Aegina is the closest island to Athens, forty minutes by hydrofoil from Piraeus, and it is part of the Saronic Islands. For its size, it holds a remarkable amount of history.
It was the first city-state in Europe to make its own coins — silver staters stamped with a sea turtle. Two and a half thousand years later, it became the first capital of the modern Greek state.
The inland part of the island is planted with pistachio orchards. This crop has shaped the local economy since the last century and now has protected origin status. Among the orchards you will find an Archaic temple, an abandoned medieval town full of stone chapels, and one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Greece.
History & Culture
Aegina became rich from the sea. Its fleet traded across the Mediterranean and founded colonies as far away as Egypt. By the sixth century BC the island was making the Aeginetan stater, a silver coin with a sea turtle on it. This was the first coin struck by any European city-state, and one of the first international currencies anywhere.
What you can visit
At Kolona, on the headland beside the town, one Doric column of the temple of Apollo still stands. Ships used it for centuries as a landmark when approaching the island. A small museum next to it holds the finds.
The Temple of Aphaia stands inland on a ridge covered in pine trees, with most of its columns still upright.
Paleochora lies on a hillside seven kilometres east. It was the island's capital for almost a thousand years. It was founded in the ninth century as a refuge from pirates, built where it could not be seen from the sea, and abandoned only in the 1800s. More than thirty of its chapels survive, several with wall paintings, connected by footpaths across the slope. Entry is free.
Below it stands the Monastery of Agios Nektarios, founded by the saint himself in 1904. Its church is one of the largest in Greece.
Nature & Outdoors
Aegina is greener than most islands this close to Athens. Pine trees cover the eastern ridges, olive and almond trees fill the middle of the island, and pistachio orchards cover much of the interior.
Mount Oros rises at the southern end, and there is a chapel on the summit. In ancient times there was a sanctuary to Zeus here. The walk up is the island's classic climb, and from the top you can see the whole Saronic Gulf.
The island of Moni
Offshore lies the uninhabited islet of Moni, a protected reserve. Small boats reach it in ten minutes from Perdika, or twenty from the town.
Deer, wild goats and peacocks live there freely and come close to visitors without much fear. There are coves shaded by pine trees, footpaths, and a taverna that opens in season. Boats run from about May to September.
Beaches
Aegina's beaches are modest rather than spectacular, and that suits the island. Most people come for a day and want water that is easy to reach.
Agia Marina, on the east coast below the Aphaia ridge, is the largest and busiest. It is sandy, shallow and well organised, and it is the obvious choice with children.
Marathonas, on the west coast, is longer and quieter, with tavernas along the road behind it.
Smaller coves lie along the southwest coast — Aeginitissa, Klima and the beach at Perdika. All are sheltered, shallow and easy to reach by bus or bicycle.
On the north coast, Vagia and Souvala have their own ferry connection to Piraeus.
The clearest water is off Moni, a short boat ride from Perdika, where pine trees run down to small sandy inlets.
Activities
Walking
Aegina has a proper network of marked paths, called the Paths of Culture. It covers about 45 kilometres in nine routes, created by the Hellenic Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage together with the municipality and a local citizens' group. In 2019 the project received the European Heritage Award from Europa Nostra.
The routes are signposted at their start and end points and at every junction, and a map of the whole network is displayed at the port. They pass old settlements, windmills, stone water cisterns called souvales, and the ancient olive grove below Mount Oros, where some trees are believed to be over a thousand years old.
The routes vary from a 1.2 km loop around Paleochora, which takes forty minutes, to an 8.8 km walk to the sanctuary on Mount Oros, which takes about six hours. One of the routes is designed for mountain bikes.
Cycling and the sea
Aegina works well without a car. The island is small and mostly flat around the coast, so cycling is genuinely practical. Several shops in the town rent bicycles, and the ring road connects most of the beaches and villages.
The water is clear enough for diving and snorkelling, and the Saronic Gulf is one of the easiest places in Greece to sail. Day boats leave the harbour for Agistri, eight minutes away, and continue to Poros and Hydra.
Food & Drink
The Aegina pistachio has PDO status and is the island's signature product. It is smaller, greener and more aromatic than imported pistachios, and it grows well in the dry, chalky soil here.
You will find it roasted and salted, ground into butter, mixed into ice cream, pressed into pasteli, and layered through baklava. The harvest runs from the middle of August to late September.
The Fistiki Fest has been held on the harbour front every September since 2008. For several days the whole waterfront is given over to producers and cooks, with concerts and exhibitions as well.
The rest of the food is what you would expect in the Saronic Gulf: fish and octopus at the tavernas along the Perdika waterfront, where Athenians arrive by boat for Sunday lunch, and simple grilled dishes in the inland villages. The floating greengrocers in Aegina Town — small boats selling fruit and vegetables straight from the deck — are worth seeing whether or not you buy anything.
Where to Stay
Prices shown per night for a sample 3-night stay. Rates and availability vary by season — select your dates for live pricing.
Practical information
Getting there
Aegina is fifteen nautical miles from Piraeus and the easiest island in Greece to reach. Hydrofoils take about forty minutes and normal ferries seventy to eighty minutes. There are more than a dozen departures a day, all year round. All boats leave from Gate E8 at Piraeus, a few minutes' walk from the metro. Some services go to Souvala on the north coast instead of the main port, so check your ticket. From Aegina there are onward boats to Agistri, Poros, Hydra and Methana.
Getting around
Buses leave from beside the port. They go east to Agios Nektarios, the Temple of Aphaia and Agia Marina, and south along the coast to Marathonas and Perdika. They are fine for the main sights, but there are few in the evenings and at weekends. Bicycles work well on the coastal roads, less well inland. A car or scooter helps if you want to see Paleochora, Mount Oros and the temple in one day.
When to go
April to October. Unusually for a Greek island, the quieter months are the best: Aegina is a year-round destination for Athenians, so things stay open. September brings the pistachio harvest and the Fistiki Fest. 9 November, the feast day of Agios Nektarios, fills the ferries. Midsummer weekends are the busiest of all, when Athens empties onto the boats.
Good to know
Paleochora, the Temple of Aphaia and Agios Nektarios are all inland, and visiting them by bus takes most of a day. The monastery requires modest dress — no swimwear and no sleeveless tops. Paleochora is a hillside of loose stone with no shade, so wear proper shoes and bring water. Buy pistachios from producers rather than from souvenir stalls at the harbour. If you plan to buy a lot, note that bringing a car across on the ferry costs less than you might expect.
Aegina Island— been there?Tell others what you saw.
A photo and two lines are enough.
