Share your experience with us or tag us greekacom on your favorite social media. The island is only accessible by ferry. There are ferries to Hydra from Piraeus port in Athens but also from other islands of the Saronic islands and even from Peloponnese.
The closest airport to Hydra is in Athens. Discover the best things to do in Hydra! From Hydra sightseeing, to activities and from Hydra tours, to restaurants, we give you the best recommendations for the ultimate Hydra holidays experience! Upload your best photos of Greece and interact with other Greeka members!
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