An Agistri day trip from Athens takes you to a small pine-covered Saronic island on a day cruise. The route also visits Aegina and the islet of Moni or Metopi. This page covers the route, the stops, the cruise types and the season. The homepage lists more Greece Tours like this one.
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What is an Agistri day trip from Athens?
An Agistri day trip from Athens is one full day at sea. The boat sails from Athens to Agistri, a small pine-covered island in the Saronic Gulf. The route joins it with Aegina and a tiny islet, Moni or Metopi.
The island has three Latin spellings: Agistri, Angistri and Agkistri. The Greek form is Αγκίστρι. All three name the same island. An Agistri day trip from Athens lands on it under whichever spelling the tour uses.
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Agistri means fish hook in Greek. A local story says visitors amazed by its beauty were caught like fish on a hook. They stayed there for life. People have lived there since at least the fifth century B.C. The older name of the island, Kekrifalia, means adorned head.
Agistri lies in the Saronic Gulf and belongs to the region of Attica. It is one of the main inhabited Saronic Islands, with Salamis, Aegina and Poros. The island lies close to Athens, which makes it a fit for short breaks. An Agistri day trip from Athens is a break of just one day.
The numbers are small. Agistri covers about 13.4 square kilometres, and about 1,100 people live there. The island is a municipality of its own.
Three of the island’s villages are Megalochori, Skala and Limenaria. Megalochori is the capital and the largest village, and it goes by a second name, Milos. It lies to the west of Skala. The walk between Skala and Megalochori takes twenty minutes.
Skala sits on the northeastern coast and holds the largest share of the island’s hotels and tourist facilities. Both Skala and Megalochori have hotels and restaurants. Limenaria is a very small village in the south, 4.5 kilometres from Megalochori, with very little tourism.
Beaches sit on every coast. Aponisos and Dragonera lie on the western coast. Skliri and Halikiada are on the east, and Mariza is in the south. A road from Limenaria leads to Mariza, a rocky beach. Near Skliri village, a short path among the pines leads down. The beaches of Megalochori and Skala face north and are sandy.
The centre of the island is covered in pine forest. Pine-covered hills slope down to the sea, and Dragonera beach is surrounded by pines. Hiking, cycling, kayaking, sailing and horse riding are all possible on the island. These pines give an Agistri day trip from Athens a green island on the route.
The tour is a full-day tour, and every stop on it is an island. Agistri and Aegina are the two named shore stops. The third island is the islet, Moni or Metopi.
The census counts 631 people in Megalochori, 323 in Skala and 60 in Limenaria. Metochi is another village on the island. It sits on a hillside on the northeast side, and the same census counts 70 people there.
The tallest peak on the island is Kontari Hill, at 245 metres above sea level. Limni lies close to Aponisos and is also called Lekani. Pines fill that part of the coast.
An Agistri day trip from Athens suits a traveller who wants swimming, sunbathing and shore stops in one day. The cruise includes stops for swimming and sunbathing, plus shore stops at Agistri and Aegina.
How does an Agistri day trip from Athens run from port to port?
An Agistri day trip from Athens leaves Zea Marina in Piraeus at about 9:00 am. It sails two to two and a half hours to Agistri, then swims at Moni or Metopi. After a stop at Aegina, it returns in the evening, about ten hours later.
An Agistri day trip from Athens starts at Zea Marina in Piraeus. The full-day itineraries name this marina as the meeting point. Guests arrive at least 30 minutes before the 9:00 am departure.
Hotel pickup comes only with a transfer option. When a ticket includes it, the supplier sends the pickup point and time one day before. One itinerary collects guests from hotels in central Athens and along the coast to Anavissos. Without pickup, it names Marina Delta in Kallithea as the meeting point.
The sail out on an Agistri day trip from Athens takes about two hours on a boat for 40 passengers. A sailing yacht lists 2 hours 30 minutes. A public hydrofoil from Piraeus reaches Skala, the main port of Agistri, in about 55 minutes. A regular ferry needs about 1 hour 35 minutes.
Time ashore on an Agistri day trip from Athens differs between itineraries. Itineraries list 90 minutes at Agistri and at Aegina. A shorter one lists 60 minutes at each island, and a longer one lists two hours. The order of the islands can change, but the time on each island does not.
The swim stop falls between Agistri and Aegina, at Moni or Metopi, and the weather decides which. On the 40-passenger boat the anchor goes down close to the island, so guests can swim to shore. A sailing yacht lists 45 minutes at Moni.
Agistri is 38.7 kilometres, or 20.9 nautical miles, from Piraeus. It lies 3.5 nautical miles west of Aegina. Small boats cross between those two islands in ten minutes. Metopi lies 2.5 nautical miles south-west of the port of Aegina. Moni lies 6 kilometres by boat from that port.
Lunch on an Agistri day trip from Athens is served on board. Two itineraries place it at the swim stop or just after it. Group size depends on the boat: one itinerary caps its passengers at 40, and two others list 49.
On one itinerary the boat leaves Aegina at 5 pm and reaches Zea Marina about 7 pm. Two other itineraries estimate the return at 6:30 pm and 6:45 pm.
The yacht version of an Agistri day trip from Athens lists about six hours of motor-sailing. It adds up to four hours at the islands. Its boat sails back at about 4:45 pm. Another yacht itinerary lists these legs:
- Sail out: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Agistri: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Sail to Moni or Metopi: 30 minutes
- Swim at Moni: 45 minutes
- Sail to Aegina: 30 minutes
- Aegina: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Sail back to Piraeus: 2 hours 30 minutes
A half-day cruise leaves from Perdika and lasts four hours. It lists 30 minutes of cruising to Moni and a one-hour swim stop there. Then come two hours at Agistri and 30 minutes back to Perdika.
What do you see and do on an Agistri day trip from Athens?
An Agistri day trip from Athens lands you on Agistri for a walk. It stops at Moni or Metopi for swimming and snorkelling. It ends in Aegina with its pistachio market and the Temple of Apollo at Kolona.
A landing on Agistri itself opens your Agistri day trip from Athens. Passengers walk the island’s streets, look for its beaches, or rent a bicycle. Bicycle hire is an extra and is not part of the cruise. One route lists an optional bike tour between Megalochori and Chalikiada, also outside the cruise.
At Skala, a golden beach with shallow water lies 100 metres from the harbour. It has sun loungers and cafés. Swimmers and sunbathers also use the long sandy stretch between Megalochori and Skala. Look for the blue dome, the island’s landmark. The local market sells pine honey.
The swim stop on an Agistri day trip from Athens is Moni or Metopi, weather permitting. The islet sits opposite Perdika village, south-west of Aegina, in the northern Saronic Gulf. No people live there. Pine trees cover the land, and wild goats, squirrels, peacocks and deer shelter among them.
The goats are kri-kri, brought from Crete, and falcons live on Moni too. The deer and the peacocks have grown used to people. Visitors keep the necessary distance and follow the wildlife protection rules.
Moni’s western side has a sandy, organised beach. The eastern side is rocky and quiet. Small swimming beaches also line the north coast, and pine forest surrounds them. Walkers who like to climb can cross the slopes on the northern side of the islet.
Passengers on an Agistri day trip from Athens swim or snorkel at the islet. The full-day Agistri, Moni and Aegina cruise provides snorkel masks. A sailing-yacht route lets passengers jump into the sea and swim to the islet’s shore. That route includes a snorkelling mask and water accessories.
Metopi and Aponisos also appear as swim stops. A swimming cruise that visits Metopi lists snorkelling in Metopi Bay. Another all-day route lists a snorkel stop at Aponisos, in crystal clear water.
Aegina comes last on the three-island route of an Agistri day trip from Athens. Aegina town sits at the north-western end of the island. The Temple of Apollo is near the arrival point, and Kolona is where it stands.
Aegina is known for its pistachio nuts and its pistachio ice cream. The Fistiki Aeginis pistachio holds Protected Designation of Origin status. Walkers can stroll through the pistachio market or see the neoclassical architecture of the main town. The Church of Agioi Anargyroi and the Archaeological Museum are also named as sights.
A horse-drawn carriage ride around the island is offered but is not included in the cruise. An optional excursion to the Temple of Aphaia is listed on one swimming cruise. The full-day cruise lists chill music after lunch. A sailing-yacht route lists relaxing tunes on the way back.
Which cruise types and seasons suit an Agistri day trip from Athens?
An Agistri day trip from Athens offers five formats. They are a lunch cruise, a swimming cruise, a yacht trip, a four-island cruise and a half-day trip from Perdika. One full-day cruise runs from April to October.
The large-boat lunch cruise is the first format to know for an Agistri day trip from Athens. It includes a Mediterranean buffet lunch, unlimited wine, beer and drinks, welcome drinks, Wi-Fi, snorkelling masks and hotel pick-up. Towels are not part of the package.
A swimming cruise changes the mix on an Agistri day trip from Athens. The four-island version swims at Metopi and Salamina and gives free time on Agistri and Aegina. It includes sun loungers, snorkelling gear and a Greek buffet lunch served alongside wine, beer and soft drinks.
A sailing yacht trip swaps the large boat for a motorsailer. One yacht runs with a crew of four. It serves lunch on board with Mediterranean-Greek food, wine and beer, and it supplies a snorkelling mask. Entrance fees and optional island tours are not part of it.
Perdika, on Aegina, features in the two small formats. A small yacht plans swim stops in bays around Agistri and Moni. Its lunch is at a Perdika taverna and is not in the ticket. The half-day cruise includes bottled water, snacks and snorkelling gear, but no meals or towels.
The full-day cruise season runs from April to October. The winter period brings changes to the itinerary and the operating hours. The meltemi, or Etesian wind, blows across the Aegean from late spring to mid-September.
The Saronic Gulf gets partial shelter from the summer meltemi thanks to the Attic mainland. Even so, an Agistri day trip from Athens answers to the weather. The lunch cruise and the yacht trip both offer a new date or a full refund after a weather cancellation.
The lunch cruise and the four-island cruise both ask guests to bring swimwear, a towel, sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. One of them adds flip-flops or jelly shoes for rocky areas, a light jacket and a passport or ID card.
Families can plan an Agistri day trip from Athens around the age rules. One full-day cruise sets a minimum age of three and asks children to travel with an adult. On the lunch cruise, infants sit on laps because the boat has no child seats. The small yacht rules out children under one year.
The lunch cruise rules out wheelchairs and strollers, and the yacht trip is not wheelchair accessible. The four-island cruise suits all levels of physical fitness. The small yacht rules out guests with seasickness, vertigo or mobility challenges.
Booking terms differ across an Agistri day trip from Athens. The lunch cruise offers free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, and the yacht trip up to two days ahead. The yacht trip gives no refund for a missed boat after late arrival. One cruise asks guests to declare dietary needs at booking.